By Kaja Heising

The Atlantic puffin is an iconic bird in the Channel Islands. One of the southernmost populations, those breeding on Jersey and the other Channel Islands belong to the English-Channel or French-Atlantic sub-population.

Puffins spend the winter at sea and come ashore to breed in colonies. Usually they arrive in the Channel Islands around April and leave again in July. They have a slow reproductive cycle, not breeding until six years of age, and then only laying one egg per year. Typically, for breeding, puffins return to the sites where they hatched by themselves and Jersey, therefore, plays an important role for the annual life-cycle of this sub-population.

Although there are still good numbers of puffins globally it is listed as Vulnerable with a decreasing population-trend in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. No sub-populations are listed separately and it is highly possible that the French-Atlantic sub-population is even more endangered. Annually, about 580,799 pairs breed in the UK, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. Nevertheless, the numbers of the French-Atlantic sub-population are relatively low and have shown a continuous decrease during the 20^th Century. Conservation Status of Jersey’s Birds lists the puffin as RED with a severe breeding population decline.

Population-development of Atlantic puffin on Jersey between 1998 and 2015.

The reasons for the puffin’s decline on Jersey are not completely understood and may vary with location. Several causes may play a role: puffins usually nest on offshore-islands free of mammalian predators. Most of the introduced mammalian predators, like the brown rat, black or ship rat, domestic cat or American mink, are good climbers and can also reach the puffins’ nest-holes on steep cliffs. The puffin is, therefore, especially vulnerable to these invasive species. Also native seabirds like herring gull, lesser black-backed gull and great black-backed gull might be a cause of puffin declines through kleptoparasitism or direct predation.

Human disturbance through tourism and general boat-traffic at the breeding sites might play a role in decreases. However, there is contradictory evidence: after a tourist-hotspot around the puffins’ nesting sites at Jersey (Plémont Holiday Village) was closed in 2000, a recovery of the population was not seen. This might be an indication that human-presence had little or even no effect on the Jersey-population.

Indirect impacts like climate change cause loss of the puffin’s food supply in many colonies. In the English Channel, rising temperatures and other indirect factors like pollution of the sea may play an important role as well. Moreover, one particular fish species, snake pipefish, has increased in number in the region around Jersey and may have been fed to nestlings, as has been recorded in UK, Norway or Iceland for instance (abstract here), although it is inedible for young puffins. Herring, capelin or sandeel should actually form their main diet.

There may have been a population of 200-300 pairs on Jersey during 1911-1914, decreasing rapidly from 1915 to only 22 pairs in 1998 and as few as two individuals at the time of writing.

My study focussed on recent temporal changes to try to identify of the current status of the Atlantic puffin population on Jersey. Assuming that climate change may play an important role for the puffin’s decline, temperature was correlated to the population size.

The methodology used to estimate the number of puffins between 1911- 1915 is undocumented and unlikely to be based on scientific evidence. However, the records of the high numbers in 1911-1914 and the drastic decline in 1915 were both collected by the same person (Roderick Dobson). Therefore, although the accuracy of the exact numbers is questionable, it can be assumed that there were high numbers of puffins present at Jersey, which then had a drastic decline. The reason for such a dramatic decline within only four years remains unknown. It is clear though that Jersey has never seen numbers of puffins like that again.

Due to a higher human population-density on Jersey, the puffin’s distribution might be restricted by invasive predators and by human presence. Brown rat began occurring on this island in the 18^th Century, the black rat was introduced in Roman times. Avoiding pressure from rats, the puffins on Jersey may have become restricted to breed on sites which invasive mammalian predators find harder to access. These alternative breeding sites are small and poor-quality, areas like gaps along the cliffs instead of the commonly used burrows on cliff-tops.

Although the puffin is considered a flagship species of the Channel Islands, they have not been studied sufficiently and very little is known about their local ecology. The causes for the puffins’ decline on Jersey are still not fully identified. Although this analysis did not show any correlation to it, climate change as a factor should not be neglected as a potential main reason for the puffins’ decline in the English Channel. While the puffin might have resisted any single factor causing pressure on its population, the combination of all these factors together may be the causation for the eventual decline. Anthropologically disturbed areas, invasive mammalian predators, rising temperatures, decline in prey availability, and change in available fish species… summing up these factors – they were tough enough to effect the puffin’s population in the end.

