Appeal to help save endangered pufflings along East Lothian & Fife

Baby puffins are leaving their nests in the Firth of Forth to begin their lives out at sea, but some of them are getting into difficulty.

Lights along the East Lothian and Fife coastlines are confusing young puffins which are landing up underneath cars, behind bins, in plant pots, and gardens.

We're being urged to help the endangered puffin population by looking out for the pufflings after they leave their burrows on nearby islands and become disorientated.

The puffin is red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as it is globally vulnerable and declining in numbers.

By reporting any unusual sightings of the small grey chicks, residents and visitors play a vital role in helping this much-loved seabird.

Once reported, the team from the Scottish SPCA or the Scottish Seabird Centre can collect the pufflings and release them in safer areas, away from known predators.

Scottish Seabird Centre Conservation Officer, Emily Burton, told Forth News: "Puffins and their pufflings are now leaving their burrows on the Isle of May and other islands in the Firth of Forth.

"Pufflings fledge at night to avoid predation and some pufflings can become disorientated by lights from the mainland.

"This may see them flying into town and seeking somewhere dark to hide from predators such as underneath cars, behind bins and under plants in gardens.

"When we’re notified of their misadventures, we carefully collect the pufflings take them out to sea and release them, well away from the dangers of the mainland.

"They then typically swim off into the North Sea, where they will stay for the next three years.

"We are appealing for people to be extra vigilant over the next few weeks and, if they spot a puffling, to immediately alert the Scottish Seabird Centre on 01620 890202 or the Scottish SPCA on 03000 999 999.

"It is important to note that pufflings look completely different from their adult counterparts.

"People often don’t realise what they can see is a puffling!

"They are shades of grey, white and black; their smaller beaks don’t have the characteristic bright colours that the adults have during the summer."