The puffin spends most of the winter at sea. It is only in the spring that the pairs are reunited, and they always use the same nest hole as the previous year to breed.
However, the puffins can be aggressive and conflicts often arise in the hunt for the nest.
– Good dens are in short supply and the will to defend is strong, says Henrik Ekman in “The nature of the world: the coast of Scandinavia”.
Risk of starvation
In 2022 it was reported on waves of dead bird carcasses that drifted onto the Swedish west coast, including herring pigs and puffins. Experts fear that a lack of food is causing birds in the northern seas to starve and freeze to death.
The birds feed on schooling fish such as sprats. The fish, in turn, live on plankton, which is sensitive to increasing water temperatures.
– The Barents Sea has become a degree warmer – which doesn’t sound like much, but it can have dramatic consequences. The availability of food and entire ecosystems are changing, says biologist Tone Reiertsen.
Overfishing can also affect the birds’ limited access to food.
Se Nature of the world: Scandinavia’s coast on SVT Playor on 23/3 at 21.00 in SVT1.
