Over a hundred dead puffins wash up on Scottish coast

Just over a month after MIN reported that thousands of dead crustaceans had washed up along the North East coast, more than a hundred dead or ill puffins have washed up on shores around the north east coast of Scotland, and the Orkney and Shetland islands.

Experts are investigating the discovery of the birds, according to BBC News.

The birds found include adults and young. The individuals who found the bodies have reported that the birds appear to be emaciated, suggesting that these birds have been unable to find sufficient food while hunting at sea.

There is now concern that this “puffin wreck”, which according to The Independent is believed to be the most serious in 50 years, will take a significant toll on next year’s breeding numbers.

The experts looking into occurrence do not yet know why the birds are dying but they believe it is unlikely to be avian flu, which is currently affecting birds across the UK

Leah Hunter, a vet from the Kirkwall, has revealed the birds handed into them have been “very weak”, with some requiring rehydration fluids to help keep them alive.

The Daily Record reports Hunter has confirmed the deaths have been reported to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and that the practice is currently in touch with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) which is collecting information on the dead puffins found in north-east Scotland and Orkney.

“At this time of year, the puffins should be far out at sea in groups so the fact that they are being washed up on land means that things have sadly gone wrong for them,” says Hunter.

“This is one of the most significant puffin wrecks we’ve seen for this time of year since we began studying these fascinating seabirds almost 50 years ago,” says Dr Francis Daunt in The Independent. “Many of the people who have found the birds say they are emaciated, which suggests there could be a problem within the marine food chain.”

The reports come just weeks after a major report by the British Trust for Ornithology warned that 90 per cent of Britain’s puffins could be wiped out by 2050 due to the worsening climate crisis, which is impacting the birds’ food supplies.

Several thousand guillemots and razorbills were also found dead along the east coast of Great Britain in Autumn. It is not yet known if this is linked.