How seabird flocks took a tern for the better...

‘Long-term decline’

SCOTLAND’S breeding seabird population has increased after more than 20 years of decline, according to a report.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said statistics showed a ‘slight increase’ in seabirds including Arctic terns, blacklegged kittiwakes, common terns, little terns, northern gannets and sandwich terns.

However, it said some birds would have perished in the ‘Beast from the East’ storm earlier this year, and the overall long-term picture for seabirds remains one of decline.

Nonetheless, the latest figures have been called ‘promising’, since the number of seabirds breeding around Scotland’s coasts has more than halved since 1986. Simon Foster, an SNH analyst, said: ‘We’re still a long way from reaching the high numbers of the 1980s and 1990s. It’s possible we may never see the same level as in the past, but it’s promising to see small increases instead of decreases over the last few years.

‘The number of chicks produced was higher than the average over the past three decades. As seabirds are longlived and don’t start breeding until they’re three or four years old, it’s still too early to say if these birds will return to bolster colonies.’

SNH’s annual seabirds study assesses breeding numbers and breeding success for 12 species, which have fallen by an average of 62 per cent from 1986.

Populations have been affected by factors such as food availability, climate, predation and pollution.