Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New project to save one of Scotland’s most charismatic seabirds

Post Thumbnail

A new project will be launched this summer to help save one of Scotland’s most colourful and charismatic seabirds.

Puffins, renowned for their brightly coloured bills and comical behaviour, are among the UK’s favourite species.

However, in recent years, their numbers have plummeted, sparking fears over their future survival.

However, an RSPB Scotland initiative to help preserve puffins has been created, following a £49,800 award from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Project Puffin (UK) will combine the latest technology with citizen science to discover more about what the birds feed their chicks, where they go to search for food and how their numbers are changing.

With more than 80% of the British and Irish population of puffins, Scotland will be the focus of much of the work.

Counts will take place at puffin colonies, which have seen an alarming reduction in size.

GPS trackers will be fitted to 31 puffins at two sites in Scotland in a bid to discover where the peripatetic birds go to fish to feed their chick.

Meanwhile, visitors to puffin colonies are being asked to take photographs of the birds with fish in their bills to gain further information about their diet during the breeding season in June and July.

Ellie Owen, who leads the RSPB’s seabird tracking work across the UK, said the organisation was “immensely grateful” to the HLF for funding the “vital work”.

She added: “Puffins are wonderful birds in desperate need of help to ensure the long-term survival of the species.

“Across the country, there is great affection for these birds and this project will give people the chance to get involved with the work being done to save them.”

Warming seas, affecting puffins’ food sources, are thought to be one of the main threats to their numbers.

Ms Owen added: “In the future, we expect the project data will advise government on the best ways to protect puffins.

“It’s devastating to think our coastlines may no longer be brightened up by these birds coming in to land, flapping their wings with their orange legs outstretched.”

Lucy Casot, Head of HLF Scotland, said: “We are delighted to support Project Puffin, which will stimulate people’s interest in the natural world and help them conserve it for future generations.”