See the rare moment an Arctic tern lays on egg on the Farne Islands

This is the rare moment that a seabird was captured on camera laying an egg on the Farne Islands.

Arctic terns have the longest migration of any animal, travelling from the Northern hemisphere to the Antarctic every year, covering a distance of roughly 25,000 miles. They have arrived slightly late on the Farne Islands in 2024, and their numbers are down on previous years.

However, decoy terns made of wood and painted to look like the birds have been placed at nesting sites around the island to encourage the birds to land, nest and lay eggs. And to the relief of National Trust rangers, the decoy terns seem to be working, after they caught a tern laying an egg on video.

• Read more: 'No sign of bird flu' on Farne Islands as first full puffin count since 2019 gets underway

• Keep up to date with all the latest local news from Northumberland with our free newsletter

Ranger Sophia Jackson, who took the video, told ChronicleLive: "You don't see it at all really. Unless you're really staring at one you wouldn't know.

"But we saw this one sat on its nest and it was acting a bit strange. We were stood very silently seeing what was going to happen, and then this perfect little tern egg popped out!"

Tom Hendry, area ranger for the National Trust on the Farne Islands, said it was a "pretty special moment". He added: "It was at a point a couple of days before that I was thinking they (the Arctic terns) might not settle at all.

"In 2021 they didn't settle on this island (Inner Farne). So it's exciting that they're coming back and laying eggs, and it's a huge sigh of relief too."

It is expected that the tern egg will hatch in around two weeks. National Trust rangers also reported that the return of visitors and tourists to the Farne Islands has helped the tern colonies closest to the island's walkways; as the presence of humans deters larger gulls from predating on tern eggs and chicks.