{"id":431920,"date":"2026-02-18T07:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T07:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/431920\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T07:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T07:58:08","slug":"extraordinary-34-year-old-puffin-dies-after-washing-up-on-scottish-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/431920\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Extraordinary’ 34-year-old puffin dies after washing up on Scottish beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The seabird was found at Balmedie in Aberdeenshire on January 29 and was taken to New Arc Wildlife<\/a> Rescue in Ellon, where it later passed away.\n<\/p>\n

\n Rescuers noticed the puffin had a ring on its feet, issued by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), a charity which focuses on the study of birds.\n<\/p>\n

\n The puffin was first ringed in 1995, making it at least 34 years old (Image: New Arc WIldlife Rescue)\n<\/p>\n

\n They informed the BTO of the bird’s passing, enabling the organisation to update its records.\n<\/p>\n

\n From this, rescuers learned that the puffin was first ringed on the Isle of May in 1995, where it was estimated to be at least three years old.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE: Are people in the south of Scotland getting their human rights met? Watchdog to probe<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n This means that it was at least 34 years old when it was rescued, making it the oldest Atlantic puffin ever admitted into the care of New Arc Wildlife Rescue.\n<\/p>\n

\n In a post on Facebook, the wildlife centre shared: “Despite our best efforts, this resilient seabird, like so many others affected by the wreck, was too weak to recover and passed away in our care.\n<\/p>\n

\n “While we could not return them to the sea, we are honoured to have cared for such an extraordinary individual in their final chapter. Over more than three decades, this puffin would have weathered countless storms, shifting oceans, and changing seas.”\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n The post added: “Their story is a powerful reminder that no bird is ‘just a bird’. Each one carries a lifetime of journeys we rarely see and stories we may never fully know.\n<\/p>\n

\n “These remarkable creatures are true wonders of the natural world, and they deserve our respect, compassion, and continued commitment to their protection.”\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE: People who have ‘quite a few children’ could be given tax breaks, says Nigel Farage<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n New Arc Wildlife Rescue said a “significant puffin wreck” has been unfolding across the Scottish coastline in recent weeks, which is thought to be caused by a prolonged period of severe weather.\n<\/p>\n

\n While official figures are still being compiled, it is likely that there has been a “serious impact” on the European population of the Atlantic puffin, with dead and exhausted birds washing up along much of the UK’s coast and as far south as France, Spain and Portugal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The seabird was found at Balmedie in Aberdeenshire on January 29 and was taken to New Arc Wildlife…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":["post-431920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}