With few actions taken, or possibly even feasible, to conserve the colony on Jersey, effort should be put into the puffins’ conservation throughout the Channel Islands, to prevent the same fate on the other islands as is happening on Jersey, where the puffin will, sadly, be extinct soon.

Acknowledgements

This assessment was written for the module “Invasive Species and other Drivers of Distribution Change” as part of the Master of Science class “Animal Behaviour: Applications for Conservation” at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. I am grateful to Paul Aked, senior Meteorologist at the Meteorological Section of the Department of the Environment, Jersey for providing me with data on climate.

The puffin photos used here were taken in Iceland by Nicolas Guillod.

The full report Last chance to see? Analysis of temporal changes of the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) population at Jersey, Channel Islands can be read here

Kaja Heising, MSc Animal Behaviour: Applications for Conservation, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge

From Alderney Wildlife Trust

Please note that since this post was written, the Alderney Bird Observatory has launched its own dedicated website which can be visited here

Summary

An exciting project is being developed by the Alderney Wildlife Trust, to establish an Alderney Bird Observatory. The volunteer warden John Horton has already been appointed and will commence recording across the island and ringing at fixed sites within the Island’s largest Nature Reserve, Longis, which covers much of the eastern end of Alderney and other productive sites like Mannez Quarry.

John is taking a sabbatical from his London Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crimes Officer role in order to support this two year project to achieve accredited Bird Observatory status from the Bird Observatories Council, the minimum time allowed for such recognition. John is an experienced ringer (having ringed more than 60,000 birds over the past 10 years), and has full trainer status. He has a very inclusive approach to ringing, evidenced through his ringing activities in the North Kent Marshes. John has experience of the Channel Islands as he spent a couple of years working at Durrell’s Wildlife Park in Jersey before joining the Metropolitan Police.

The Observatory aims to be an educational resource highlighting the value of wildlife to the next generation. John would very much welcome any visiting ringers who wish to support the work through whatever time they can make available. Please note that all ringing activity in Alderney including seabirds should be coordinated through the Alderney Bird Observatory Warden in the first instance. Data collected from the Alderney Bird Observatory will be collated by the Channel Island Bird Ringing Scheme.

What is a Bird Observatory?

A Bird Observatory is a place which conducts long-term monitoring of bird populations and migration. Individual observatories are located at prime migration points around the British Isles and activity is conducted within a defined recording area. The first observatory was established on the Welsh island of Skokholm in 1933 and since then the British network has become renowned worldwide for its observatories, the quality of their observations and the wildlife viewing opportunities they present.

An integral part of an observatory’s work is bird ringing, the capturing of birds by a licensed ‘ringer’, who acts as the observatory’s Warden, thus enabling the study of population dynamics across an international species (British Trust for Ornithology for information on ringing here). In Alderney’s case the Bird Observatory would work within the Channel Island Ringing Scheme, in parallel to the BTO.

Observatories encourage volunteers to participate in scientific studies of birds and the environment, including ringing and more casual observations whilst out enjoying the areas they reside within. The results of these studies are made freely available to researchers and to the public who are welcome to then visit the observatories.

What benefits would a Bird Observatory bring to Alderney?

This is a project, born out of the Living Islands initiative, which has already attracted regional media interest and expects to focus the national media on the Island. It will also bring visiting scientists and it is believed a significant number of birdwatching enthusiasts form the UK and Continental Europe, as its reputation develops. It will be the only official Bird Observatory in the Channel Islands and the most southerly Observatory in the British Isles. The Trust also envisions the facility will bring an economic boost to the fragile Alderney economy by sustainably exploiting a resource which to a large degree Alderney owns and controls, attracting visitors who would like to participate in the work of the Observatory or who simply want to visit an island which has this resource and reputation.

Such visitors will stay in the Island’s existing accommodation (mostly in the shoulder months when migration occurs) and over time there may also be the potential to establish a new ‘hostel’ class of accommodation. This would provide cheaper dormitory or shared room style accommodation for visiting groups, including universities and clubs.

