'Thousands of puffins may be dead' in North Sea storms
Scientists fear thousands of puffins may have died of starvation, due to severe weather conditions in the North Sea.
Hundreds of dead birds have already been washed ashore along the east coast, in an area stretching from Aberdeenshire to Northumberland.
It is thought the birds may have been unable to feed due to storms at sea.
The death of such large numbers of seabirds in a single incident is known as a "wreck".
Experts at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said it is more than 60 years since since such a large puffin wreck was recorded.
RSPB Scotland said it had received many reports of puffins, as well as razorbills and guillemots, washing up on beaches.
A spokesman added: "We are fast approaching the start of the seabird breeding season, where tens of thousands of seabirds return to their colonies to raise their young.
"The recent events could have an impact on the success of this year's puffin breeding season, a species already suffering population declines."'Extremely distressing'
Tom Brock from the Scottish Seabird Centre, said: "The discovery of hundreds of seabird corpses including puffins, guillemots and razorbills along the length of the east coast, reportedly from Aberdeen down to Eyemouth and Northumberland is extremely distressing and is a major concern.
"While the reasons behind this are not entirely clear, the extreme weather conditions that we have witnessed over the past few weeks are undoubtedly a contributing factor.
"Many seabirds including puffins have been suffering significant population falls in many parts of Scotland in recent years and it is thought that this may be related to food shortages which could be a result of climate change and changing sea temperatures."
Mr Brock said weak and hungry birds were "particularly at risk" during the recent extreme weather.
He added: "We will continue to monitor the current situation closely as it develops, but clearly the significant loss of seabirds just ahead of the crucial breeding season is a major cause for concern - not least given that Scotland is of international importance for its seabirds and is home to over 45% of Europe's seabirds."