RSPB warning over seabird colonies

The conservation charity said early reports of breeding performance of internationally-important populations of seabirds at its coastal reserves indicated continuing problems.

The RSPB said annual breeding failures were probably linked to the impacts of climate change on the birds' food sources, with fewer fish available for them to eat.

As a result cliffs which should be teeming with thousands of birds were empty and nests abandoned, the RSPB said.

While there are mixed fortunes for different seabird species in different places, some are experiencing serious population declines, the charity said.

At Sumburgh Head, Shetland, many guillemots and razorbills appeared to have given up any attempt to breed, abandoning their eggs to feed, while at Copinsay, Orkney, the kittiwake population has tumbled from at least 10,000 in the 1980s to 2,000 this year. And at Ramsey, Wales, the decline of kittiwakes over the past seven years continued and guillemot numbers appeared to be down on last year.

But at St Bees Head, Cumbria, counts for fulmar and kittiwake were up on the average of the previous five years, while guillemot numbers were also holding up.

Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director, said the poor breeding performance of internationally important seabird colonies was now an "annual theme".

He said the declines were being driven by changes to the availability of plankton, as a result of climate change, which had a knock-on impact on the numbers of sandeels, sprats and other small fish. As a result adult birds which feed on the fish were finding it harder to find food and spending longer away from their eggs and chicks, with many giving up on their breeding attempts.

Dr Avery said: "These changes are almost certainly being driven by changes in the sea environment that we still know little about. Seabirds are indicators of the health of the marine environment and, like the canary in the coalmine, the decline in their fortunes is a wake-up call that we must heed."