Puffins ride the storm to return to Coquet Island
The RSPB wardens on Coquet Island were holding their breath at the start of the season as the foul weather of March and early April resulted in a “wreck” of puffins along the north east coast, from the Farnes to Bempton in Yorkshire.
Stormy seas make life very difficult for puffins, as they spend their wintertime on the water. If the bad weather persists they can’t feed and eventually are washed up on our beaches exhausted or drowned.
This meant that the final arrival of the hardy survivors to Coquet Island was delayed and they didn’t start making landfall until early April.
Refreshed and actively tidying their burrows, the island is returning to normality.
The puffin cam is in place, and with the help of Anna of The Ambler, their antics have been recorded onto DVD – so watch out for Coquet puffin videos on show in Spurrelis and other venues in the town during the Puffin Festival!
The ghost puffin pirate ship the “Black Guillemot” (above) also paid a preliminary visit to Coquet, to check out the moorings, in preparation for taking on a new crew of Coquet puffins – watch out for her in coming weeks!
She was watched by a strange black seal who guarded the entrance to the jetty, and is now a regular sighting for RSPB staff on the island.
