Upsetting Tide

Further to yesterday's blip of auks close to shore, one of the casualties washed up on the beach this afternoon. I gather that tests on dead birds that have washed up recently have been negative for bird flu and the birds have been rather thin so it looks like it is a problem with not getting enough food. I wonder if it is the same story as last time when the warming North Sea forced the fish that the auks feed on to move deeper, into cooler water, moving them out of reach of the young auks who are more buoyant than their parents. The young birds move closer and closer to the shore in search of food meaning that any casualties are also more likely to wash up on our beaches rather than disappear in the middle of the sea.