Despite just one case of avian influenza (HPAI; chook flu) being detected in Shetland in 2023, the archipelago remains to be experiencing the affect of the lethal virus in 2022.
A census carried out in 2023 confirmed Great Skua numbers had been down by 85% on Noss and 78% at Hermaness compared with 2018.
Great Skua has been severely impacted by chook flu in Shetland (Carl Corbidge).
Northern Gannet numbers are down by 37% at Hermaness since a depend in 2021, and 10% on Noss since a 2019 census. However, just one gannet was recorded with chook flu in 2023.
Juan Brown of NatureScot mentioned: “Thankfully we didn’t see a repeat of the avian flu outbreaks of recent years in 2023, however our census demonstrates the toll the virus has taken on bonxie and gannet populations in Shetland.
“Scotland’s avian flu job power, led by NatureScot, is constant its work to evaluate and higher perceive the affect of avian flu and guarantee we have now constructive measures in place to help the restoration of species impacted by the outbreak.”
During the 2023 seabird census, 121 European Shag nests had been counted on Noss, the best island determine there since 1984.