Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

More than 100 dead puffins wash up on Scottish shores in the last three weeks

Dead puffins have been washing up across Orkney, Shetland and the north east coasts of Scotland.
A worrying number of puffins have been washing up dead or starving on Scottish beaches recently. Picture by Flett and Carmichael Vets

More than 100 dead puffins have washed up across the north-east coast of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland over the last three weeks.

Seabird ecologist Dr Francis Daunt has described it as “one of the most significant puffin ‘wrecks'” in nearly 50 years.

It’s not yet clear why the birds are dying, but many of the animals – some of which are barely alive when found – have been described as “emaciated”.

What could be causing the puffin deaths?

The majority of the birds have been found in a thin and weakened state, according to Dr Daunt who works for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH).

“This suggests there could be a problem within the marine food chain,” he said.

This may be linked to the unusually warm water temperatures in September, which can lead to a reduction in food for seabirds.

Some of the puffins have been found alive and taken to local vets.
Some of the puffins have been found alive and taken to local vets for treatment. Picture by Flett and Carmichael Vets.

Another possible reason being floated by experts is the presence of toxic algal blooms.

Under the correct conditions, these blooms can enter the food chain and harm seabirds.

This isn’t the first time that toxic algae has been under serious investigation in relation to seabird deaths this year.

In late summer, several thousand guillemots and razorbills were found dead along the east coast of Britain from Orkney down to Northumberland – and algae may have been the cause.

It is not yet known if this occurrence is linked to the deaths over summer, but poisonous algae is once again being looked at as a possible explanation.

A third potential reason for the puffin deaths is avian flu.

However this is looking increasingly unlikely as more than 100 of birds have been tested for flu and all results have come back negative.

Local vets are doing their best to save the weakened puffins

Of the puffins which have washed up on beaches, a few have been found clinging to life.

Many on Scapa beach have been taken to Flett and Carmichael Vets to be cared for and are being given rehydration fluids.

“We’ve treated multiple puffins that were handed in to us by members of the public,” vets Leah Hunter and Kate Carmichael told us.

“Sadly a couple of the puffins have died since.”

Flett and Carmichael Vets treating the dead puffins.
Nurses Gemma and Sophia giving rehydration fluids by gavage to one of the puffins. Picture by Flett and Carmichael Vets.

The two vets are used to seeing seabirds, but not in these numbers.

“At this time of year, they 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.”

All the vets can do is to treat the birds as best they can and hope they survive the next few days.

“The puffins that have been presented to us have been very weak and cold,” they added.

“We have had several bad storms within the last two weeks and suspect this could be a contributing factor to these weaker birds being taken off course.”

What does this mean for the future, and what should I do if I find one?

The implications of these mass seabird deaths are not yet known, but experts are worried.

At UKCEH, Dr Daunt carries out long-term monitoring studies to detect the effects of environmental change on UK seabird populations.

He says some of the dead puffins found washed up in Orkney are adults, so there is a very real concern that this will have a negative effect on next year’s breeding numbers.

He recommends that anyone who spots a dead puffin takes a photograph of it – provided this can be done safely and without touching the animal.

This photo should show the bird’s beak and wings and be sent to UKCEH via enquiries@ceh.ac.uk

If you find a birds which is alive, contact the SSPCA.

Read more about this: