Peter Stronach, an ecologist and wildlife photographer, couldn’t believe what he was witnessing as he went along the coastline of a Highland lake on a beautiful May evening. Male eider ducks, numerous species of gulls, a gannet, a puffin, and no fewer than 26 pink-footed geese, all of which should have been on their way […]
Tag: seabirds
Rare UK seabirds put at risk by ‘alarming loophole’, say campaigners
The government has given itself an “alarming loophole” to avoid protecting seabirds including puffins and gannets, a leaked document shows. Campaigners have accused ministers of “giving up” on the UK’s seabirds as they plan to apply for an exemption to a legal duty to protect the rare species. Each year the government sets itself targets […]
Cornish mackerel fishermen call for seal cull
Seals are “sea vermin” who should be killed, according to a group of Cornish fishermen. After fishers on an online marketplace and forum expressed outrage about the amount of fish seals eat, marine campaign groups retaliated. The Cornish Mackerel Fishermen association said on Facebook that “for every fish captured by our fisheries, seals devour 53 […]
Albatrosses can plunge up to 62ft underwater to pursue prey – more than twice as deep as previously thought, study reveals
New research by scientists from the University of Oxford, British Geological Survey, and Portugal’s Marine and Environmental Sciences Center shows that the black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) can dive to much greater depths (19 m, or 62 feet) and for much longer (52 seconds) than previously thought — three times the maxima previously recorded for this […]
‘Apocalyptic’: dead crabs litter beaches in north-east England
An investigation is under way into why thousands of dead crabs and lobsters are washing up on the Tees estuary and neighbouring north-east beaches in recent weeks. Countless crustaceans have been found, with Marske and Saltburn said to be experiencing particularly high numbers, and the first sightings reported in early October in Seaton Carew, Redcar […]
‘They’re territorial’: can birds and drones coexist?
Drone delivery company Wing has temporarily suspended deliveries to the Canberra suburb of Harrison after a nesting raven swooped a drone delivering coffee. It has ignited an interesting dichotomy: if such deliveries are the carbon-friendly future, can birds and drones coexist, or should action be taken to mitigate any ill-effects of drones on wildlife? Drones […]
Scientists investigate hundreds of guillemot deaths on UK coastline
Several hundred seabirds have been found dead along the coasts of north-east England and Scotland, while many have been discovered emaciated. The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), which is investigating the cause of the deaths, said the majority of the birds were guillemots. Bird carcasses have been found along the Scottish coastline and […]
Irish birds more endangered than ever, report finds
Irish birds are more endangered than ever before, with more than a quarter, or 54 species, now on the red list, according to a new report from BirdWatch Ireland. Two well-known seabirds added to the red list are the puffin and kittiwake and there are fears they may become extinct in the next 100 years, […]