Ocean Sentry
(From express.co.uk)- Kittiwakes, Arctic terns and Arctic skuas raised virtually no young in some of their top strongholds this summer. Other birds hit include guillemots and puffins. Breeding failures in recent years have left cliffs once teeming with birds all but empty. The RSPB said their food supply – primarily sandeels – may have been affected by climate change.
It suspects warmer winter sea temperatures – despite Britain’s current Arctic spell – are hitting the survival of their larvae. There have also been “significant declines” in Atlantic plankton which have knock-on effects for the food chain.
The crisis is of global significance because Britain is internationally important for seabirds. Scotland alone is home to more than three million – 45 per cent – of the EU’s nesting seabird population.
“Our reserves are an indicator of the wider fortunes of seabirds around our coasts.”
“The outlook for some species such as Arctic skua, kittiwake and Arctic tern is dire, and there are problems with others like guillemots and puffins in some areas too.
He called on the Government to put protecting the environment at the heart of forthcoming marine legislation. Among serious declines recorded by the RSPB are kittiwake colonies on Orkney where numbers have plummeted by up to 89 per cent. On the Mull of Galloway the population of kittiwakes has halved in just three years to 65 pairs. Arctic skuas – pirate birds which rob seagulls and puffins of food – have declined by 30 per cent on Orkney and Shetland.
(By John Ingham)
