Alderney Wildlife trust hope breeding birds escape Avian flu this season

ITV Channel's Kate Prout went to Burhou to spot some wildlife...

Alderney Wildlife Trust has installed cameras on Burhou to monitor breeding birds and the dangers to them this season.

Puffin, gannet and auk nest on the island, just off the coast of Alderney, for the mating season.

Last year, there were more than 100 dead birds on the island as a result of Avian flu with most of them being gannet.

Of the 5,500 breeding pairs descending on Les Etacs, at least 20% were wiped out by the virus.

For Wildlife experts, the impact of losing so many birds was "soul destroying".

Alderney Wildlife Trust CEO, Roland Gauvain, says: "It was very emotional last year. We've spent 21 years working building up the colony and the island itself has been protecting the birds so to see a disease like that ravage the bird population is tragic. "With our puffins and auks it arrived late enough they managed to get away so we are hoping they escape it again this year."

The webcams installed by the trust are able to monitor bird numbers and watch for any other dangers to them.

For the puffin, their eggs are often eaten by rats which get into the burrows that the birds nest in.

The Wildlife Trust hope that by monitoring the birds as closely as possible, fewer gannet and puffin will be lost to flu this season.