Rat-free Lundy a seabird haven

Numbers of Puffins and Manx Shearwaters have increased on Lundy, off the coast of Devon, 10 years after the island was declared free of rats.

Lundy was the subject of a rat eradication programme, the Lundy Seabird Recovery Project, aimed at conserving Manx Shearwaters. The project took place over 2003-04 and the island was declared rat free in 2006. The rodents eat the eggs and chicks of burrow-nesting species such as Puffin — which is listed as Vulnerable by BirdLife International — and Manx Shearwater.

Manx Shearwaters have increased massively on Lundy in the past decade (Photo: Charlie Fleming)

This year the RSPB has confirmed that 300 Puffins were counted on the island, up from just five individuals 10 years ago. Manx Shearwaters now number 3,400 breeding pairs, from a low of only 300 pairs when the recovery project was planned.

Dr Euan Dunn, RSPB seabird specialist, commented: "Puffins are facing serious threats, so it's really important to have healthy colonies in places like Lundy in order for the bird to retain a resilient population, especially to combat the effects of climate change.

"In numerical terms, Lundy's population is still modest, but in terms of establishing a Britain-wide halo of viable puffin breeding stations I attach real significance to this recovery."

European Storm-petrel, another burrow-nesting seabird, was recorded breeding on Lundy for the first time in 2014. Common Guillemot and Razorbill are also doing well on the island.