Puffins Galore! set a date for charity auction | Gilbert Baitson

Plans are ramping up for the Puffins Galore! Grand Finale and Auction at West Building Supplies in Bridlington, on Saturday 13 May.

For those who’ve fallen in love with the giant puffins, which have graced Hull and the East Riding since July 2022, this will be a unique opportunity to bid for one of fourteen puffins being auctioned by Gilbert Baitson Auctioneers.

The puffins not included in the auction have been purchased by their sponsors and will be going to their new homes after auction day. Some of these will still be on public display.

All 42 puffins will be leaving their current homes at the end of the trail and will be joining a new Puffinry in Bridlington, where a crack team of Puffin restoration experts will give them some TLC, before they go on display at West Building Supplies on selected dates from Friday 5 May until Friday 12 May, prior to auction day, giving puffin fans a chance to see them all in one place.

Since launching last year, Puffins Galore! has been a tremendous success, attracting over two hundred thousand people to the area to spot puffins using the online app and Spotter’s Guide. Running along the East Yorkshire Coast from Bempton to Kilnsea and inland Hull and East Yorkshire, the sculptures have engaged people of all ages.

Profits from the sponsor purchase and the auction will be distributed between the project’s charity partners, RNLI, RSPB, Hornsea Inshore Rescue and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The auction will be conducted by Gilbert Baitson Auctioneers of Hull who previously auctioned the Larkin Toads and Amy Johnson Moths.