The Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast in north-east England, are an important haven for thousands of seabirds and hundreds of adult seals and are looked after by the National Trust.
The Atlantic grey seal is one of the rarest seal species, is protected and their numbers are carefully counted on the Farnes every autumn.
National Trust rangers have used drones in recent years to do the count on outlying islands, using aerial images which are then analysed later to survey the new population.
Now rangers are working with academics, sea mammal specialists and expert fliers to use a drone with two cameras. One films the seals from above in the normal way, while a second uses thermal imaging. This dual approach gives the analysts more accurate results.
Drones are increasingly being used to conduct wildlife counts, as an 'eye in the sky' is less intrusive and stressful for animals than having a human up close.
The last seal survey was completed...