The Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, are home to an internationally significant breeding colony of seabirds – including puffins.
- These adorable – and sometimes comical – puffin photos provide intimate insights into their captivating life on Skomer Island
- Wolf reintroduction and throwing puffins off cliffs: when humans intervened in nature – for the better
Each year, the puffins head to the Islands to raise their chick (known as a puffling). The pufflings need plenty of sardines to keep them well-fed. But there’s another seabird who has their beady eye on these fish: gulls.
Herring gulls are twice the size of puffins and attempt to snatch the sardines away. But the puffins face another threat in the form of black-headed gulls.
These gulls lie in wait when the puffins return laden with sardines. Often, the puffins end up in the wrong burrow – and the gulls are ready to ambush when they reappear.
