Record-breaking number of puffins counted on remote UK island

Emily BeamentWed, April 22, 2026 at 10:48 AM UTC

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Skomer Island has recorded an unprecedented number of puffins this year, offering a significant boost for the vulnerable species.

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW) confirmed 52,019 puffins during their annual count off the Pembrokeshire coast, eclipsing last year's record of 43,626.

This surge is particularly encouraging for a species designated "vulnerable" to global extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and red-listed in the UK due to conservation concerns.

The annual census on the crucial Welsh sanctuary for seabirds sees conservationists on a calm, clear spring evening, using binoculars and notepads to count every puffin on land, in the sky, and at sea.

The timing is critical: after their return but before they settle into burrows to lay eggs, where they would be hidden.

This consistent method, used by wardens since the 1980s, ensures data comparability across more than 40 years, providing vital long-term insights into the population.

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The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales (WTSWW) said it had recorded 52,019 puffins in this year’s count on the island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, beating the previous record of 43,626 set last year (PA)

Leighton Newman, Skomer Island warden for the wildlife trust, said that after numbers of seabirds washed up on beaches across southern Europe earlier this year, the team had not expected a count as high as the one they had found.

“It’s a very pleasant surprise to see the puffin population thriving,” he said.

“Puffin numbers are declining at many sites around the UK, but Skomer bucks the trend – and it’s thanks to long-term monitoring work that we know this.

“It’s special that Skomer is a refuge for so many seabirds, and it’s a privilege to be able to work to protect them, but we want to see seabird populations thriving across the UK.”

WTSWW said the increase in the puffin population on the island was likely due to an abundance of food in the area, with plenty of fish for chicks leading to high breeding success and helping good numbers of adults survive over winter.

Skomer’s bird populations, which also include guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars that breed on the cliffs around the island, also benefit from the absence of rats and other predators that pose a threat to seabirds nesting on other UK islands where they are not naturally found but have been introduced.

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Source: “AOL Breaking”