Many of you will have heard of the plight of thousands of seabirds affected by the recent storms. The RSPB reports that over 800 birds have been found exhausted or dead in the south west including 227 from Cornwall and 174 from Devon. The casualties are mainly auks but have also included Kittiwake, Shag, Great Skua and Manx Shearwater. In addition 200-300 auks have been reported washed up in south Wales.

However these figures are small compared to the situation in France where figures for the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic coast are staggering. Totals to the 27th February were:

Other birds included divers and even a Red Kite. It is expected that both the totals in south west England and France will increase over the next few days as more reports are received. It is thought that the extreme turbulence and turbidity has seriously hampered the birds ability to feed and Puffins have been particularly affected because they dive in the upper 30m of water. Any beached birds in Cornwall should be reported to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Marine Strandings Network