The kittiwakes nest and breed on the Devon cliffs

The colony at Sandy Bay near Exmouth is being monitored by a webcam installed earlier this year with the help of the Royal Marines.

Dr Sarah Wanless and Dr Catherine Bass will visit the site on Tuesday.

One option they are considering is radio-tagging the birds to find out where they feed.

A decline in sand eels and other small fish such as cal pins, sprats and anchovies, has been blamed for kittiwake numbers falling by almost half in the past 20 years.

The £17,000 Kitti-cam is a joint project involving Exmouth Town Management, Eco-watch wildlife surveillance experts, the Royal Marines, the RSPB and Devon Cliffs Holiday Park.

The tiny remote-controlled device zooms in and follows the gulls.

The birds spend winter out at sea in the Atlantic and only come to shore in the spring and summer to nest and breed on cliff faces and other high places.