07 Aug 2018

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.   […]

04 Jun 2018

Sumburgh Head lies at the southern tip of mainland Shetland. This dramatic 100-metre-high rocky spur 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. Or at least they used to – for this year Sumburgh […]

25 May 2018

Puffin numbers on the Farne Islands, Northumberland may have fallen by an average of 12 percent since the last census. Grim news for the struggling seabird according to early figures in the Natural Trust five-yearly census. Initial numbers suggest the population has fallen by up to 42 per cent on one of the islands – […]

22 Aug 2017

Britain’s seabird colonies face catastrophe as warming waters disrupt their food supply “For reasons that are not entirely clear – though they are almost certainly concerned with climate change. Our seabird colonies, especially those in northern Scotland, are withering away. At the same time, the government has displayed a complete dereliction of duty in failing […]

01 Aug 2017

Guardian article picks up on MCCIP report cards and other reports – lots of links: Squid and anchovies, more commonly eaten by Britons holidaying abroad, are being drawn into UK waters in large numbers by climate change, according to major new report that suggests the nation’s long-lost bluefin tuna is also returning. However, global warming […]

17 Jul 2017

Mystery of birds’ movements at sea solved Gareth Brede, Senior Media Officer    E-mail: gareth.brede@rspb.org.uk New research reveals unprecedented insights into where British and Irish breeding seabirds go when they’re not on land, providing critical information to inform future management of UK seas post-Brexit The five year project GPS-tracked over 1300 breeding seabirds of four species from […]

07 Nov 2016

Seabird Monitoring programme – Since 1986, 25 species of seabird that breed at colonies in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands have been monitored annually by the Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP). This work is co-ordinated by JNCC in partnership with 18 other organisations and hundreds of volunteers. Britain and Ireland Population Trends […]

03 May 2016

There are a number of worrying trends in the breeding success of northern seabirds, including puffins and kittiwakes that may well be linked to major changes in the marine food webs. Three articles highlighting the changes to northern seas and the impact on seabirds 1.  They are called seabirds for a reason – Adam Nicholson Save […]