In April last year, as part of the Puffin Project, 100 decoy puffins were placed on two sites on the Calf of Man as part of an initiative to encourage real live puffins to return to, and hopefully, nest on the island once more. The decoy puffins have been placed once again and Manx Wildlife Trust wants you to report your sightings to them!

Manx Wildlife Trust is pleased to announce that the puffins are back on the Calf, well the decoy ones. They have been awoken from their ‘hibernation’ and deployed once again over the shores of the Calf, keeping a watchful eye over the seas. With the help of some volunteers and Nathan, the Estate Warden they were reinstated on Easter Monday. Luckily conditions were great, with light winds and even some sunshine; very novel for the Calf.

The two sites remain the same as in previous years, however with a slight extension of the lighthouse area. The Wardens had kindly installed the puffins over by the lighthouses while the volunteers helped with the site at Kione ny Halby on the east coast. The speaker system was also reinstalled here, so once the battery is charged you should be able to hear it calling across the sound to the Island. However, the main challenge this year was finding the holes drilled in the rocks from last year! Luckily we found them all.

Last year, over the summer months we received a number of reports of puffins seen in and around the Calf, but sadly our camera traps haven’t managed to pick up any signs on land, yet. If you see any Puffins around the Calf of Man please try to take a photo and report your sightings to our Marine Officer, Dr Lara Howe at lara@manxwt.org.uk.

For more information about the Puffin Project, visit our website at http://www.manxwt.org.uk/news/2016/09/30/project-puffin-update

Phot - Margaret Brierley.