May I say how much I enjoyed reading Connie Sidles report of her adventures in Alaska and beyond - so far beyond I had to get out the Atlas. A wonderful trip and beautifully written. However the lack of murre chicks is disturbing - only a few days back I read that Puffins (and possibly other Auks) had had a disaster season in the north of the UK, due to a lack of their favourite food - sand eels. It was suggested that the reduced number of sand eels was likely to be yet another sign of global warming. I wonder what happens say next season - presumably the adult murres will return to their normal breeding sites and if they fail again, how long does it take for them to stop returning before a breeding site has been wiped out?
John Hillmer
j.hillmer at onetel.net.uk