On the 7th of June Visions organised a wee trip to RSPB Fowlheugh Reserve at Crawton, just south of Stonehaven. Thousands of seabirds nest here on the steep cliffs, mainly razorbills, kittiwakes, guillemots, fulmars and still a few puffins. As puffins are cute and colourful they are a popular bird to photograph.
Puffins only come ashore to breed and make their nests in burrows on cliff tops. This protects the young from airborne predators, but makes them vulnerable to predators like rats, cats etc. They spend the rest of their lives out at sea. Puffins mainly feed on sand eels, which seem to be less abundant in this area possibly due to the warming of the seawater or overfishing in the North Sea. This has led to a decrease in puffin numbers, but we still found a few who were eager to pose for a few environmental portraits.
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