A THREE month Puffin count on the Farne Islands is under way in an effort to find how many breeding pairs live there.

Records for the number of breeding pairs of Puffins on the windswept Islands in the North Sea date back to the 1930s, when there were 3,000 breeding pairs recorded.

The last survey in 2003 recorded 55,674 pairs of Puffins on the group of eight islands, situated off the Northumberland coast.

This weekend a team of nine National Trust wardens began surveying how many breeding Puffins are now to be found on the Farnes.

The Puffin count happens once every five years because of the vast number of breeding pairs and the resources needed to complete the survey. The project will run throughout the spring and summer.

Every survey since the first one 60 years ago has shown a steady increase in the number of pairs of Puffins on the Islands, with some nearing capacity.

Factors for why the puffins continue to flourish on the Farne Islands include better protection, good sources of food, a lack of ground predators and the availability of suitable nesting areas.

David Steel, National Trust head warden on the Islands, said: "The Farnes are one of the most important Puffin colonies in the UK. We're optimistic that this year's count will show that we have a healthy population of birds and that their numbers are continuing to grow as a result of our work to give them a high quality habitat to breed."

The Puffin nests underground in burrows. This means that the wardens will have to put their arms into the holes to make sure that the nests are occupied during the count.

As expected, the Puffins do not always welcome such intrusion to their nests and usually let the inspecting hand know of their presence. David said: "During our last census in 2003, Puffins would often bite the hands of the wardens, just to warn them off, but thankfully we are not a threat."

The wardens carry out the survey in accordance with the national guidelines on counting Puffins. Results from the study will be published in July.

There are at least 500,000 breeding pairs of Puffins in the UK with half of the population at a handful of significant sites. The birds fall under the Amber List species because of this concentration in certain locations.

Adult Puffins arrive at breeding colonies in March and April and leave again in mid-August. The birds live on fish, especially sandeels.