First Puffin Chick in 30 Years Spotted Emerging From Cliffs Along England’s South Coast

Puffin chick at Dancing Ledge – Credit: Martin Shaw via SWNS Conservationists were holding their breaths this Spring as the last remaining colony of puffins was in danger of being lost altogether, but relief turned to joy as, not only did the adult puffins return, a baby was born. For the first time in 30 years, a newborn bird—called a PUFFLING—was spotted emerging from its cliffside nest along the Dancing Ledge in Dorset. The last puffin colony on mainland England’s southern coast shrank to just six birds in recent years—so the National Trust renewed its quest to understand why the birds had been failing to produce chicks. After spending the last 15 weeks installing cameras and monitoring the cliffs, volunteers were left “thrilled” by the sight of adult puffins delivering fish to the nests hidden deep within the crevice. “Seeing the puffling was a great thrill,” said Dr. Richard Caldow, who is leading the project. “It’s the first puffling that’s been recorded in Purbeck for a long time.” Only three breeding pairs remain today, compared to more than 40 active pairs in the 1950s. “One puffling alone won’t save this colony, but one is a whole lot better news than
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