Puffin numbers plummet on Farne Islands as extreme weather impacts seabirds

Breeding puffin numbers across the Farne Islands dropped this year after seabird species struggled through an exceptionally harsh winter, according to figures from the National Trust.

However, the charity’s annual survey of seabirds on the islands off the Northumberland coast provided some good news for those puffins that returned to nest, as their breeding success reached its highest level in three years.

European shags, Arctic terns, northern fulmars and common guillemots also recorded lower breeding numbers in the wake of the hard North Atlantic winter, where three severe storms caused a major seabird "wreck" that left large numbers of birds washed up dead or dying on beaches.

More than 38,000 seabirds were stranded along the Atlantic coasts of Spain, Portugal and France as a result of the storms, while hundreds of puffins washed ashore in south-west England in what is thought to be Europe’s largest seabird wreck since 2014.

Conservationists warned the scale of the event demonstrated how vulnerable seabirds are to extreme weather, which is increasing as a result of human-caused climate change.

Furthermore, a developing "super" El Nino climate phenomenon in the Pacific — which affects weather around the world — raises the possibility of more unsettled winter conditions, potentially causing further difficulties for already struggling birds.

Overall, the survey presented a mixed picture for wildlife on the islands — a key colony hosting around 220,000 birds each summer — with other species seeing numerical increases, including black-headed gulls, razorbills, and gadwalls.

Atlantic puffins – one of the species most vulnerable to severe weather in winter, during which they are mostly far out at sea – saw numbers of breeding pairs fall 12 per cent from 38,559 last year to 33,939 this year.

The National Trust also said long-term monitoring showed declines of more than a fifth (22.8 per cent) since 2018 – with similar declines recorded at neighbouring puffin colonies that suggest the pressures on the birds extend beyond the Farnes.

There was better news for the ground-nesting birds in the form of more chicks surviving to fledging, with an average of 0.89 chicks fledging per occupied burrow, up from 0.78 in 2025 and 0.51 in 2024.

And while puffin numbers declined overall on the Farnes, they increased slightly on Inner Farne, so rangers say they are looking carefully at why the birds are doing better on that island, to help protect and manage their breeding habitat across the islands.

The count by rangers for the National Trust, which has cared for the Farne Islands for more than a century, also showed that European shags had one of the steepest declines among the birds that nest there, falling 42 per cent from 96 to 56 breeding pairs.

Sophia Jackson-Chaytor, senior ranger for the National Trust on the Farne Islands, said: “Puffins and shags are both particularly vulnerable to severe winter weather, but for different reasons.

“Puffins spend much of the winter far out at sea, where repeated storms and rough conditions can make it harder to find food and increase the energy they need simply to survive.

“Shags stay closer to the coast and their feathers aren’t fully waterproof, which helps them dive for food but means they need to regularly return to land to dry out.

“Prolonged periods of wet and stormy weather can therefore be particularly challenging for them.”

She added: “The number of birds returning to the Farnes each spring reveals much more about their lives than what has happened here on the islands.

“We’re also seeing the consequences of conditions they’ve encountered at sea throughout the winter.”

The survey found Arctic terns fell 27 per cent from 519 to 377 pairs, northern fulmars were down 21 per cent from 235 to 186 breeding pairs and common guillemot numbers fell 11 per cent from 44,509 to 39,059 individuals.

But it was better news for black-headed gulls, whose numbers increased by 55 per cent, from 128 to 198 pairs, as they recovered after being hit by avian flu in 2022.

And their increased presence could have benefits for smaller breeding birds on the Farnes, such as Sandwich and common terns, as their colonies provide protection from larger predatory gulls, the National Trust said.

Razorbills also saw an increase in numbers, of 17 per cent from 408 to 478 pairs, while rangers found four gadwall nests, following their first ever recorded breeding on the islands in 2024 and no nests in 2025.

Ben McCarthy, head of nature conservation at the National Trust, said: “The Farne Islands are one of the UK’s most important seabird sanctuaries, so the trends we’re seeing here matter far beyond Northumberland.

“This year’s census highlights the growing pressures facing seabirds and how those pressures can combine, making populations less resilient to future challenges.”

“At the same time, improved puffin breeding success and the recovery of black-headed gulls show that nature can respond positively when conditions improve,” he said, adding it showed the importance of long-term conservation efforts to ensure the Farne Islands remained an important sanctuary.