Britain’s best-loved birds could disappear from much of our coastline

Britain’s best-loved birds could disappear from much of our coastline - British Trust for Ornithology

Britain’s Puffins, which are among the nation’s best-loved birds, could largely disappear as a result of climate change over the coming years, new research reveals.

A study from the British Trust for Ornithology, being published on 4 November 2021, indicates that the UK's Puffin population could plunge by as much as 90 per cent by 2050 because of changes in the marine environment caused by rising temperatures, if global warming is not checked.
“This could represent a loss of over a million birds,” said BTO CEO, Professor Juliet Vickery. “There is a very real chance that our grandchildren may never know what it is like to see a Puffin in Britain and Ireland.”
With their comical gait and brilliantly coloured breeding season bills, Puffins are among the most popular sights in the UK's coastal nature reserves, such as the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland, where they can be observed at close quarters.
But increasing water temperatures are having a negative impact on sandeel numbers in British waters, the small fish which are their main prey species – meaning that the breeding productivity of the Puffins themselves is being adversely affected.
According to the BTO report, this is also affecting other seabirds, such as Kittiwake; in all, 11 of our 20 breeding seabird species are regarded as being highly vulnerable to future climate change. The seabird numbers that the UK holds are internationally important.