Footage of a puffling, a baby puffin, bred on Lighthouse Island off the County Down coast has been captured for the first time. The seabirds, which are not native to the uninhabited island, were introduced through a scheme launched around 2013.
Trail cameras near puffin burrows filmed a young puffling out of its burrow and an adult puffin bringing fish to feed its young last month. There are now approximately 30 breeding pairs of puffins on the island.
Adam Ringland of Copeland Island Bird Observatory, based on Lighthouse Island, stated that the puffins are thriving due to the environment. He noted that rabbits and Manx shearwaters have already dug burrows for them in the grassy slopes.
Lighthouse Island is protected by the bird observatory and has no permanent human residents apart from volunteers and occasional visitors. Mr Ringland highlighted the importance of this conservation work, especially given declines in some seabird populations.