How many rangers does it take to weigh a puffin? Sweet snaps show birds as they're set to become 'internet sensations'

Daily Mail​

14-05-2025

Lights, camera...weighing scales?
While they may not realise they are on their way to stardom, rare seabirds have been weighed and assessed by National Trust rangers ahead of their internet debut as the annual puffin count gets underway.
Webcams have been set up on the Farne Islands, just off the Northumberland coast, so that more people can become seabird 'watchers'.
The hope is that this insight will help Brits 'realise just how special these wild isles are, and how we must do all we can to ensure these islands and bird species have a long and healthy future ahead'.
The 28-island strong archipelago (depending on the tide) is only accessible to visitors by boat from Seahouses but is home to 23 species of seabirds.
Human visitor numbers have been restricted in recent years, firstly by the Covid lockdown and then by avian flu which badly affected some species.
To mark the centenary of the National Trust taking over the wildlife haven, keen ornithologists and budding twitchers alike will be allowed in to see the isolated lives on this secluded environment online.
One camera will be trained on the puffin burrows and one on the cliffs where some of the 200,000 seabirds gather every year to breed.
Area ranger Sophia Jackson said: 'In this significant year we want more people to become 'watchers' of this annual spectacle to have a window into this unique world.
'We hope by seeing the birds, people will be inspired to visit in person one day, but also to realise just how special these wild isles are, and how we must do all we can to ensure these islands and bird species have a long and healthy future ahead.'
She stressed the importance of tracking bird populations to keep conservation data up to date and informing scientists on the right steps for their future.
The trust has been monitoring seabird numbers since the 1950s with the data used to direct conservation work after they took over ownership in 1925 from the Farne Islands Association.
Ms Jackson added that it was helpful 'for keeping track of the impacts of climate change through warming seas and more frequent storms'.
'Warming sea temperatures and the availability of the seabirds' food sources, as in different sorts of fish moving further northwards to find cooler temperatures, also means that the birds are expending more energy to seek out the food, and also spending more time away from the nest resulting in starvation or abandonment of young chicks.'
Around 45,000 people visit the Farne islands on boat trips every year to take in views of up to 23 species, including 43,000 puffin pairs, as well as a large colony of grey seals
Regarding the next 100 years, the ranger said: 'We are doing the best we can to ensure all our seabirds have a bright future.
'But climate change, especially its impact on the severity of winter storms, and extreme weather events are the biggest threats facing both our seabirds and seal populations.
'Summer storms resulting in heavy rain at the wrong time of year can flood puffin burrows on the islands, as well as impacting how the birds fare when on their migrating routes.'
Winter storms can also wash seal pups off the rocks and several pups died when Storm Arwen hit the islands in 2021, she said.