Puffin heaven! – 38,000 of these adorable little birds pack onto the Farne Islands, a dozen rocky islets off the north-east coast of England.

We set out from Seahouses, a small town on the east Northumberland coast. It was a sunny day with barely a puff of wind, which boded well for Andrew who was hoping to get some recordings.

Our small tug boat departed at 10am, and en route we observed Grey Seals lolling on the rocky outcrops amongst the kelp as the sea crashed and sprayed around them.

The smell from the islands hit us before we arrived, very strong and pungent. No complaints from me though, you have to take the good with the bad – no poop, no birds!

Once off the boat we parted ways, Andrew with the microphones and I with the camera and telephoto lens.

I have wanted to see puffins all my life. This bird has captured my imagination, they can look so sad and serious. Maybe it is their ‘clown-like’ face that gives them a sense of self-containment. Whatever it is, I have a great affection for them.

Unlike the other birds on the Islands, puffins are pretty much silent, but according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Atlantic puffin is “silent above ground, but in its breeding burrow makes a growling sound like a chainsaw buzzing”.

Puffins come to breed and raise their young on these islands during the spring, along with huge populations of Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Shags, Arctic Terns and Razorbills. By mid summer, they have departed the islands for their migration, and will be out at sea for the next nine months of the year.

So in a month the islands will be bird-free – we are here at the right time!

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