© Tim Ransom
A co-ordinated count that took place last weekend (22-23 February) from Finistère to the Spanish border resulted in 21,341 dead birds begin retrieved, along with and another 2,784 brought to veterinary centres to aid recovery. Several thousand dead seabirds were already counted earlier in the month and fishermen and other boat users reported that there were "carpets of dead birds" still floating at sea.
The vast majority were Puffins (more than 12,229 individuals), with smaller numbers of Common Guillemots (5,443) and a lesser percentage of Razorbills (376) and Kittiwakes (no exact figure available yet). The numbers are expected to increase in the coming days and weeks as more birds are washed ashore.
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) have already previously reported a record number of British-ringed Puffins being washed up dead on the coasts of France and Spain. Instead of the usual two or three birds reported in a normal winter, the BTO has had more than 35 reported in the last few weeks. The previous highest number of ringed birds found was back in 1979 when 17 dead Puffins were reported.
