Most of us have forgotten the incessant storms of last winter, but seabird enthusiasts will remember the thousands of seabirds washed up dead onto beaches in France, Wales and England.
It will be several years before the population effects will be known, because the birds killed may not yet have been old enough to breed.
However, early counts on Skokholm in Pembrokeshire indicate lower numbers of Razorbills, with Guillemots also down.
Wardens at North Wales Wildlife Trust’s Cemlyn reserve were also counting nesting seabirds at the weekend.
They found 2,567 pairs of Sandwich Terns, a 19% increase at Wales’ only colony. These birds were in west Africa when the Atlantic storms hit Europe.
The survey also found 73 Common Tern, 36 Arctic Tern and 370 Black-headed Gull nests, and a single Roseate Tern.
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