3 huge problems faced by Britain's seabirds

You may think being a seabird looks like a laugh. Sitting on the cliffs, cackling away, occasionally flying off to pluck a fish from the sea and appearing on Springwatch.

Well it’s not. A study by the National Trust into the seabird sites along the stretches of coastline that it cares for (some 742 miles) revealed that seabirds are being hit by a triple whammy of extreme weather, predators and disturbance by humans.

1. Extreme weather

Storms can leave birds injured and stranded on beaches – like this guillemot (Bob Edme/AP)

You may have noticed the weather has been getting more bonkers of late. Seabirds were really badly affected by the winter storms in the past year and the heavy rains that washed out the summer of 2012. This is all expected to become more frequent and intense as the climate warms.

The storms this winter hit the Trust’s Blakeney National Nature Reserve in Norfolk, where severe storm surges changed the beach profile and forced more than half the little terns there to nest in low areas.

The nests then flooded in the high tides that followed in mid-June, leading to a very poor breeding season with just 10 chicks fledging from 108 breeding pairs.

Little terns in Long Nanny in Northumberland have faced a similar threat, the Trust said. Little tern and chicks on Great Yarmouth beach (RSPB)

Atlantic puffins are also threatened by extreme weather, with the wet, windy summer in 2012 hitting the population of the charismatic bird on the Farne Islands.

Heavy flooding of the puffin burrows during the summer meant that one of the islands failed to produce any chicks, despite being home to 12,000 of the islands’ 40,000 strong puffin population.

The puffin colony recovered and is the second largest in the UK, but it faces a challenging future, the Trust said.

2. Predators

A mink with seabirds on its mind (Darin Smith/PA)

Predators are a major problem for seabirds. The top culprits are foxes, rats and mink – an invasive species which isn’t even native to Britain.

In 2001, Manx shearwaters on Lundy Island, Devon, were virtually unable to breed because of predation from rats. But a project to eradicate the predators saw the birds make a spectacular recovery. A rescued Manx Shearwater (Ben Birchall/PA)

The Trust said that the removal of predators was now a priority, and regular monitoring will help to detect issues early.

3. Humans (and their dogs)

(Stephen Lawrence/PA)

The third most common risk facing breeding seabirds was disturbance by humans. The worst for this are walkers,  and particularly their dogs.

If nests are disturbed, seabirds can be displaced. This leaves their young vulnerable to predators, or makes the birds stressed, which affects their wellbeing.

The National Trust is urging walkers and visitors to be aware of their potential impact on nesting seabirds during the breeding season.