First puffling sighting in three decades gives hope for Dorset’s dwindling puffin colony

For the first time in 30 years, volunteers monitoring the puffin colony in Purbeck have a confirmed sighting of a puffin fledgling – known as a puffling – on the cliffs near the National Trust’s Dancing Ledge.

The puffling was peeping out from a deep crevice on the sheer cliff, where the last breeding colony of puffins on mainland England’s south coast is clinging to survival. The sighting followed more than 15 weeks of monitoring by the volunteers as they watched the adult puffins courting, mating, carrying nesting material and, since late-May, repeatedly delivering fish to the nests hidden deep within the crevice.

The monitoring project is being led by Dr Richard Caldow, who holds a PhD in seabird ecology and has nearly 40 years’ experience researching and conserving coastal bird populations through roles with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and Natural England. He is supported by volunteers from the Purbeck Natural History Forum.

Dr Richard Caldow said:

“With only three breeding pairs remaining, every chick matters. One puffling alone won’t save this colony, but one is a whole lot better news than none.

"We first observed fish being taken into the ledge on 31 May, with the last fish delivery recorded on 5 July. Based on this, we estimated the puffling to be 38 to 40 days old. Puffins typically fledge between 38 and 44 days after hatching, so it had reached the minimum age at which it could leave the nest.”

The puffling is expected to leave the ledge and its parents under the cover of darkness and spend the next several years alone at sea. If it survives, it may return to Purbeck from around two years of age, although puffins do not usually breed until they are around four years old.

In April, six adult puffins were recorded at the colony. By early June, volunteers had observed puffins carrying fish into at least two separate nesting locations on the cliff, indicating that more than one pair may have been attempting to raise chicks. However, only one pair was regularly delivering fish to a nest site visible from the monitoring point - the location where the puffling was later seen. While other puffins were also observed carrying fish to different parts of the ledge, these deliveries ceased after 12 June, suggesting that any chicks in those nests did not survive to fledging.

Dr Caldow continued:

“Seeing the puffling was a great thrill, the first puffling that’s been recorded in Purbeck for a long time. It tells us that Purbeck puffins can still lay fertile eggs, hatch them and, at least in some years, find enough food to rear a chick and escape the attention of predators.”

The 13 volunteers took turns to observe the nesting ledge, contributing around 150 hours of their time. Additional puffin sightings were provided by commercial boats run by Durlston Country Park, Birds of Poole Harbour and Pierhead Watersports.

Ben Cooke, Rivers and Coast project officer for the National Trust in Purbeck, said:

“This is fantastic news for everyone who has been monitoring and supporting this colony. There have been anecdotal sightings in the past, but this puffling was witnessed and photographed by some of our most experienced volunteers.”

In March 2026, the National Trust renewed its efforts to understand why the puffin colony has been failing to produce chicks. Motion-sensor cameras, powered by solar panels, were installed by high ropes experts, positioned to take images of movement within the deep fissure – the puffins nest about two metres back from the entrance. The cameras will be recovered after the seabird breeding season, and volunteers will then review the thousands of images taken.

Ben added:

“The images should hopefully reveal more of the nesting, feeding and fledging activity of the puffins. Understanding what is happening inside the nesting crevice is the missing piece of the puzzle. If we can identify the reasons why chicks and eggs are being lost, we can begin to explore what conservation measures might help.

“Puffins are such an iconic bird, we want to do everything in our power to help them survive in Purbeck. We are hugely grateful to Dr Richard Caldow for his tireless efforts in researching the puffins and what might be affecting them, and to his team of volunteers for the hours they spend monitoring them.”

Due to the inaccessible location of the puffin ledge, the best way to see these birds is from the sea. There are guided boat trips in the summer available through Durlston Country Park and Birds of Poole Harbour, although the puffins, guillemots and razorbills leave the cliffs by mid-July.

For those keen to discover more about the fascinating lives of puffins, the National Trust is offering a front-row seat through its live puffin and clifftop webcams on the Farne Islands. Streaming daily from dawn until dusk between May and the end of July, the cameras form part of the National Trust’s Window to the Wild project, giving viewers an up-close view of the seabirds that breed on the islands.

Viewers can stream on the National Trust’s YouTube channel: Puffin Colony – LIVE from National Trust Farne Islands 2026. Anyone wishing to make a donation towards helping the charity's conservation efforts to help puffins and other species, visit: Window to the Wild | National Trust | Crowdfunder