31st July: Jellyfish washed up on the shore

A large number of jellyfish were washed up on Lindisfarne NNR recently after some high tides pushed them up onto the beaches.

Blue jellyfish (Cyanea lamarckii): the vibrant blue colour of this jellyfish is where it gets its name, but sometimes they can be pure white! It's tentacles can grow up to 1 metre in length but its body is normally around 15 cm in diameter. This is a widespread visitor to Britain's coasts.

Moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita): these distinctive jellyfish are commonly found in estuaries and harbours as well as on the shore. The moon jellyfish is easily identified by its 4 round gonads seen through the translucent body.

Lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata): a large jellyfish, usually red or brown in colour. You may be surprised to learn that this is one of the largest animals in the world - it's body can reach over 2 metres in diameter with tentacles up to 150 ft long - much longer than a blue whale!

If you find jellyfish on the shore, be careful not to touch them as they may still sting even when dead.

30th July: Peak count of Little Egrets on Lindisfarne NNR

At 8.00am this morning, 21 Little Egrets were spotted just south of the Causeway next to the mainland. This is the highest ever count of Little Egrets on Lindisfarne NNR - Reserve staff headed out to take some fantastic photographs of the group:

If you are visiting Holy Island today, keep a look out for this group of elegant Little Egrets to your right as you approach the Causeway. You can park in Beal car park and view the birds from here - remember not to get too close to them to prevent disturbance.

29th June: Shorebird Celebration - Tomorrow

It's nearing the end of the breeding season and it has been a busy, challenging few months for shorebirds on the Reserve and further afield. Reserve staff and volunteers think it is a great time to celebrate the birds of Lindisfarne NNR for their hard work brooding nests and rearing chicks!

Come to the Window on Wild Lindisfarne between 10.00am and 1.00pm on Wednesday 30th July to make your own craft shorebirds and chicks, and enjoy learning about these amazing birds and the incredible journeys they make on migration.

Enjoy making your own shorebirds, learning about migration, colouring in and more at our fun event tomorrow

20th July: Eider duckling update

The eider duckling that was found alone on the Reserve early in June and taken up to Berwick Swan and Wildlife Trust's centre is making some great progress.

The young eider, which has now grown much bigger, has been moved into a larger aviary along with several mute swan cygnets.

Photos of the eider on the Berwick Swan Trust's Facebook page can be found here:

Eider duck photo from Berwick Swan Trust

Lindisfarne NNR is a great place to see young eider 'creches' at the minute, as you are driving across the Holy Island causeway's bridge watch for groups of ducklings with adult females swimming and roosting at the edge of the channel.

Female eider duck with part of a creche

16th July: Upcoming Event - The Lost Buildings of Lindisfarne

Come along to Lindisfarne NNR to see there's more than nature hidden among the dunes!

Join local historian and Lindisfarne NNR volunteer John Woodhurst to explore some of the Island's less well known historic sites and discover Lindisfarne's once thriving, but now mostly forgotten, industrial heritage.

John really brings to life the history of Lindisfarne on his popular walks while taking in the beautiful scenery and unique features of the Island. More information about all of his events can be found on our Events Page.

Places are being booked up fast so to make sure you don't miss this event, book your place now by emailing laura.scott@naturalengland.org.uk or calling 01289 381470.

11th July: A good season for butterflies on Lindisfarne

The warm weather of the last few weeks has produced a spectacular array of butterflies on Lindisfarne NNR.

Species such as ringlet, dark green fritillary and small heath have been especially abundant this year, but numbers of the white butterflies have been lower this summer so far. You can spot many of the Reserve's butterflies while walking the self-guided nature trail, which is included in our Reserve leaflet available at several points across the Reserve. You can also download a PDF here.

Dark green fritillary

Common blue

Small heath

Reserve staff are holding a butterfly walk on the 16th August, more details on our Events Page.

10th July: Successful family craft day!

Our summer family craft day went really well last week, the Island was busy and over 50 children made some great creatures, including the most colourful lapwings Lindisfarne has ever seen!

A group of children very happy with their creations

Enjoying decorating a googly-eyed Little Tern 

Families enjoy learning about the Reserve's wildlife while making fun crafts and are always very impressed with our free family events. 

Reserve staff and volunteers are running more craft events during the summer, please see the Events page for more information.

Pirr -pirri  bur bash - 8th July

Over the last week or so we have been targeting the burs of pirri-pirri, concentrating on the network of desire lines through the dunes.  Pirri-pirri bur tends to grow on the yellow dunes (marram grass dunes) and the desire lines which have formed within the dune system.

Over the coming weeks we will continue to remove the burs from the main access points and desire lines to reduce the risk of visitors coming in to contact with the sticky heads of the burs and transferring them to other sites.

Please keep to the existing paths and desire lines and keep dogs on a short lead or at heel whilst on the Reserve.

Desire line following bur clearance

Area prior to bur removal

After bur removal

3rd July: Special Event this Saturday

Saturday 5th July, 1.30pm - 4.00pm
Return to Sender: An Arts and Ecology Project
Litter Pick on Lindisfarne NNR

This Saturday, Reserve staff along with artists Sally and Adam are looking to recruit as many people as possible to take part in a litter picking event on Lindisfarne NNR. This is part of a project which serves a dual purpose - cleaning up the environment and creating art! Sally Madge and Adam Phillips are working with Natural England, Berwick Film Festival and Berwick Museum to develop this project. 

NNR staff regularly carry out litter picks to protect the wildlife of the NNR, as birds and seals can get caught in netting and rope. Birds and marine wildlife also eat smaller pieces of litter which is very harmful. Please come to the event on Saturday to help us keep the beautiful shores of Lindisfarne clean and safe.

The Return to Sender project will provide further help with keeping our shores clean, with follow-up events in August to turn the collected litter into art displayed at Berwick Museum.

Meet at Holy Island main car park, grid ref: NU126423. There will be a walk of about a mile across the dunes to Coves Haven where the event will begin. 

We hope to see you there!