From the towering seabird cliffs of Bempton in Yorkshire, to The Skerries off Anglesey, and Sumburgh Head in Shetland, a host of RSPB nature reserves are home to breeding colonies of Puffins. We work hard to manage and protect these reserves to give Puffins, and other seabirds, the safe places they need to raise their chicks. We also monitor their numbers to understand how the populations are changing over time. 

Predators like rats can decimate Puffin populations if they are accidentally introduced to the islands where seabirds breed. But the good news is that when these invasive non-native predators are removed, seabirds can bounce back. That’s why the RSPB has been involved in a number of projects to remove introduced predators from seabird islands. Take Lundy in the Bristol Channel for example. Thanks to an ambitious island restoration project run by the RSPB in partnership with the National Trust, the Landmark Trust and Natural England, the island was declared rat-free in 2006. Since then, Puffin numbers have boomed, from just 13 individuals in 2000 to 1,317 in 2025.  
 
Similarly, following work to eradicate rats and ferrets on Rathlin Island, off the coast of County Antrim, Puffin numbers reached 1,719 in 2025, nearly 50% higher than the year before. These fantastic results prove that targeted conservation work can make a huge difference for struggling seabirds. 
 
But removal is only half the challenge. Preventing rats and other predators from returning to newly predator-free islands – or making it across to islands they have never previously reached – is just as important. Monitoring is vital too, so that we can take swift action if any signs of predators are discovered. RSPB has championed such biosecurity measures for seabird islands over the past decade, helping to protect the sites that matter most for Puffins. 

Between 2016 and 2017, as part of Project Puffin, we used GPS tags to track Puffins from colonies in Scotland to work out where they were going to feed. The tracking results showed that some birds had to travel much further to find enough food to feed their pufflings, with one bird flying over 400km to feed.  
 
While RSPB scientists were busy with the tracking work, over 600 citizen scientists from all over the UK sent us photos of Puffins with fish in their beaks, as part of the Puffarazzi project which ran from 2016 to 2021. Using these photos, our team of volunteer ‘Puffineers’ identified the type of fish Puffins were taking back to their young. The team found that the size, type and number of prey brought back by Puffins for their chicks varied between colonies in different regions. In the colonies facing declines, the Puffins were recorded bringing smaller fish to feed to their chicks, while Puffins breeding in colonies which are currently thought to be increasing tended to bring back larger fish. This invaluable data means scientists and conservationists can better understand the prey species in Puffin diets across the UK and help protect their foraging areas from overfishing or development.  

Tens of thousands of seabirds are threatened by an offshore windfarm off the East Lothian and Fife coasts – the Berwick Bank Windfarm. We strongly support the development of renewable energy, but this site is incredibly important for some of our most threatened seabirds. Berwick Bank is the wrong development, in the wrong place. The RSPB, alongside other wildlife charities, are calling for the Scottish Government to scrap this development and help prevent the deaths of tens of thousands of seabirds.