Garden and Green

Puffin Numbers Plummet at the Farne Islands

26th July 2008

The Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast has reported a dramatic drop in numbers of Atlantic Puffins on the islands compared to a count five years ago. The National Trust found that breeding pairs had fallen by a third from 55,674 pairs in 2003 to 36,500 pairs this year.

The Atlantic Puffin with its rounded body and dramatic beak, make it one of Britains most loved wild birds. Often refered to as a 'sea parrot' they nest in burrows and crevices around coastal cliffs and offshore islands during the breeding season and form long term breeding pairs. For many months during the year they go out to sea and it his here that researchers believe could be where the problem lies. The Atlantic Puffin and other pelagic birds are excellent bioindicators of the environment because they are near the top of the food chain in the marine eco-system,.

This makes the news of their decline particularly worrying. David Steel, National Trust head warden on the Farne Islands, said: "The results from this survey have completely surprised us as we were predicting another rise in the numbers of breeding pairs. Stocks of sandeels, the staple food of puffins in the summer, are in good supply around the islands and there is a lack of ground predators creating a good environment for puffins to breed. Presumably fewer birds are surviving over winter than are needed to maintain current numbers."

The drop in Puffin numbers raises concerns that many are not surviving the eight months of the year they spend at sea. Conservationists believe factors such as food scarcity due to overfishing, or an intensification of storms as a result of climate change, make it harder to find food and could be affecting the puffin's survival chances.

The Isle of May, near to the Firth of Forth is another breeding colony of Altlantic Puffins that have also recently recorded a decline in numbers from 69,300 to 41,000.