- Breeding puffin numbers on the Farne Islands fell by 12 per cent this year to 33,939 pairs following severe North Atlantic winter storms that caused widespread seabird deaths.
- Despite overall population declines, breeding success for returning puffins reached a three-year high, with an average of 0.89 chicks fledging per occupied burrow.
- Other nesting seabird species also experienced significant drops, including European shags falling 42 per cent, Arctic terns down 27 per cent, and common guillemots decreasing 11 per cent.
- Black-headed gulls recorded a 55 per cent increase as they recovered from avian flu, while razorbill numbers also rose by 17 per cent.
- Conservationists warned that severe weather driven by climate change and a developing El Niño phenomenon pose ongoing risks to vulnerable seabird colonies.
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