Annual seabird survey sees corpse numbers double

RSPB Orkney’s annual beached bird survey has shown a dramatic increase in the number of seabird corpses recorded in 2013/14.

Although numbers had been dropped in previous years, the figure almost doubled to 1,015 in 2013/14, compared to 522 in 2012/13.

This, said the RSPB, was almost entirely the result of a “wreck” of auks (guillemots, razorbills and puffins) in February 2014 and that, as usual, was most conspicuous in the north-east sector of Scapa Flow and especially on Scapa Beach itself.

Guillemot was, once again, the commonest corpse reported but the wreck pushed its total up to 318 compared to 106 in the previous year. Fulmar was again in second place with 123 corpses, Shags third with 113 and Razorbill fourth with 74. The Puffin total, at 41, was noticeably high, especially for a bird that winters well out at sea out of sight of land.

As in previous mortality incidents of this kind, the auk wreck of February 2014 was not connected in any way to oil pollution. Rather, it appeared to again be due to a combination of stormy weather and lack of food.

Only two instances of oil birds were recorded.

The annual survey was started in 1976 to monitor the effects of the North Sea oil industry on Orkney’s seabirds while, at the same time, to detect other types of mortality that may be occurring amongst these birds.