First-ever footage of baby puffin captured on Copeland Islands

Footage of a puffling - a baby puffin - bred on the Copeland Islands off the County Down coast has been captured for the first time.

The seabirds, synonymous with Rathlin Island off County Antrim, are not indigenous to the uninhabited Lighthouse Island, so no population existed there until an introduction scheme was launched around 2013.

There are now around 30 breeding pairs of puffins, which is being seen as a real success story.

They arrive to the island each April, and this year - in fact, just last month - trail cameras near their burrows in the ground filmed a young puffling out of its burrow, and an adult puffin bringing fish back to feed its young.

Attempts to attract puffins to Lighthouse Island included setting up fake "decoy" puffins, and a solar powered speaker system broadcasting its call.

Adam Ringland of Copeland Island Bird Observatory which is based on Lighthouse Island said the puffins are thriving due to the environment.

"They like the nice grassy slopes and the burrows have already been dug out for them by rabbits and Manx shearwaters, which is our star bird on the island."

There are no people on Lighthouse Island, apart from volunteers and the occasional visitor to the bird observatory at weekends.

That, said Adam, has given the puffins the space to grow and breed.