Puffin numbers in the north-east of England are making a comeback. A census on the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, showed there had been an 8% increase from the last count in 2008.
Almost 40,000 pairs of puffins are now nesting across the eight islands owned by the National Trust.
The BBC reports that 55,674 were living there in 2003.
Dozens of seabirds were washed up along the coast of north-east England and Scotland in March. Weather conditions and a shortage of food were blamed.
A team of 11 rangers has been checking thousands of burrows on the Farne Islands since May.
As well as puffins, the islands have many types of bird, including Arctic terns, guillemots and razorbills.
