Yorkshire Puffin Festival is back – with a weekend of fun!

Have you ever seen a puffin? Did you know the cliffs from Filey to Bridlington are home to one of the largest mainland puffin colonies in the UK, 31% of all British puffins – and are one of the few places in the whole country you don’t have to get a boat to see them!

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust holding its 5th annual puffin festival on Flamborough Cliffs on 1st and 2nd June, packed with a weekend of activities to celebrate and help protect one of the nation’s best-loved seabirds.

Visitors to North Landing at Flamborough that weekend can enjoy;

• Peering at our colourful puffins from the clifftop with our expert spotters, or as part of a guided walk;

• A magical guided walk at dusk, the perfect time to hopefully spot the reserve’s resident barn owls;

• Boat trips by traditional fishing coble to discover the rugged coastline and watch our seabirds from a different angle;

• A craftivism art mural using marine plastic litter collected from Yorkshire’s beaches;

• Create a collage puffin, gannet or shag using recycled materials to hang in your window;

• Storytelling with Mud Pie Arts about Perry the puffin and his friends;

• Have a go at our marine litter game, explore what wildlife can be found on our strandline tray, and pick yourself up some puffin and coastal-themed gifts;

• Meeting Cliff – our giant cuddly puffin mascot! Why not give his seabird challenge a go – can you spit like a fulmar?

And much, much more!

Puffins, also known as ‘sea parrots’, are one of our most recognisable birds. These quirky black and white birds have bright orange legs and webbed feet, with a chunky, colourful blue, red and yellow bill that’s brightest at this time of year.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s spectacular Flamborough Cliffs nature reserve is one of the few places in the UK you can see puffins without taking a boat; instead, they are just a short walk from the car park at North Landing. June is the perfect time to see these birds on the cliffs. They’ve returned after spending the winter at sea, found their lifelong mate and stay for just a few weeks from late spring to raise their puffling chick.

David Craven, East Regional Manager for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said:

“Watching puffins at Flamborough is one of the best wildlife watching spectacles in Yorkshire. They’re such characterful birds with their bright beaks and tuxedo-like markings, whizzing to and from the cliffs, and spotting them is an experience that delights so many people.

Unfortunately, puffins globally are in decline and although numbers in Yorkshire have remained reasonably steady at around 4,000, they are at risk from the effects of climate change on their main food source, sand eels.

These wonderful birds need our help, through protection of their fishing grounds and food supply to their fragile marine habitat, so we’ll be helping people to find out take action over the weekend too.”

Yorkshire Puffin Festival is funded and supported by Yorkshire Coast BID. Some activities including the boat trip require pre-booking, but there will be lots happening to drop-in or book on the day. The festival Puffin HQ to find out more will be based at North Landing, where parking and refreshments are also available.

Information is also available on Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s puffin festival webpage https://www.ywt.org.uk/yorkshire-puffin-festival/plan-your-adventure packed with information about each event and activity, and details for booking.

If you can’t get to the coast for the Yorkshire Puffin Festival, there’s plenty to enjoy online at ywt.org.uk/puffin-fest where you can also become a Puffin Protector. Download your free pack full of puffin facts, activities to do at home, advice on where to see them, puffin-themed gifts and competitions, and actions to protect puffins.