We love sharing the escapades of our cliff-roaming puffins with everyone. But sometimes, this iconic little bird is a bit tricky to find. So we've been running regular Puffin Patrols to give visitors the best possible chance of spotting one (or even a six).
On Saturday morning a very excited group left the visitor centre with site manager, Keith Clarkson, leading the way and volunteer John Witty assisting. The puttins were keeping well hidden - although our cliff-edge CCTV camera had been trained on one for hours. Still, our eagle-eyed viewpoint volunteers were on look-out duty on the viewpoints to ensure the group wasn't disappointed.
And the search for puffins is always exciting. Delighted visitors returned to the centre reporting sightings around Bartlett Nab so we were able to radio the group and direct them to the exact spot. More reports came in about sighitings on the sea and these too were duly dispatched to the viewpoints as binoculars and scopes scoured the ledges, terraces and the waves.
And once seen, a puffin is never forgotten.
Puffin Patrols head out from the visitor centre every Tuesday and Saturday at 11am and 2pm and they run until mid July (although the breeding season has started about three weeks later than we expected, so the puffins may hang around longer than usual. It they do, we'll keep the patrols going while they're here.) The cost is £3 for non-members and £1.50 for RSPB members. To book, call 01262 851179.
The patrol is 'briefed' by reserve manager Keith Clarkson, assisted by John Witty.
The patrol sets out for the cliff tops.
Got a puffin question? Get the answer from our volunteers.
Keep your eyes peeled - there are puffins out there.