Puffin Population Has Rocketed!
The Duke of Edinburgh's conservation work has inspired us to look at projects in Wales..as part of our Net Zero 2030 feature.
Last updated 29th Apr 2021
Today we are featuring initiatives working to help protect species that live in the UK and potentially will be at risk of endangerment in the near future due to climate change. Even some of our once-common countryside animals have disappeared.
In West Wales, Skomer Island is a haven for all sorts of species including the unique Skomer vole, a species found nowhere else in the world. But the island is most famous for seabirds. It is home to species such as Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, not to mention the world’s largest Manx Shearwater population. However, most people visit the island to make a special visit to the ever-so-charming, Atlantic puffin.
Last month, on the neighbouring island of Skokholm, the puffin population skyrocketed to over 11,000 individuals, making it the largest colony there since the 1940s. Skomer warden Leighton Newman said it is looking really good for the puffins on Skomer too.
“Our record count last year was 34,796 individual puffins. When our records first started in 1988, we had 6,984. So, it’s been quite a significant increase since then. It’s been rapidly increasing since 2013 now, and there is historical evidence of potentially a lot more pairs out here. It shows the carrying capacity of the island is higher than what it currently is. So as long as food availability stays good and adult survival stays good, I can see it increasing again.”
He adds that lots of people in Wales don’t realise how important the country is for seabirds and “it’s something we should be really proud of.”
The island has reopened this week for the first time in over a year due to the lockdowns. Leighton said he is very much looking forward to welcoming people onto the island. He adds: “Skomer is here for the seabirds but it’s also here for people to come and enjoy and I know how much it means for lots of people.”
In North Wales, a very unique and brightly coloured species roams the sands. After going extinct in Wales around 60 years ago, they have been reintroduced and are now in their thousands. Whilst this is a huge success, these vibrant lizards are still very rare in Wales and only exist in sand dune habitats.
Expert Pete Hill from the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) Trust explained the sand dunes heat up very quickly, allowing the lizards to warm themselves up and incubate their eggs, so it’s important we conserve these habitats.
“People didn’t really understand sand dunes. They always thought that it was the country eroding away and that we had to fix it. People did things like planting the wrong types of plants, which is the last thing we want to do. The dune system is a dynamic habitat. Bits are taken away, but they’re always replaced. That process provides lots of successional stages of different types of habitat.”
Since it’s still unsure how much we will be able to travel this year, it is likely this will be a big year for staycation holidays. With that in mind, people will be set to enjoy seaside escapes on Wales’ sand dunes. Whilst it’s important we have fun on our coastal holidays, Pete reminds us to take our rubbish home so we can protect our fabulous wildlife.
Click link to LISTEN to Pete Hill from the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) Trust on Twitter.
In Mid Wales, exciting things are happening with Beavers. For the past few years, the Welsh Beaver Project has been assisting Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust to help them introduce their very own beavers to the site. Last month, they were finally able to release three, mum, dad and son.
Click link to LISTEN to Alicia Leow-Dyke, the Welsh Beaver Project Officer on TWITTER.
The reason these animals have found a new home in beautiful mid-wales is for a very particular reason. The Cors Dyfi reserve they have been moved to is a lowland peat bog. This kind of habitat is extremely important because it acts as a carbon store, holding more carbon than the combined forests of Britain, France and Germany National Trust.
However, Cors Dyfi nature reserve used to be a conifer plantation and is impossible to manage by hand. So, welcome the beavers! They are set to get to work gnawing away the unwanted harder wood and manage the area.
Alicia Leow-Dyke, the Welsh Beaver Project Officer said they will also have huge benefits for biodiversity, and that she hopes to one day see them properly reintroduced into the wild across Wales.