Thousands of seabirds – mostly puffins, but also many guillemots and razorbills – are being washed up dead or dying on the Atlantic coasts of western Europe, in what scientists call a “wreck”.
This year’s events, the consequence of a series of severe storms during the late autumn and winter, are the worst since 2014, when as many as 54,000 birds were found stranded. Of these, well over half – between 30,000 and 34,000 – were puffins.
