Here the puffin arrives on the Norwegian coast – threatened by starvation

The puffin spends most of the winter at sea. It is only until spring that the pairs reunite, and they always use the same nest cavity as the previous year to breed.

However, the puffins can be aggressive and in the hunt for the nest conflicts often arise.

"Good nest cavities are in short supply and the will to defend is strong," says Henrik Ekman in "The Nature of the World: The Coast of Scandinavia".

At risk of starvation

In 2022, there were reports of waves of dead bird carcasses drifting into the Swedish west coast, including guillemots and puffins. Experts fear that a lack of food causes birds in the northern seas to starve and freeze to death.

The birds feed on schooling fish such as sprat. Fish, in turn, live on plankton, which is sensitive to increasing water temperatures.

"The Barents Sea has become one degree warmer – which doesn't sound like much, but it can have dramatic consequences. Access to food and entire ecosystems are changing, says biologist Tone Reiertsen.

Overfishing can also affect birds' limited access to food.

See The Nature of the World: The Coast of Scandinavia on SVT Play, or on 23/3 at 21.00 in SVT1.