Puffin burrow count

I spent most of the day on Craigleith Island counting puffin burrows. Staking out sections of the island systematically, a line of people swept the section, using counters to click each burrow. There were herring gull nests everywhere, and Eider duck nests hidden in the long grass. Every now and then one of us would startle an Eider and it flew out suddenly, giving us a fright too, leaving behind its eggs or chicks. (The unpleasant additional information is that the ducks also poo all over their eggs which, because they have been sitting ceaselessly upon their nests using up their body fat, it causes the poo to smell awful). We carefully covered the eggs/chicks up in Eider down to keep them warm and stop the gulls seeing them. There weren’t many puffins to be seen. Small sections were marked and the burrows examined to see if they are occupied. Then an extrapolation can be made to estimate the total population on the island. Unfortunately it seems to be decreasing, but we will know the results of this five yearly survey anon. Luckily nobody stepped on any eggs or chicks, or put their foot into a burrow.
Main photo is an Eider duck egg and newly hatched chick, and extras are fluffy herring gull chicks and a curious grey seal.