dead puffins

**south view 7** · 02-Oct-06, 10:35

Found four dead young puffins on shore at south head Wick yesterday,there crops were empty and one was rung,(sent to british museum for i.d.)Is this global warming or man"s greed?.....http://img246.imageshack.us/php?image=puffinay7.jpg][img]

**kas** · 02-Oct-06, 12:32

Seabird also came across dead puffins at Lybster last week, and I saw a (living)puffin close to shore last week as well. So its not just the Guillemots and Razorbills that are starving to death.
Ver, Very sad.

**moncur** · 02-Oct-06, 13:48

My brother and his friend found one alive on dunnet beach on saturday while walking their dogs. Don't know too much but the puffin was struggling to move so the SSPCA took it away. not sure what happened after that.

**Gleber2** · 02-Oct-06, 15:01

Fewer puffins this year than any of the fourteen years I have lived at Dunnet Head.

**kas** · 02-Oct-06, 15:04

Sent a quick email to the RSPB now that I have heard of a few dead puffins.

Here is the very quick reply.

It is particularly worrying that puffins are getting caught up in the food shortages because they are thought to winter much further offshore than guillemots and razorbills. Guillemots and razorbills are sometimes washed up in large numbers after a severe storm later in the winter but puffins rarely feature in these 'wrecks'.

Cheers
Kas.

It will be interesting to see how many dead birds are washed ashore in the next storm.

**Tugmistress** · 02-Oct-06, 19:57

Well i reckon there will be another washed up puffin somewhere in the morning

when i was walking up the new pier tonight as the ferry was coming in, there was a puffin that didn't look right in the harbour basin between the old and new piers. seemed to be very weak, couldn't dive for more than a few seconds and kept letting blooming great loads of bubbles up when it did dive.

**kas** · 02-Oct-06, 21:51

Originally Posted by Tugmistress

Well i reckon there will be another washed up puffin somewhere in the morning

when i was walking up the new pier tonight as the ferry was coming in, there was a puffin that didn't look right in the harbour basin between the old and new piers. seemed to be very weak, couldn't dive for more than a few seconds and kept letting blooming great loads of bubbles up when it did dive.

Not forgetting the 2 dead you saw on Sandside yesterday. I learnt that after posting on here.

**Seabird** · 02-Oct-06, 22:27

It would be interesting to know if the Puffins that are turning up are this years
chicks or adult birds.
Chicks for those that dont know have black bills with very little colour.
Of the 3 i found the other day 1 was an adult.
I think it was said on one of Kas previous posts, puffins should be miles out at sea at this time of year.
Any found close to shore i'm sorry to say are weak and dying.
The big concern is if adults that have lots of experiance at fishing for food are dying then the chicks stand very little chance if food shortage is the problem.
The other point is that failure of the chicks to survive wont have any inpact for several years.
The old birds will continue to die but there will be no young birds to replace them
Puffins live for about 29 years, and dont start breeding until they are 5.
So it will be 5 years before we know the full extent of the damage.
Very depressing future i fear.
Colin

**Tugmistress** · 02-Oct-06, 22:30

of the two on sandside, one had a very vividly coloured beak, that was really fresh, the other was half skeletal and faded beak, so don't know if young or old going by the state of the rest of the body. The one in the harbour here tonight was definatley an older bird then as the beak was again very bright.

**Kenn** · 02-Oct-06, 22:51

Having heard so much about the plight of the sea birds around The Western Isles and now it seems along the north coast too does any one know who is monitoring the situation?
RSPB, SPCA, SWT or any other bodies that are in those areas?
Any one any information on what is happening on Orkney and Shetland?
I will be following this with much sadness but interest too.

**Seabird** · 03-Oct-06, 18:26

Originally Posted by LIZZ

Having heard so much about the plight of the sea birds around The Western Isles and now it seems along the north coast too does any one know who is monitoring the situation?
RSPB, SPCA, SWT or any other bodies that are in those areas?
Any one any information on what is happening on Orkney and Shetland?
I will be following this with much sadness but interest too.

Try this link lizz
http://www.rspb.org.uk/action/guillemots.asp

Colin

**Kenn** · 03-Oct-06, 18:44

Ty for the information Seabird have just e mailed The RSPB about whether we can put pressure on The Danes to stop the commercial exploitation of sand eels.
If the wild bird colonies of the north are decimated along with that will go the eco-tourists which in turn will impact on the whole economy.
I man's greed is another's sorrow.

**Seabird** · 03-Oct-06, 18:46

I think this article just about sums up the sea bird problem around the Scottish coast
http://www.rspb.org.uk/scotland/acti...strousyear.asp

**Kenn** · 03-Oct-06, 18:55

Yes I took advantage and read several of the reports on the site.
Now about to go e mail any one that I can think of who might be able to get some thing done...see also the thread on the main message board.

**pultneytooner** · 03-Oct-06, 22:47

Until now their deaths have defied explanation. What caused hundreds of seemingly healthy seabirds to perish on the North Sea has baffled scientists since the discovery of their corpses on the Norfolk coastline this spring. Fears of a major pollution incident such as an oil slick were quickly dispelled.

But now the mystery is close to being solved and the answer has stunned ornithologists: the North Sea is heating up at an alarming rate. The broody expanse of water, famous for its violent storms and freak waves, is slowly being transformed.

Found this article about possible causes for the deaths of seabirds: News Link

**kas** · 04-Oct-06, 17:00

See here for a similair thread.

http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?t=15381

**Kenn** · 21-Oct-06, 22:21

Got a response from my MEP today..now would you believe he is on the committee that deals with the protection of animals, wildlife etc. He has raised the matter and will come back to me as and when he has anything to report.
No response from DEFRA yet although have had an acknowledgement.
RSPB doing a grand job.

**kas** · 21-Oct-06, 22:55

Great news, Well done.( I cant give you rep either, as I have to spread some around. LOL)

**canuck** · 22-Oct-06, 00:18

Originally Posted by LIZZ

Got a response from my MEP today..now would you believe he is on the committee that deals with the protection of animals, wildlife etc. He has raised the matter and will come back to me as and when he has anything to report.
No response from DEFRA yet although have had an acknowledgement.
RSPB doing a grand job.

Another great example of just how well connected and potentially influencial the org community is. Good work Lizz.

**JAWS** · 22-Oct-06, 06:06

Agreed, well done LIZZ.

I suspect that blaming Global Warming might just be used as a convenient way to avoid making waves. (Pardon the pun but I can't be bothered to look for any other suitable phrase).

I'm no expert on seabirds, or fishing so somebody I'm sure will kind enough to put me right.
Quite a few years ago, before I had fully settled in Caithness, I seem to remember some mention amongst the locals that a method of fishing was being used by large fishing vessels from elsewhere which involved dragging a large beam across the seabed, raking it up in order to take fish, sand eels included, and leaving the seabed like a desert which would only recover after years if ever at all.

I remember a tendency in certain parts of Scotland to fly Canadian Flags because fishing vessels from the same place had descended on Canadian Waters intent on using the same method and that the Canadians blocked their attempts.
I believe they have now put pressure on the North African Countries to let them move into their water.

Whilst it may be easy to shrug and blame Global Warming I wonder if the problem had already been caused by people who sailed in, fished out and moved on because it didn't matter what they left behind.

As I said at the start, I might be totally off track, but it's something that crosses my mind as a possible cause.