Power to the Puffin!

‘Every day is a school day’ ……never a truer word said for me! Today I had the privilege of landing on the island of Craigleith just off the North Berwick shore in sunny Easy Lothian as part of a maintenance crew of ‘Mallow Munchers’; an affectionate, local name given to volunteers who chop down the invasive Tree Mallow.

Craigleith itself is a small circular island (250m across) surrounded by rocky shores and cliffs. It is home to large numbers of nesting seabirds from April to August and is also used by grey seals for breeding in the late autumn. Up until the 1950’s it was used as a rabbit warren for meat and pelts until the rabbits were wiped out by myxomatosis. Spookily enough, the rabbits were mysteriously re-introduced in 2008!

In the Firth of Forth, Tree Mallow has been growing on the nearby Bass Rock for at least

three hundred years. Tree Mallow is a versatile plant that has a variety of uses including medicinal. It is thought to have been used by the Bass Rock lighthouse keepers in the treatment of burns, for making poultices and with the leaves being used as bandages and believe it or not, toilet paper. Back in Greek and Roman times, in addition to its medicinal uses it was also used as a fibre.

If this plant is so good, why spend the day cutting it down? The simple answer is that the roots of this invasive plant damage the puffin burrows thus preventing the birds from nesting and rearing their pufflings and as a result this can affect the puffin population.

Back in the early 2000’s, puffin numbers had been reduced from about 10,000 individuals on the islands to the chilling figure of less than 1,000. In 2007 SOS Puffin was launched to reduce the invasive Tree Mallow that literally covered the island and as a result, working parties are allowed onto the island to ensure the Tree Mallow does not take hold once again.

The good news is that the recent bird count carried out by The Forth Seabird Group found that puffin numbers had increased by 9% from last year to over 4,000 active burrows.

If being a ‘Mallow Muncher’ means these beautiful birds can come back to Craigleith each year and find their burrows ready for occupying then it’s definitely worth all the effort. You never know, one day I may even find Wildfish Crafts working with the Tree Mallow fibres…. think I’ll pass on reviving the use of the very soft and velvety leaves as toilet paper though!