A MILE or so off the North-East coast, thousands of seabirds are congregating on a series of islands. But one species holds more interest than most. Assistant News Editor, Matt Westcott travelled to The Farnes to join Natural Trust rangers for the great puffin count.

"IT was lovely yesterday," says David Steel, somewhat apologetically as our boat appeared and disappeared from view.

Clambering onto the jetty, with the wind howling and the rain lashing down, it was hard to imagine The Farnes as a home from home for anyone or anything.

But for tens of thousands of seabirds, that is exactly what this group of islands just off the Northumberland coast is.

David, head ranger for the National Trust, has spent the last 13 seasons here.

This month he and his team of young naturalists are embarking on one of the most important tasks entrusted to them, counting the number of breeding puffins.

The Northern Echo:

First conducted in 1939, it is a mission they carry out every five years, come rain or shine, which is a good job considering what Mother Nature has in store for us.

"It is a huge job on a huge scale," says David. "There are nine islands which the puffins breed on and somewhere in the region of 80,000 nest burrows."

It is not a hi-tech process. Dangerously close to the cliff edges, David and his team thrust an arm up to the shoulder down into the nest. Fresh guano or newly collected bedding is a good indicator, but it's only when they come into a contact with a puffin at rest that they can add another bird to the total.

"From that we can find out what our population is doing, whether it is up or down," David said. "Up until the last survey the population was increasing. Back at the turn of the 1960s there were 3,500 pairs. That had built up to 55,500 in 2003.

"In 2008, we were expecting a slight increase on that again, however, we were quite shocked to find the population had dropped by 33 per cent, to 37,500 pairs."

The Northern Echo:

Whether this is the start of a trend is yet to be established, but this year's census is expected to be of huge interest in The Farnes and far beyond.

"Last year we had the wettest summer on record. It was a disaster, with many burrows flooded out," said David. "On Brownsman Island alone we lost in the region of 8,000 chicks or eggs."

Thankfully, puffins are hardy creatures built for a life on the ocean waves. They can also be very long-lived, surviving well into their 30s.

"One bad year doesn't necessarily mean much, but if we get a series of extreme events, we are going to have some serious concern for the puffin population," said David. "In March we had a series of onshore winds for about three weeks bringing heavy seas. Puffins generally feed in the top ten to 15 metres of the water column and the turbulence was making it difficult for them to find food. The chill factor was also below zero on numerous occasions and birds were just perishing and being washed ashore.

"Down the east coast of Scotland and the North-East of England there were about 3,000 puffins washed up dead. These were significant numbers and involved quite a few of our birds which we were able to identify by ringing. One of them was a 31-year-old."

The Northern Echo:

The latest survey began this week and will run until July.

"There are 11 staff on it at every spare moment," David said. "They begin by loving the survey and loving the puffins and by the end they will be sick of them.

"Puffins are quite sophisticated, nesting three or four feet underground and some make two chambers one for its single egg and one for its toilet. You put your hand in one and get a toilet, the other one and you get a nip to the hand.

"They have a powerful bill and they will latch onto you as you put your hand in and they also have sharp claws which they use for digging their burrows."

The results of David and his colleagues' endeavours help paint an overall picture of seabird numbers and will be studied by the likes of the British Trust for Ornithology.

The Northern Echo:

"Puffins are a great barometer for The Farnes. They are the most numerous species we have, in breeding terms," said David. "If they are not faring well and are struggling to find food then you will find everything else is struggling as well."

In addition to the count, nest cameras have also been placed in burrows for the first time - recording a world first while we were there, a female puffin laying an egg, something not document anywhere before. There's also puffin cam, a life size replica with a camera in its tummy that enables the rangers to get up close and personal with their subject.

David hopes the results of the survey will be positive, after all the puffin is the poster child for The Farnes.

"They are the iconic species," he says with a passion. "If people come to the Farnes, see a puffin and see nothing else then they are happy."

  • Up to date clips from puffin cam can be viewed via www.nationaltrust.org.uk/puffins.