Endangered puffins return to breeding grounds

The first puffins have returned to their nesting grounds on the East Yorkshire coast, the RSPB has said.

Dozens of the seabirds have landed on the chalk cliffs at the charity's reserve at Bempton.

The centre is home to the UK's largest mainland seabird colony, with more than 500,000 birds, including about 3,000 puffins.

Senior reserve manager Dave O'Hara said he loved watching the puffins return.

"These birds have faced real challenges in recent years, but there is hope," he said.

"Thanks to conservation efforts, including our successful campaigning to end industrial sandeel fishing, thus protecting their food sources, we now have an opportunity to turn the tide."

The RSPB said the birds would continue arriving throughout the spring, with each pair laying just one egg.

They will stay and raise their puffling chick until flying off in July to spend the winter at sea in the eastern North Atlantic and North Sea.

Puffins are classed as an endangered species and are on the red list of threatened species, the RSPB said.

The charity is launching a Save Our Seabirds campaign on World Puffin Day in April with the aim of raising £250,000 towards their preservation.

Katie-Jo Luxton, the RSPB's director for conservation, said "seabirds face many pressures" including overfishing, changing habits due to climate change and bird flu.

"We therefore cannot take the arrival of puffins and other seabirds back to our shores for granted," she said.

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