Heritage Coast a draw for seabirds

Gannets, puffins and razorbills are among the hundreds of thousands of seabirds that make up what has been revealed as the largest mainland colony in the UK.

Figures from the latest survey of the Heritage Coast, stretching 17 miles from Bridlington to the north of Filey, show a big increase in the number of birds making the stretch of Yorkshire coastline their home – now totalling 412,000. The colony consists of 298,054 breeding seabirds, which fledge over 113,000 young.

But the pattern isn’t mirrored in other parts. Since 1982, the UK’S Seabird Population Indicator has declined by 22 per cent, with most of the decline over the last 10 years.

It is these varying fortunes that the RSPB says highlights the need for a National Seabird Census to understand changes and pinpoint conservation efforts.