Puffin numbers under threat from freak downpours

Experts blame freak storms for flooding burrows and causing 50% drop in number of fledged chicks in one of UK's key seabird colonies

Puffin numbers on one of Britain's most important seabird colonies may be hit by the terrible summer weather, wildlife experts have warned. Flooded burrows on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast have been blamed for a serious drop in the number of fledged puffin chicks this year.

Each year National Trust rangers monitor 100 burrows with eggs on the islands and last year found 92 birds had fledged, seen as a remarkable success. But this year only about 50 successfully fledged chicks, known as pufflings, were found in the 100 burrows checked.