Clever puffins have been saving up half their energy surfing the waves to hunt for food, researchers found.
The birds have been observed adapting their behaviour to use strong tidal currents in the Irish Sea to scour for fish.
It means they are saving wingfuls of energy by not flying from one patch of food to the next.
The remarkable study by the Centre For Marine And Renewable Energy in Cork, used GPS trackers to show:
- Rather than flying, the canny birds are using strong currents off the south east coast to move them between patches of fish at sea
- They are saving between 28% to 46% of their usual energy and,
Novel ways of how animals search for food may be more prevalent than previously thought.
The study, which began in June 2017 and also involved the SFI Research Centre For Energy, Climate And Marine and the Zoological Society Of London, took two years, tracking puffins from Little Saltee in Wexford.
The study’s lead author Ashley Bennison said: “If an animal can find a way of doing something easier, they’re going to take that option. Our puffins have completely dispensed with the need to fly between patches of food, instead using strong tidal currents in the Irish Sea to move them between patches of fish at sea.
“We have long suspected that animals are able to adapt their foraging behaviour to the local environment and this is an excellent example of how animals can surprise us with their ingenuity.
“They’re really not very good fliers and are rated as one of the worst in the bird world.”
Mr Bennison said some of the animals were seen sitting on the water for up to 24 hours, saving huge amounts of energy they would ordinarily use looking for food.
ZSL’s senior conservation programme manager, Alison Debney added: “Puffins are listed as an endangered species in Europe and we really don’t know enough about them.
“This is the first time anyone has GPS tracked puffins in Ireland.
“This saving is considerable and it is easy to see how this behaviour is advantageous, but it is unclear exactly how the behaviour spread through the local population, whether through social cues or individuals learning independently.”
