Sign up to become ‘Puffarazzi’ to document country’s seabirds
SCOTS are being urged to sign up to become “Puffarazzi” to document one of Scotland’s most colourful and charismatic seabirds, the puffin.
The birds, renowned for their brightly coloured bills and comical behaviour, are one of the UK’s best loved seabirds.
In recent years their numbers across the UK and Europe have plummeted, leading to the species being declared vulnerable to global extinction.
Warming seas, affecting the birds’ food sources, is thought to be one of the main threats to puffin numbers.
RSPB Scotland said visitors to puffin colonies around the UK and Ireland can play an important role in their conservation, however, by taking pictures of the birds carrying fish for their chicks throughout the breeding season over the next two months.
They can upload them to a dedicated webpage, where the charity’s experts will identify the fish to build up a picture of what the puffins are feeding their chicks.
The scheme is part of RSPB Scotland’s “Project Puffin”, which combines the latest technology with citizen science to find out more about puffins’ diet, where they go to find food and how their numbers are changing.
Project leader Dr Ellie Owen said: “We’re really excited to be starting the Puffarazzi phase of Project Puffin. We know that many people love to visit puffin colonies during the summer and this part of the project gives them the chance to contribute to helping these much-loved birds.
“Puffins are wonderful birds that are in desperate need of help to ensure the long-term survival of the species here.
“Puffins are facing huge declines over the next 50 years.
“It’s estimated their numbers will go down by between 50 to 70 per cent by 2065, so it’s really important we act now.
“Anyone can take part in Puffarazzi. There are some easy steps to follow to ensure the information being gathered by the images submitted is scientifically robust and that puffins, and other wildlife, are not disturbed while the photos are taken.”
Guidance on how to avoid disturbing puffins can be found on the Project Puffin webpage https://protect-eu. mimecast.com/s/ m4wwBiaAALiY.