Nothing could have prepared members of the National Trust for what they found when they went to investigate a massive arctic tern colony on the coast of Northumberland. More than 600 dead chicks were recovered from the site at Long Nanny. Researchers are worried that this mass die-off was caused by the bird flu, which […]
Tag: Arctic Tern
Avian flu may have killed millions of birds globally as outbreak ravages South America
Millions of wild birds may have died from bird flu globally in the latest outbreak, researchers have said, as the viral disease ravages South America, with 200,000 deaths recorded in Peru alone. The highly infectious variant of H5N1, which gained momentum in the winter of 2021, caused Europe’s worst bird flu outbreak before spreading globally. […]
Arctic terns may navigate climate dangers
Arctic terns—which fly on the longest migrations of any animal on Earth—may be able to navigate the dangers posed by climate change, new research suggests. The birds live in near-perpetual daylight, breeding in the north of our planet and flying to Antarctica for the Southern Hemisphere summer, covering enough distance in their lifetime to travel […]
Puffin nesting sites in western Europe could be lost by end of century
The majority of puffin nesting sites in western Europe are likely to be lost by the end of the century due to climate breakdown, a report has warned. Other seabirds will also be affected unless urgent action to limit global heating is taken, with razorbills and arctic terns forecast to lose 80% and 87% of […]
A Visit to a Remote Maine Island Finds Puffins and Terns Are Having a Good Year Despite Climate Change
The title of supervisory wildlife biologist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service does little justice to Linda Welch (pictured above). In practice, she is the housing and unusual development secretary for seabirds on Maine’s Petit Manan Island. This was clear as she led me to nesting areas there for Atlantic puffins. Over the […]
Birdwatch: colonies hit by avian flu on Farne Islands sound warning
Britain’s seabird colonies are, in the words of the veteran conservationist Roy Dennis, “our Serengeti”. Few other places on the planet make such an assault on the senses: the sight, sound and smell of tens of thousands of birds, gathered together each summer to breed. Of all our seabird sites, none is more special than […]
We Saved the Puffins. Now a Warming Planet Is Unraveling That Work
I stepped onto the battlefield of climate change, sidestepping carcass after carcass. In the grass were the remains of Arctic terns, common terns, and roseate terns. Along the boulders, researchers pointed out dead puffin chicks. As other climate war zones smolder with wildfire embers, are strewn with flattened homes, or marked by bleached coral, the […]
Seabirds nest in new spots on Farne Islands as Covid keeps people away
It is not just humans who have changed their habits as a result of the pandemic. On the Farne Islands in north-east England, seabirds have used Covid as an opportunity to try out new nesting spots while rangers and tourists stayed away. While the absence of people has been a boon for some species, it […]