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wild.life

Worrying Decline at Isle of May Puffin Site

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Decline at biggest UK puffin site

Regular readers will know that I am a regular visitor to the Scottish Seabird Centre where I enjoy getting up close with the bird colonies that nest on the Forth Islands via some funky remote control camera links.

Sadly the Puffins in the Forth are facing challenges these days that put their longterm presence in the Firth of Forth at risk. Volunteers have spent winters cutting back the non-native Tree Mallow plants that have taken up root here. These plants normally grow in the Meditteranean but seem to have followed a warmer climate North. Tree Mallow blocks access to the Puffin burrows and if left to spread will result in the loss of a breeding colony.

Now the Isle of May, the largest puffin breeding site in the UK, is showing a decline in returning birds - and many of those that have returned are underweight. Experts believe the decline is linked to climate change and lack of food in the sea.