The Farne Islands will remain closed to the public until the end of August after avian flu ripped through their famous seabird population, the National Trust has confirmed.
Last year, over 6,000 birds were collected by rangers on the Northumberland islands after being killed by the disease, with guillemots and kittiwakes suffering the highest impact. The National Trust said that these statistics are sadly "just the tip of the iceberg", as many more dead birds are thought to have fallen from cliffs into the sea.
Harriet Reid, lead ranger for the Farne Islands, said that the devastating impact of avian flu will likely be seen in thousands more birds this year. "Avian influenza was rife on the islands last year and it was very distressing to see these precious seabirds impacted by the disease," she said.
