Are Puffins Endangered? (Threats, Numbers + FAQs)

Puffins are instantly recognizable by their large, comical beaks and bold colors. These northern seabirds live in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where they hunt over the open ocean and nest on cliffs and islands.

Like many birds in the world, puffins face a variety of threats, but the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) faces the greatest threat. So are these birds endangered?

Although Atlantic puffins are classified as Vulnerable, puffins are not technically threatened globally. Their numbers have increased in some areas thanks to the efforts of conservationists, but new threats such as climate change and plastic pollution continue to threaten the species.

However, the outlook for the U.S. coast is more rosy. The two west coast species are not listed as threatened, and Atlantic puffins on the northeast coast are recovering after being overfished early in the last century.

Across the ocean, almost 10% of the breeding population nests near the UK. Their conservation status in the UK is red, largely due to their worldwide decline.

This article describes the conservation status and threats affecting puffins. Read on to learn more about the plight of these adorable seabirds.

Globally, puffins are listed as a vulnerable species, however, this is a real cause for concern

Why are puffins endangered?

Atlantic puffins may have a wide range, but their breeding populations are highly localized, making them highly threatened locally by many factors. Pollution, unsustainable fishing and other threats affect them wherever they go during the non-breeding season.

Puffins are slow breeders by nature, and that doesn’t help their cause. Pairs keep only one chick per year, and they don’t start breeding until they are about five years old. This low reproductive rate makes them prone to significant declines in just one year.

If there is no healthy fish resource within close enough distance of the colony, puffins cannot feed their chicks and are forced to abandon the nest.

In Iceland, repeated nesting failures over the past two decades are a major cause of concern. In fact, most of the European colonies were in decline, while some were stable and some were even increasing.

Puffins have low reproductive rates, making them more prone to decline

Are all puffins endangered?

None of the three puffin species are officially listed as globally endangered. However, Atlantic puffins are classified as a vulnerable species, and that’s just one category.

On a finer scale, these birds are classified differently. Their official status in Europe is endangered, while in Iceland, the species’ most important nesting place, they are listed as critically endangered.

The horned puffin and the tufted puffin are two species that live on the west coast of the United States and across the North Pacific to Asia. These beautiful seabirds are considered safe at this time. They are officially classified as a “worry-free” species, despite declining numbers.

Atlantic Puffins Are a Vulnerable Species, One Step Closer to Endangerment

When Are Puffins Endangered?

Atlantic puffins were decimated along North American coasts by hunting and harvesting in the 19th century. Unsustainable collection has all but wiped them out of the Gulf of Maine, the only place in the contiguous United States where these colorful seabirds breed.

Atlantic puffins, which breed on islands off the southeast coast of Scotland and off England, declined rapidly in the mid-2000s. They have recovered somewhat, but their low numbers remain a major cause for concern.

What threat are puffins?

Atlantic puffins face many threats, as evidenced by their declining global population. Read on to learn more about the main reasons for its alarming population decline.

climate change

Rising ocean temperatures threaten the survival of Atlantic puffins. Higher sea surface temperatures can lead to damaging changes in ecosystems, affecting birds’ natural food supplies. The result is a lack of food near the nesting colony, which ultimately leads to starvation of the chicks. There have been documented cases of complete nesting failures where none of the birds in the flock were successful in raising chicks.

Oil Spills and Pollution

Oil spills at sea can be disastrous for many seabirds and animals, including puffins. Thousands of puffins have died after being covered in oil and losing the ability to fly and feed themselves and their chicks. The oil is poisonous and birds swallow it when trying to clean themselves.

Oil spills and pollution don’t just directly affect birds. Ocean pollution affects entire ecosystems, which means less food and less nesting success.

Oil spills aren’t just bad for puffins, they’re bad for entire ecosystems

Breeding Introduced Animals on the Island

Humans have introduced a variety of animals to islands where puffins nest. Rats, minks and foxes eat adults, chicks and their eggs. Accidental introductions have caused alarming declines and even local extinctions in some areas.

jamming and hunting

Humans have hunted and harvested Atlantic puffins in breeding colonies for thousands of years. While it may have had little impact in days gone by, birds are affected by many modern threats and hunting certainly doesn’t help.

Uncontrolled visits and tourism to the colony can also pose a risk to nesting puffins. These birds have been known to abandon their nests if disturbed.

Close up of a puffin perched on a rock on the Isle of Handa, Scotland

overfishing

Unsustainable fishing practices reduce the puffin’s food supply, which can be especially damaging to the success of breeding colonies. Birds can also get caught in nets and drown, although this threat is much less severe.

extreme weather

Puffins live and breed in parts of the world where extreme wind and freezing conditions are common. In some cases, adult birds have died due to their inability to hunt in prolonged high winds, while large numbers of chicks have been documented dying due to exposure to cold and wet conditions.

Atlantic puffins in the rain, Norway

How do humans affect puffins?

Puffins have been hunted and harvested for their meat, eggs and feathers for thousands of years. However, direct picking for local consumption is not the main reason for its decline. Commercial fishing practices, widespread pollution and rising global temperatures are causing their ecosystems to change and collapse, with immediate knock-on effects on the puffins.

What is the biggest threat to puffins?

Food shortages are the single biggest threat facing Atlantic puffins. Climate change and overfishing have led to dramatic declines in key prey species such as sand eels.

puffin full of sand eels

How can we help puffins?

Conservation issues often feel out of reach for ordinary people, but there is always something we can do to help.

We can support initiatives that actively work to protect Atlantic puffins, or look at our own footprint and reduce our use of energy, plastics, chemicals and unsustainable seafood.

How many puffins are left in the world?

Puffins nest in remote locations, but counting the breeding birds gave scientists a good idea of ​​their total numbers. Let’s take a look at the estimated population sizes of three puffin species in the world:

• atlantic puffin (Arctic cockroach) – an estimated 12 -14 million people
• horned puffin (Wenge) – an estimated 800,000 people
• tufted puffin (cockroach) – estimated 2.3 – 3.5 million people

horned puffin

tufted puffin

How rare is it to see a puffin?

Puffins nest in large colonies on islands and rocky shorelines. Visiting these areas during breeding season is almost guaranteed to see them. For the rest of the year, the birds disperse and hunt offshore on the open ocean, making them rarer and harder to spot.

Which country has the most puffins?

Atlantic puffins are found throughout the North Atlantic during winter, but Iceland becomes a global hotspot for the species during the breeding season. More than half of the world’s breeding birds visit the nesting grounds around the island each year.

Closeup of a puffin habitat in Iceland

Is it illegal to kill puffins?

Atlantic puffin hunting remains legal in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. However, it is illegal to kill these protected birds in the US and UK.

Atlantic puffins enjoy protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the US and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the UK.

common problem

Do Icelanders eat puffins?

Puffins are a traditional food source in Iceland and are even available in some restaurants today. Known locally as ‘Lundi’, the birds are a big draw for tourists to the island.

Are puffins extinct?

Puffins are not extinct. However, the Atlantic puffin is threatened and could become extinct if its continued decline is not checked. Such a tragedy would make them one of several species of seabirds that have become extinct in the past few hundred years.