Technology may help save the puffins of Farne Isles. We must first understand the puffins and their habits completely before we can help rectify the strains that are leading to decling numbers. This is exactly what they are doing at the National Trust Farnes Isles. Led by Dr Richard Bevan from Newcastle University researchers used up-to-date GPS Logging equipment to track 12 birds,¹

“…birds to follow their fishing expeditions out from the islands and back. Results reveal that they now appear to be travelling about 20 miles out from the islands – whereas they were previously thought to head anything up to 60 miles away.”

This information is vital to scientist and researchers in helping preserve the much-needed feeding areas and helping puffin populations thrive.

1. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/press/feeding-flight-paths,1377651.html [↩]

(Photo Source) http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachdavies/4536304212/in/set-72157622464609790/ or by flickr name (camera lass) (Davies Photography) http://www.daviesphotography.webs.com/)

This year has been a good one for the puffins in the Forth Islands off the Scottish coasts near Edinburgh. Tree fallow covered the islands of Craigleith and Fidra obstructing the puffins’ burrows, preventing them from entering where they lay and tend to their eggs. Volunteers have been working hard to clear out all the tree fallow and the numbers look promising so far!

You can read more about it here.

Congratulations to the Forth of Firth Islands for doing what was necessary to help their puffins survive and thrive! =) YAY for volunteers who care! And yay for puffins!

Scientists are gluing tags to puffins to try and figure out why their numbers are dropping.

Puffin numbers had been rising over the last few years, but last year showed a sudden sharp drop.

So researchers on the UK’s biggest puffin colony, the Farne islands, are gluing little recording devices to the birds to track where they go.

Read More…

((original source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_8120000/newsid_8127900/8127972.stm))