Words by

Iryna Zubenko

Photo by

Art Bicnick

In recent weeks, thousands of dead puffins have washed ashore along the coasts of Europe, reports RÚV.

Since January, tens of thousands of bird carcasses have washed ashore in Portugal, France, Spain, and the UK, the majority of them puffins. BBC and other outlets have reported on this.

“This isn’t extremely unusual; it happens from time to time. What is concerning, however, is that the frequency of storms, and especially how long they last, is increasing due to warming,” Erpur Snær Hansen, a biologist who has studied puffins for decades, told RÚV.

The puffins die during prolonged storms at sea. “What is believed to happen is that in the turbulent waters created by these storms, food sinks below the surface, making it harder for these diving birds to reach it. They have to expend more effort to feed and often don’t get enough to survive,” said Erpur Snær.

Most of the tagged birds found dead had nested in Scotland, but Erpur Snær received a report of one from the Icelandic breeding population. A tagged puffin that had nested in the Westman Islands recently washed ashore dead in Portugal.

“It happened that I got a recovery report of a puffin tagged here in Stórhöfði in the Westman Islands that ended up on the coast of Portugal. So a small percentage of our birds are in that area,” he added.

Erpur Snær noted that the Icelandic breeding population, which is larger than the Scottish one, generally stays further west and over a larger marine area than the birds currently washing ashore in Europe.

“The main range of our birds is much larger and farther west into the ocean off Europe. On the other hand, we don’t know the full scale of losses at sea because these carcasses often never reach land, unlike what is happening now in Europe,” he said.

Erpur Snær is concerned that this might affect the Icelandic breeding population, saying. “Yes, it could very well be. Especially concerning is that the frequency of these storms is clearly increasing.”

In 2024, we spoke with Erpur Snær about puffins and seabird research in Iceland. You can read the interview here.

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