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Faeroe Isles: "Silence. Isolation. It’s breathtaking"
27 March 2010 Tom Chesshyre, the Times
The loudest noise you’ll hear on these little-visited islands is the squawking of the local birdlife
It’s pouring down, absolutely streaming. Wind lashes across the cliffs above the treacherous Atlantic Ocean. And I’m on my summer holiday. But I’m loving it because all around us, wings flapping madly a few feet above our heads, there they are: squadrons of shiny black puffins.
We are in the centre of a puffin colony on the edge of the island of Mykines (pronounced Mitchiness) in the Faeroe Isles, reached by a 45-minute ferry that departs twice a day from Vagar, another island. There are 18 main islands in the Faeroes, which are a semi-autonomous part of Denmark and lie 160 miles north of the Outer Hebrides, the closest landmass, and halfway between Shetland and Iceland.
Puffin pictured with mouthful of eels
telegraph.co.uk 26 Mar 2010
Providing for a hungry family of chicks is no problem for this puffin.  Puffin with a mouthful of sand eels photographed by Steve Waterhouse Photo: BNPS
He dived into the deep water to snap the fish up, taking a break on land to rearrange his catch in his mouth before plunging in again.
The plump puffin, which stood only 12 inches (30cm) tall, caught a whopping nine fish before showing off his catch to waiting photographers.
The greedy bird was captured on camera by photographer Steve Waterhouse, 53, who visited the island to admire the puffin colony.
Warmer summers could create challenges for nesting Arctic seabirds
Arctic Institute of North America 24-Mar-2010
IQALUIT, MARCH 2010 -- Warmer, wetter weather in the Canadian Arctic could create problems for nesting seabirds, say a team of Canadian scientists who, between them, have spent over 7,000 days observing birds in the North.
Arctic birds are uniquely adapted to survive in the cold, dry summers that mark the high Arctic. However, warmer temperatures are bringing more storm events, including incidents of heavy fog, rain, freezing rain, wet snow and stronger winds.
"It's not really a surprise," says Mark Mallory, a biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Iqaluit. "If a bird is adapted to cold conditions and you make things warmer, predictably they'll find things harder."
Toy puffins hidden throughout the Lothians to highlight bird's plight
news.scotsman.com 23 March 2010 By Jenny Fyall
THEY could be hiding on buses, peering out from castle turrets, or perched on top of statues. Puffin mania will this week sweep Scotland as a campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the threatened birds hits the streets.
The Scottish Seabird Centre is hiding hundreds of toy puffins throughout the Lothians to highlight the birds' plight.
Spotting one of hundreds of toy puffins hidden in secret locations around Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife could bag the finder a video camera or an ipod.
The toy puffins have been hidden in schools, on buses, in airports, on landmarks and in castles. They started appearing yesterday and will continue to be hidden in unexpected locations until the end of the week.
The Scottish Seabird Centre, a conservation charity and visitor attraction in North Berwick, which runs a campaign called SOS Puffin, is behind the scheme.
The secret winter travels of puffins
telegraph.co.uk 14 Jan 2010
Puffins are far more widely travelled than previously thought, scientists have revealed, after tagging them to track their movements between oceans.
Puffins in the North Sea's largest breeding colony were thought to stay put throughout the winter, but a new study has revealed they frequently venture into the open waters of the Atlantic.
More than 75 per cent of the seabirds were found to migrate to the Atlantic in the cold season when fitted with "geolocator" tags by British researchers.
Arctic tern's epic journey mapped
11 January 2010 By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News
The Arctic tern's extraordinary pole-to-pole migration has been detailed by an international team of scientists.
The researchers fitted the birds with tiny tracking devices to see precisely which routes the animals took on their 70,000km (43,000 miles) round trip.
The study reveals they fly down either the African or Brazilian coasts but then return in an "S"-shaped path up the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
North Sea conditions could be harming puffins
PlanetEarth Online 8 January 2010, by Tamera Jones
A recent crash in puffin numbers on islands off the coasts of northeast Britain could be down to worsening conditions in the North Sea, say scientists.
The number of puffins breeding on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve has dropped from 70,000 in 2003 to 40,000 in 2008. Scientists have been at a loss to explain the crash. But recent research has revealed that puffins are more likely to die during the winter than at any other time of the year.
Seabird decline is a disturbing trend
highland-news.co.uk 07 January, 2010
IN the last few years, there have been several serious causes for concern as far as wildlife conservations is concerned and perhaps none more so than with seabirds.
Around Scotland, including the Highlands, there are many important international colonies of seabirds. These are sometimes in very large numbers such as gannets, puffins and Manx shearwaters.
Puffin warden wanted for Welsh island
telegraph.co.uk 04 Jan 2010
A fresh start for the New Year is up for grabs - as a castaway on a remote island with just half a million birds for company.
The island currently has a puffin population of more than 13,500.
The vacancy for the job as warden of Skomer Island is expected to attract hundreds of applications from people wanting to get away from it all.
It is being described as the British equivalent of The Best Job in the World - the competition held last year to find a warden for Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Wandering pufflings proof of rising numbers
The East Lothian Courier 6 August 2009
"Four wayward pufflings found stumbling along High Street and loitering outside a chip shop have all been returned to the wild by Scottish Seabird Centre staff.
Local puffin numbers are thought to be on the increase following the clearance of the once-abundant tree-mallow plant from Craigleith Island and the rise in numbers of sand eels, the puffins' favourite food, on May Island."
Pufflings at the fish and chip shop
From The Scotsman 10 August 2009
"They have a reputation for loving fish, but usually prefer it uncooked and without chips.
So passers-by were more than a little surprised to discover four baby puffins loitering outside a fish and chip shop on a busy North Berwick street.
Seabird experts were called to the rescue after the pufflings lost their way and ended up in the seaside town. They were spotted on the pavement outside North Berwick Fry, on Quality Street, last week."
Seabirds enjoy best year since 2000
From the Shetland News 10 August 2009
Ornithologists in Shetland have been heartened by the best seabird breeding season for years, but they still have no explanation for the change.
An apparent abundance of sandeels, the staple diet of many seabirds, seems to have given rapidly depleting species like kittiwakes, guillemots and arctic terns some respite from the downward trend of the past decade."
Signs of recovery for sea birds
BBC 10 August 2009
"Seabird numbers across Scotland appear to recovering this year after almost a decade of continuous decline, according to bird watchers.
Bird monitors have found some key species, such as terns, shags and kittiwakes, have seen a significant increase in breeding success."
Sight improvement in number of Kittiwakes in Faroes
11 August 2009
There have been reports that breeding has been a bit more successful this year for kittiwakes (Ryta in Faroese) in Faroes. There being more sandeels for the birds to feed on, which is a hopeful sign for the future.
Now you see them, now you don’t – mystery of Sumburgh Head puffins
From the Shetland Times 11 August 2009
"The puffins at Sumburgh Head have made a surprise return after a baffling early departure from the cliffs last week.
Their unusual behaviour has left bird experts scratching their heads, although they are keen to emphasise that this has been the best season for the iconic birds in Shetland for around five years."
Puffin migration begins after record breeding season
From: telegraph.co.uk 28 July 2009
"This magnificent colony of puffins has begun its annual migration from Wales to the North Atlantic after a record breeding season.
housands of birds began leaving Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire over the weekend.
Unlike the rest of the UK, the number of puffins on the island has soared in recent years - leaving conservationists baffled."
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