From a wildlife perspective, the Alderney Bird Observatory will provide a mechanism to ensure a high level of continuity and scientific rigor in research, both through observational sightings and through ringing. The potential for reporting sightings of rare species of birds will be vastly increased through the coordination of the Alderney Bird Observatory’s full time Warden.

The Trust sees the Alderney Bird Observatory as very much a Channel Islands initiative. Environmental organisations and individuals from Jersey, Guernsey and Sark, as well as the host island of Alderney, will all be participating in developing the Observatory.

Alderney Wildlife Trust is looking for help funding the start of this project and you can contribute here

More information is available from Alderney Wildlife Trust here

From the Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project

We reported here on the project to rid two of the Isles of Scilly of invasive rats in order to protect threatened colonies of seabirds and other wildlife. The Scilly Seabird Recovery Project can now report that St Agnes and Gugh are officially rat-free after the last rat was spotted in November 2013.

On Saturday 13^th February St Agnes and Gugh in the Isles of Scilly were declared officially rat-free after passing a thorough month-long inspection two years after the last signs of rat activity were spotted.

This is the world’s largest community-led rat removal project. Local volunteers worked with conservationists from the Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project and island restoration specialists Wildlife Management International Ltd (WMIL) to rid their islands of the rats that were killing seabirds. The project has been a huge success and benefitted from essential support from EU LIFE and the Heritage Lottery Fund as well as local organisations.

Brown rats arrived on the islands in the 18th century following several shipwrecks. The population of rats grew and became harmful to the burrow-nesting seabirds that lived on the islands, including European storm petrels and Manx shearwaters. With numbers of these species declining since the 1980s the removal of the rats was essential to the protection of the seabirds.

Work began in 2013 with an intensive six-month operation to monitor rat activity on the islands. WMIL worked with over 30 local volunteers to find rat nests and signs of activity. This information was used to create a strategy for eradicating the rat population, with an intensive programme of baiting and poisoning for a month in the winter.

Baiting started on 8^th November 2013 and continued every day, as the days passed the amount of bait taken was monitored. And by the end of the month the last evidence of rats was observed. Treatment and community projects continued, but no further rat activity was detected.

The specialists returned at the beginning of the year to check for any signs that rats might still be present on the islands. Having completed this follow-up survey St Agnes and Gugh now meet the international criteria to be declared rat-free.

Since the removal of the rat population, the project team has observed both Manx shearwaters and European storm petrels successfully breeding on the islands for the first time in living memory, with over 40 chicks being recorded on the islands in the last two years.

Jaclyn Pearson from the RSPB, who manages the project said: “Getting to this stage is a fantastic achievement and everyone involved is delighted that the islands are now officially rat free. This, and the recovery of the seabirds so early on, is testament to the hard work of the team and the 100% support from the local community. We look forward to continuing to work with the community for the next two years of the project and beyond.”

Elizabeth Bell, Senior Ecologist, Wildlife Management International Ltd says: “The eradication of non-native brown rats from St Agnes and Gugh demonstrates that the techniques of ground‐based bait station operations can be successfully utilised on inhabited islands throughout the UK and the world.”

Sarah Mason, CEO of Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, which looks after most of the land on which the seabirds breed says: “This is fantastic news for the seabirds of Scilly. The Trust’s land management work is now more important than ever; we must ensure that habitats across the islands are suitable for our iconic seabirds so that they can be enjoyed by future generations.”

Local representative Richard McCarthy says: “St Agnes and Gugh are very special places. When I first learned that our community was being selected for this project, I was only too pleased to encourage fellow islanders to back rat removal. The speed with which this was achieved and seabird recovery began has surprised us all. Young and old, we must now do our level best to ensure that as far as possible we minimise the likelihood of rats returning.”

Project Supervisor Paul St Pierre, RSPB says: “This has been an amazing journey working with inspiring people to conserve some amazing birds. The work on St Agnes and Gugh is just the latest of an increasing number of successful island restoration projects that have taken place around the UK in recent years, helping many of the UK’s much loved but vulnerable seabird species. St Agnes and Gugh have provided an excellent training ground for a generation of conservationists who can now use their skills on similar projects in the UK and elsewhere around the world.”

This project is a partnership project between RSPB, Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Natural England and Duchy of Cornwall.

Birds On The Edge is grateful to Gareth Brede for help with this article.