A colony of puffins on the south coast has been dwindling for years, but the first sighting of a fledgling has given conservationists hope for the future. The cliffs in Dorset where a tiny puffin population clings to existence (c) Will WilkinsonA rare glimpse of a young puffin emerging from its nest has given conservationists fresh hope for the future of Dorset’s shrinking puffin population. Only three breeding pairs of puffins remain in Dorset, compared to more than 40 pairs in the 1950s. Earlier this year, the organisation renewed its efforts to understand why the puffin colony has been failing to produce chicks. The puffins nest about two metres back from the entrance of a deep crack in the cliffs.