Seabirds nesting on the remote Farne Islands have been hit by heavy rain which has killed many of their young, the National Trust said.
Arctic terns, puffins, guillemots and shags, all suffered losses as chicks including pufflings, or baby puffins, were battered by nearly 127mm (5in) of rain in 24 hours on 13 June.
Five times as much rain fell on the islands, lying off the Northumberland coast, as happened during all of June last year. The month is the time when fledglings are at their most vulnerable.
Ground-nesting Arctic terns suffered their chicks being exposed to the elements, and puffins’ burrows were flooded.
It will take time to see if the rain has a significant impact on bird numbers in subsequent years but the National Trust warned that the climate emergency could be having an effect with more frequent summer storms.
Gwen Potter, countryside manager for the National Trust, said: “The significant rainfall sadly caused many ground-nesting Arctic tern chicks to perish due to exposure to the elements. We don’t know the full impact yet but estimate that tern numbers are likely to dip, by up to 35% this year.
“We also know that 300 pufflings perished on one of the islands. Puffins are ground-nesting birds and unfortunately their burrows flooded. We’re continuing to monitor the wildlife on the islands closely.
“The complex effects of a changing climate on nature are becoming increasingly frequent and difficult to solve. We are now seeing frequent summer storms washing out nests on the Farne Islands on a regular basis, and a decline in the numbers of surface feeding species such as terns.”
