14 DAY TRIAL // A census carried out by specialists with the Center for Ecology&Hydrology has revealed that, bad weather aside, puffins in the Isle of May National Nature Reserve are doing just fine.
The researchers say that about 46,000 puffin burrows in this region off Scotland's east coast look as if the birds have made use of them this summer.
When these results were compared to that of a similar census carried out in 2009, it was concluded that puffins inhabiting this part of Scotland did not experience a noteworthy drop in their overall population.
Although there are still plenty of puffins left to nest in the Isle of May National Nature Reserve, conservationists warn that the bad weather did impact on their breeding behavior.
Thus, extreme weather conditions have caused the birds to lay their eggs 2-3 weeks later than normal.
“Despite the publicity of the wreck in March, the Isle of May NNR is still one of the best places to see puffins in the UK and together with the mass of other seabirds make it one of the best wildlife spectacles to be found in Scotland.”
“This late breeding could even result in puffins remaining at the colonies until later in the summer than normal, giving people even more opportunity to enjoy watching them,” conservationist David Picket explains.