Puffin numbers fall on Scottish island amid climate change concernsExperts said the drop on the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth is ‘disappointing’.The number of puffins has fallen (Niall Carson/PA)PA ArchiveLucinda Cameron5 minutes ago
The number of puffins at one of the UK’s largest colonies has fallen by about 30% in the last two years, raising concerns for their future amid climate change.
Experts fear “extreme climate events”, including intense storms and marine heat waves, have had an impact on the birds’ survival rates in recent years.
NatureScot and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) completed a count of burrows at the Isle of May National Nature Reserve (NNR) in the Firth of Forth this summer.
Scientists estimate that 36,500 puffin burrows were occupied, compared to 52,000 in the last survey in 2024, and 39,000 in 2017.
Puffins spend up to eight months of the year at sea (Owen Humphreys/PA)PA Archive
NatureScot Isle of May reserve manager, David Steel, said: “This decline is disappointing and concerning.
“Puffin numbers on the island fell sharply in the 2000s and recovered in the 2010s but have now dropped again.
“The decrease appears to be linked to a combination of ongoing pressures on seabird food supplies, poor winter survival and increasingly extreme weather conditions.
“Unfortunately, this mirrors similar challenges that are affecting seabirds more widely.
“All of this underlines the importance of continued monitoring and conservation work at sites like the Isle of May NNR, where data and research are playing a vital role in helping us to understand these trends and respond.”
Puffins can spend up to eight months of the year out at sea, and only return to land in early spring to breed.
The birds generally mate for life, and pairs often return each year to the same nesting spot where the female lays a single egg which hatches into a puffling.
Rising ocean temperatures can affect the availability of food sources (Niall Carson/PA)PA Archive
UKCEH said its long-term research shows that puffins have struggled with the impacts of climate change.
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Storms in recent years have killed large numbers of birds, while rising ocean temperatures can reduce the availability of food sources for puffins – particularly sandeels.
UKCEH has been monitoring seabird colonies on the Isle of May for five decades.
Mark Newell, UKCEH’s field manager on the Isle of May, said: “We believe that the puffin population has recently suffered from a series of extreme climate events, including marine heat waves and intense storms affecting survival in three of the last five winters.
“The concern for puffins and other seabirds is that climate scientists are predicting an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme events in future.”
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