主播大秀

No doubts about it, puffins are my favourite birds. Every time I visit a puffin colony I always take hundreds of photos, even if I have thousands of them. Pictures of these funny looking birds take a good percentage of the memory of my phone and of my computer. With their colourful bills and eye markings puffins are a great subject for every photographer, even for an amateur like me.

What if I told you that scientists need us to send them our pictures of puffins? I am very excited to announce that today we are launching a new citizen science project about puffins! This summer at the RSPB we are asking visitors to puffin colonies across the UK and Ireland to help us with an important research: we need you to become ‘Puffarazzi’ and take photographs of the birds carrying fish in their bills.

In recent years puffins numbers across the UK and Europe have plummeted, leading to the species being declared vulnerable to global extinction - with further declines of between 50-79 percent projected by 2065. Warming seas, caused by climate change, affect puffins’ food sources and are thought to be the main threat to their survival.

We need to find out more about the causes of this decline and my colleague Dr Ellie Owen, Conservation Scientist at the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, has started this project to do just that. She is our Puffarazzo-in-Chief!

We are still uncertain why puffins are in decline but there is evidence that lack of food to raise chicks could be a key issue as we witness worryingly high breeding failures at some key colonies over recent years. We need to find out more about what puffins feed to their chicks and we need people’s help for this project. We know that there is great affection for these birds and this project will give everyone the chance to be part of the work being done to save them.

Puffarazzi is the citizen science element of Project Puffin (UK). This innovative project, funded by the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), combines the latest technology with citizen science to tackle three of the biggest challenges hampering conservation efforts for these charismatic birds: discovering more about what puffins feed their chicks, where they go to find food and how their numbers are changing.

Four easy steps to become a Puffarazzo:

1. Visit a puffin colony in June and July To get a true picture of what puffins feed their chicks we need pictures from puffin colonies across the UK. Try and visit between early/mid June and mid/late of July, which is main period when puffins are feeding their chicks and therefore carrying fish. Outside these times, you will not see any fish being carried and each colony has slightly different timing so plan your timing to give you the best chance to coincide with puffins carrying fish. Here are some suggestions of RSPB sites you could visit www.rspb.org.uk/puffins Have a look at the map of UK puffin colonies on the project webpage www.rspb.org.uk/projectpuffin

2. Find a mama or papa puffin We know puffins are gorgeous birds and any picture of a puffin is special, but for this research we just need to see the fish in the puffins’ bill so try to look at birds that are breeding and have chicks to feed. Avoid getting close to the puffin burrows, you just need to see puffins carrying fish from a safe distance and be ready with your camera.

3. Prepare your camera and snap! The easiest way to get a photo is to spot puffins that have landed and are holding fish. We know it can be very hard to get a flying bird in focus, but if you have a camera with a fast tracking mode you may also be able to take photos of puffins flying with fish. Whilst you perfect your photography skills, you might snap an image that could provide us with a lot of information! Before you take part, please make sure you've read the photography guidelines, as they'll keep the puffins and you safe.

4. Upload your photos All aspiring Puffarazzi should submit their pictures at www.rspb.org.uk/projectpuffin We will need to know where you took the picture and the date and exact time, so make sure to take note of that. This is very important information for the research and will allow us to map the findings on the different seabird colonies in the UK and get the first nation-wide snapshot of what puffin are eating which may help to explain why some puffin colonies are declining while others are doing better. Note that all photos must have been taken this year for this project.Only send ONE picture of each bird you photograph! Choose the one you think shows the fish most clearly (and it doesn’t matter how much fish your puffin has) and keep the others for your collection. If we receive multiple photos of one bird it will bias our data.

When you submit a photo we’ll ask you if you to provide us with your email so that we are able to contact you to let you know what fish your puffin was feeding to its chicks. You will also be able to sign up for updates on the puffin research, as the citizen science element is part of a larger project to track and count puffins called ‘Project Puffin’. We’ll send you links to blogs, vlogs and hot-off-the-press puffin tracking maps.

On Twitter look out for #projectpuffinUK

Safety first, for you and the puffins:

- Be very careful when you visit a puffin colony. Consider that the weather can be unpredictable and walking near cliffs can be dangerous. We understand that you’ll be focusing on taking some great pictures but never forget that your safety comes first.

- Make sure you don’t disturb the puffins – puffins can be very sensitive to disturbance so please follow our top tips for puffin friendly photography

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