The fortunes of seabirds around the UK at present are prompting different coverage. In two articles the worrying nature of sea bird populations off Shetland is highlighted whilst Defra announced new protection for Yorkshire’s seabird colonies. Changes to water temperature, plankton and sand eel populations are having very significant effects on different seabird colonies.
Eerie silence falls on Shetland cliffs that once echoed to seabirds’ cries
Climate change has caused a catastrophic drop in the numbers of terns, kittiwakes and puffins
Guardian Sumburgh Head lies at the southern tip of mainland Shetland. This dramatic 100-metre-high rocky spur, crowned with a lighthouse built by Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandfather, has a reputation for being one of the biggest and most accessible seabird colonies in Britain. Thousands of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars gather there every spring to breed, covering almost every square inch of rock or grass with teeming, screeching birds and their young. Or at least they used to – for this year Sumburgh Head is a quiet and largely deserted place. Where seabirds once swooped and cried in their thousands, only a handful of birds wheel round the cliffs. The silence is uncanny – the result of a crash in seabird numbers that has been in progress for several years but which has now reached an unprecedented, catastrophic low. One of the nation’s most important conservation centres has been denuded of its wildlife, a victim – according to scientists – of climate change, which has disrupted food chains in the North Sea and North Atlantic and left many seabirds without a source of sustenance. The result has been an apocalyptic drop in numbers of Arctic terns, kittiwakes and many other birds. Click here to read more
New protections for thousands of seabirds
In National Marine Week, the Government has confirmed new protections for puffins and other seabirds. England’s largest seabird colony will soon benefit from stronger protection as Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey confirms the Flamborough Head and Filey Coast Special Protection Area (SPA) will be extended by over 7,600 hectares. This protected area of Yorkshire coastline already provides a safe haven for breeding seabirds including gannets, razorbills and the iconic puffin. Now, a quarter of a million breeding seabirds – including almost 2,000 puffins – will be better protected and given a safe space for feeding and foraging. The announcement comes during National Marine Week, which celebrates the UK’s rich marine life and habitats, and ongoing efforts to protect these for future generations. Natural England has also launched a consultation to extend the nearby Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast SPA by nearly 10,000 hectares, which if designated, will help protect populations of breeding little terns and common terns.
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