Marine wildlife experts in the Channel Islands are hoping that strengthened conservation measures will help stabilise puffin numbers after severe storms earlier this year led to widespread seabird deaths across parts of Europe.
According to Gabriella Stewart of the Alderney Wildlife Trust, an estimated 40,000 seabirds were found washed up dead on European coastlines between late February and early April following a series of intense storms. She explained that puffins were among the most affected species, largely due to their feeding behaviour and vulnerability during prolonged periods of rough sea conditions.
Stewart said puffins rely heavily on clear waters and good visibility to hunt, using their eyesight to locate small fish. When seas become turbulent, their ability to feed is significantly reduced, often leaving them starved, exhausted, and unable to recover energy reserves. In the Channel Islands alone, 56 dead seabirds were recorded in Alderney, of which 44 were puffins, highlighting the disproportionate impact on the species.
She noted that prolonged storms create a dangerous cycle for seabirds: rough conditions reduce feeding opportunities, leading to exhaustion, which in turn makes birds more susceptible to death. Puffins, which spend the winter at sea and return annually to coastal colonies to breed, are particularly affected when harsh winters reduce their physical condition ahead of the breeding season. In such cases, they may fail to breed entirely or produce fewer chicks due to insufficient energy reserves.
Stewart also emphasised the long-term implications of the recent mortality event. Puffins do not reach sexual maturity until around five years of age, meaning that if many of the birds lost were juveniles, the full impact on breeding colonies may not become visible for several years. This delayed effect makes population monitoring more complex, as immediate colony numbers may not reflect underlying losses.
Atlantic puffins are listed as endangered in Europe by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Experts point to multiple threats contributing to their decline, including human disturbance, climate change, offshore renewable energy development, pollution, and diseases such as avian influenza. Combined with their naturally low reproductive rate—typically just one chick per pair each year—these pressures make puffin populations especially sensitive to environmental change.
Jon Carter of the British Trust for Ornithology said that while it is still too early to fully assess the impact of the recent storms, long-term trends remain uncertain. He explained that in some cases, when adult birds are lost, younger non-breeding puffins may begin occupying available nesting sites earlier than usual, which can temporarily mask population declines. Puffins are also long-lived birds, with some individuals living over 40 years, meaning population effects often unfold gradually over time.
Despite the recent setbacks, Carter pointed to encouraging signs elsewhere, including a record puffin count on Skomer Island in Wales, where more than 52,000 birds were recorded this year. However, he warned that climate change is altering marine ecosystems, pushing fish stocks such as sandeels further north and making it harder for puffins to find food during the breeding season.
Conservationists across the Channel Islands continue to urge boaters, jet-ski users, kayakers, and paddleboarders to avoid sensitive breeding areas between March and July to reduce disturbance. Special puffin protection zones, including awareness buoys near Herm and designated conservation areas off Alderney and Jersey, have been introduced to safeguard colonies. The Alderney puffin-friendly zone, established in 2018 to protect birds on Burhou, is marked through coastal signage and sailing charts, as buoy deployment is not feasible due to extreme tidal conditions in the area.
Experts say continued cooperation from the public, alongside long-term environmental management, will be crucial in helping puffin populations recover from recent losses and adapt to increasingly unstable marine conditions.
