Seabirds before the war
Jack Rowe: I used to go to sea with father before the war. A different world then of course.
All the islands down there towards Padstow: Moules Island and all the cliffs around, were full of thousands of sea birds and now there’s hardly any. You’ve got a job to find a Cormorant let alone anything else.
Interviewer: There were lots of puffins.
Jack Rowe: Oh yes thousands of puffins. There used to be a valve on the old Kelvin engine, you’d set it to let the air come out and it would make a hell of a racket. All the puffins would come out and fly around (indicates overhead) and it really was a tremendous sight to see.
Interviewer: And as you say, nowadays it’s very rare to even see a puffin.
Jack Rowe: Oh crikey yes. If they come out to Moules Island from Padstow and see 2 or 3 puffins, it’s a big thing.