Reaching the Purbeck puffins’ vantage point is no simple task.

It begins with a nimble hop over a fence into Scratch Arse quarry, a name earned when stone workers, cramped for space, constantly bumped their backsides against the rock. From there, it’s a careful tiptoe across slopes dotted with early spider orchids and wild cabbage, followed by a dizzying scramble down to the cliff’s edge.

This spring, teams of dedicated volunteers will brave the terrain — rain or shine — to help unravel the mystery surrounding the dwindling puffin colony.

This stretch of the Dorset coast is the last known stronghold for mainland puffins in southern England. In the 1950s, about 80 birds nested here; now only three pairs remain, and there haven’t been confirmed sightings of fledglings for years. If this trend continues, the colony could disappear entirely within 15 years.

“It is very worrying,” said the marine ornithologist Richard Caldow, who has been monitoring the birds since 2023. “In recent years, only three nesting pairs of puffins have been seen, along with a few adolescent birds. Without intervention, they are probably facing extinction here.”

The problem is, no one knows exactly what’s going wrong — or what can be done to help.

 “The mystery is why they declined but didn’t go extinct completely. I’ve spent many hours sat here trying to puzzle it out,” said Caldow.

The rugged cliffs make observing the birds extremely difficult. Only one nest entrance is visible from the lookout point, hidden deep within a crevice. The other two nests are tucked further around the cliff, out of sight. Because fledglings often leave at night, the only way to confirm their presence is to watch for adults delivering fish.

In 2023, puffins were seen bringing fish to their nests for three weeks before stopping abruptly, suggesting that the chicks had died. In 2024, the birds returned and built nests, but no fish deliveries were observed, implying that the eggs likely failed to hatch.

Caldow said watching out for the Purbeck puffins bringing in fish required patience.

“They are good at appearing out of nowhere and disappearing again,” he said.

Volunteers must first spot the tiny birds with the naked eye, then quickly switch to binoculars as they approach the cliffs.

“It’s easy to be distracted by a dolphin fin or peregrine falcon passing by,” he said.

In partnership with the National Trust and the Dorset Wildlife Trust, conservationist Caldow oversaw the installation of motion-sensor cameras in a narrow fissure near the nests. Volunteers painstakingly reviewed over 70,000 images, hoping to spot a clue — maybe an attack by rats or crows — but found no sign of predators or other explanations.

Plans are underway to reinstall cameras next year with upgraded equipment. Observations collected by volunteers from the Purbeck Natural History Forum this spring will help guide future actions. Local boat operators have also been enlisted to watch the cliffs from the sea for any puffin activity.

The first puffin sighting of 2025 came on March 20, a few days later than previous years.

Caldow has considered various causes for the colony’s decline. Peregrine falcons and herring gulls don’t seem to be responsible, nor are humans suspected.

“They have better, easier food sources elsewhere,” he said.

Most visitors — boaters, climbers, and coasteering groups — know to steer clear of the cliffs, and the puffins once tolerated heavy quarrying activity without issue.

The climate crisis might be a contributing factor. Perhaps the birds are struggling to find enough food, although the razorbills nesting nearby seem to be thriving, complicating that theory.

Though absent from the images, Caldow’s prime suspects remain carrion crows, jackdaws, rats, and mice — all small enough to slip into puffin crevices and possibly prey on eggs or chicks.

Sitting atop the cliffs, Caldow often contemplates potential solutions. Sealing the nests’ back and side entrances with concrete might protect the puffins, but would be controversial on a World Heritage coast. Building an artificial cliff designed to be predator-proof has also been floated, though the cost would be enormous.

Many of these puffins are likely long-term residents, returning year after year. Puffins can live up to 30 years, and one regular is recognisable by a distinctive greyish back. However, puffins travel widely when they leave, and even a single severe winter storm could prevent a few from making it back to their nesting grounds.

“It wouldn’t take too much to push them over the edge,” said Caldow. “This may be the last chance saloon for them.”

For now, the mission is simple but urgent: watch, wait, and hope that the tiny colony clinging to this craggy stretch of coast can somehow survive.

 

 

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