PUFFINS are back on Rathlin Island for the nesting season, the RSPB NI has said.
The birds return to the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland every spring and have returned on or around the same day every year for the past six years.
The year, the first puffins landed on the island last Saturday - the earliest date ever recorded.
Liam McFaul from the RSPB NI said the "first puffin sighting of spring is always a heartening sight".
"On Saturday, we caught a glance of the first puffins returning to the island." he said.
"It is exciting to see their shining orange feet and vivid bills arriving to the island every year, and many more puffins will be returning to the island in the coming weeks, to nest in burrows and to rear their young."
The puffins are not Rathlin Island’s only avian residents.
The island’s cliffs are also home to razorbills, fulmars and guillemots. Like puffins, these birds also nest and raise their young before returning to their life at sea in the late summer.
Adult puffins alternate incubating their single egg, starting from late April or early May, and share the feeding responsibilities until the youngster is ready to fledge.
Mr McFaul added: "Despite puffins being listed as an endangered, red-listed species, one of the best places to see them in Northern Ireland is at the RSPB NI West Light Seabird Centre.
"The centre is reopening this Easter, on 9 April. Visitors will be able to take in the sights and sounds of the seabird colony, while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Rathlin Island."
There are also the RSPB NI’s walking trails to enjoy, allowing visitors to take in Rathlin’s breath-taking views and rugged scenery.
For more information, please visit rspb.org.uk/rathlinisland.
