BIRD conservationists will use a nation-wide nature festival to call for action to be taken to stop Scotland's most iconic seabirds, including the Puffin, from becoming extinct.

The "deeply concerning" issue of Scotland's declining seabird populations will be raised at the RSPB Scotland’s Big Nature Festival in Musselburgh this weekend, after recent research from the US showed a drop of 70 percent in just 60 years. In December 2015 Puffins were added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCU) Red List of Threatened Species for the first time. The Kittiwake and the Shag have also been added to the list, which now has double the number of seabirds included.

Festival organisers hope that raising awareness of the threats to species such as Puffins, Kittiwakes, Shags, Guillemots and Razorbills will help encourage the public to get involved in volunteering and campaigning work to help support conservation efforts.

As well as explaining the threats posed by issues such as climate change – which is threatening food sources and habitats, and helping non-native species thrive – as well as unsustainable fishing, talks will highlight solutions and conservation work that volunteers have played a part in such as eradicating invasive and predatory species like black rats and non-native plants.

Phil Taylor, marine policy officer of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said Scotland must act to protect numerous bird colony sites of international importance in islands such as Orkney, Shetland, Fair Isle and Rum.

"Scotland is an incredible place for seabirds and we want to get people engaged so that they are aware that our seabirds are in decline. Kittiwakes, Guillamots, Puffins and Razorbills are all suffering in a pretty bad way," he added.

One key concern is the shortage of species that the birds typically feed on, such as sand eels, which mean few chicks are able to survive into adulthood. In 2013 the RSPB monitored 360 kittiwakes nests in Orkney and found only one chick successfully fledged.

"It's terrible," added Taylor. "We are seeing chicks starving to death in the nests. There are areas such as Marwick Head where we have lost so much of the population that there are huge bits of bare rock, which were once teaming with colonies."

RSBP has responded by looking to make breeding colonies as safe as possible for chicks and has just completed a six month project on the Shiant Isles, just off Harris, where it hopes to have eradicated black rats that were eating eggs and chicks. With food in such short supply both parent birds often go fishing, leaving nests unguarded. Researchers have not had signs of rats since January, but cannot describe the project as successful until it has been clear for two years.

Taylor also called on the Scottish Government to play its part in a "two-pronged approach" recommended by conservationists which would not only see colonies themselves protected, but also large marine areas around them, as recommended by the EU Bird Directive.

"We can try to make the breeding colonies safer by eradicating non-native species, such as we've been doing on Shiant," he said. "And we also need to be protecting the sea around the colonies.

"The Scottish Government is 35 years overdue in the deadline for introducing 14 marine Special Protection Areas that have been identified and we would call on them to do so. It means that any planning or fishing activities in these areas would need to consider their impact. These are patches of sea that are globally important."

The Welsh Government has already brought four sites forward for public consultation, according to Taylor, with England also consulting on several sites. "Scotland is now lagging behind," he added.

Tom Brock, chief executive of the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick, said that declines in Puffin colonies on the islands surrounding Bass Rock, had been "deeply concerning". On Friday the centre launched Puffin Fest, a 10-day-long series of events which aims to celebrate and hightlight the plight of the iconic black and white bird with the colourful beak.

"Scotland is of global importance in terms of its seabirds but populations are declining," he said. "Puffins have suffered due to alien plants such as tree mallow [a flowering plant indigenous to the Mediterranean] that started to grow over the island, creating a mono-culture and stopping the Puffins from getting into their burrows. Some have linked this to climate change too."

With the help of over 1000 volunteers, tree mallow on the Isle of May, near Bass Rock, has been cleared leading to a return of more diverse species and helping its Puffin colony thrive again. However much more work on issues including marine litter was needed, Brock claimed.

Nicola Bell, events manager for RSPB Scotland, said: "Scotland’s Big Nature Festival is about offering fun, exciting activities that connect people of all ages with the natural world around them, but there is a more serious side to it too.

"It’s hugely important to engage with members of the public to raise the profile of issues like this, but also because there is a great deal people can do to help, from contacting their local MSP to supporting conservation campaigns or volunteering."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said it was currently considering proposed protection measures.

"In 2009 Scottish Ministers classified extensions to 31 breeding colony Special Protection Areas (SPAs) which provide areas for essential activities such as feeding, loafing, and preening," she added.

"We are presently considering the scientific cases for 14 draft SPAs. A pre-consultation phase has highlighted a number of scientific issues with the proposals and we are working with Scottish Natural Heritage and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to resolve these. As part of this, Marine Scotland hosted a stakeholder workshop in March to discuss the issues. Once resolved Scottish Ministers will determine if there should be a public consultation."