Has 'self-isolating behaviour' of Puffins been key to their 2024 population increase in Farne Islands?

                                              

Puffins - bouncing back after disaster of bird flu

DESPITE declines elsewhere in Britain and other parts of Europe, Puffins are not just holding their own but increasing in the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland.

The first count since 2019 has  delighted the National Trust which monitors the seabirds that breed on the islands.

The number of pairs this year is reliably estimated to have been 50,000 compared with just under 44,000 five years ago - up 15 per cent.

Says NT ranger for the islands, Sophia Jackson: "We feared the worse after we sadly collected 938 dead puffins - victims of bird flu - in 2022 and 2023.

"It seems they have weathered the storm thanks to self-isolating behaviour."

To conduct the count, Sophia and colleagues  monitored the birds by observing nesting burrows for signs of activity. 

If they were unsure if a burrow was occupied, the rangers donned wipe-clean, arm-length gloves, then put an  arm down the burrow to  feel for any occupants.

Continues Sophia: "We think another reason for Puffins having done well this year is down to the weather.

"During the breeding season, we had regular  periods of rain but none of the  storms that might have hampered the birds'  ability to fish for sandeels, their preferred food."

An interesting finding from this year’s observations was the variance in  numbers across the islands between this year and the last count.

Fewer pairs were recorded on the outer islands, with more nesting on Inner Farne, the largest of the archipelago, where 26,552 pairs were recorded.

On the downside, breeding numbers of both guillemots and shags have declined on the islands.