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Guillemot and razorbill deaths on the north coast and Northern Isles are among the many considerations of Scotland’s nature company after a summer time which noticed seabirds affected by avian flu.
Across Scotland, auks, gulls and terns had been most affected by the illness, with NatureScot receiving 1000’s of stories from numerous websites.
Between April 3 and October 1, a complete of 9610 lifeless and sick wild birds had been reported throughout Scotland, with the vast majority of stories coming from places alongside the east coast.
Following a quiet begin to spring, a sudden improve in mortalities started in June and reached a peak in mid-July when round 2300 sick and lifeless birds had been reported in a two-week interval.
The species with the best variety of reported mortalities had been guillemot (3519 birds) and kittiwake (3367) adopted by black-headed gull (834), herring gull (371), razorbill (368), widespread tern (304), Sandwich tern (231), Arctic tern (89) and different gulls (125). The remaining mortality sightings included 26 different species.
With many seabirds already experiencing a number of pressures and inhabitants declines, work is ongoing to evaluate the influence of avian flu and higher perceive why some species have been more durable hit than others.
Guillemots, kittiwakes and terns have skilled enormous losses at their breeding colonies this summer time, for instance. On Forvie National Nature Reserve alone, greater than 40 per cent of this yr’s Sandwich, widespread and Arctic tern chicks perished. A level of pure mortality is regular amongst tern chicks, however the scale and sudden nature of avian flu associated die-offs this previous summer time is uncommon, and mixed with the variety of grownup deaths reported, these losses are extraordinarily regarding for the restoration of those long-lived birds.
Another space of concern is a second spike in mortalities in guillemot and razorbill over the previous month, with carcasses washing up alongside east coast seashores and extra not too long ago on the north coast and Northern Isles. However, these deaths look to be attributable to different causes, with no guillemots or razorbills testing optimistic for HPAI since early August.
Interim autopsy outcomes of numerous guillemots and razorbills point out attainable hunger, however whether or not this was a secondary impact of another trigger just isn’t identified. Results from additional autopsy examinations might present extra data.
More positively, this summer time there have been only a few stories of mortalities in nice skua and gannet, two species which had been closely impacted by avian flu in summer time 2022. Gannets might have developed immunity to the virus following publicity final summer time, with analysis below solution to discover out extra, however it’s not but identified how long-lasting any such immunity is likely to be.
Populations are prone to take years to get better, with an estimated 20,000 seabirds perishing from avian flu in summer time 2022 along with the deaths this summer time.
RSPB Scotland has undertaken an enhanced programme of seabird monitoring this summer time. The outcomes will assist point out the extent of the influence on Scotland’s wild birds and are attributable to be revealed early subsequent yr. Early outcomes for excellent skua, one of many species badly affected final yr, present a drastic inhabitants decline of the breeding inhabitants at Hermaness NNR of 78 per cent.
Scotland’s Avian Flu Task Force is now making ready for wintering waterfowl, with mortality surveillance shifting from seabird colonies to areas with excessive numbers of wintering species similar to geese and swans. Last winter, there have been mass mortalities in Greenland barnacle geese on Islay, mute swans in central Scotland, and herring gulls within the Firth of Forth – however as we now have seen this summer time, the virus will be unpredictable, so vigilance for outbreaks in new species and places stays excessive.
Eileen Stuart, NatureScot’s deputy director of nature and local weather change, stated: “With very few great skua and gannet deaths this summer, we are hopeful that some wild birds are building immunity to HPAI. But other species, such as kittiwakes and terns that were impacted last year, have still been greatly affected this year. The research we and our partners in the task force are doing will help us better understand why this might be the case.
“Our collective focus now must be on ensuring we have positive measures in place to support the recovery of species impacted by the outbreak – species which are already facing many pressures on their survival.”
Claire Smith, RSPB senior coverage officer, added: “Bird flu is an additional threat to Scotland’s breeding seabirds on top of many other pressures and it was devastating to see thousands of dead birds again this year. Over 700 kittiwakes died at RSPB Fowlsheugh and surveys showed that gannet numbers at Troup Head were down by 35 per cent after being impacted by the virus in 2022.
“We will have a fuller picture of population impacts across Scotland later this year. This needs to be a wake-up call to step up the speed and scale of practical conservation actions to help our globally important seabird populations recover.”
