Puffins lose ability to fly for up to two months each year, exposing them to winter storms

The timing and location of the flightless moult of puffins has long been a mystery to scientists, only occurring when puffins are far from land and out of sight.

Puffins lose their ability to fly for up to two months each year, new research has found, which is twice as long as what was previously thought and leaves them vulnerable to winter storms.

The research, conducted by a team at at University College Cork (UCC) has discovered that the seabirds - which are in decline - lose the ability to fly after moulting their feathers and are bound to the water surface. Moulting is where puffins shed and regrow their feathers after they lose their shape overtime.