Eye in the sky as petrel tagging reveals secret life of tiniest seabird
● Storm petrels were tagged and tracked in Shetland
The UK’ s smallest sea bird often flies up to 300km offshore to fish in the stormy waters around Shetland, new research has revealed.
The findings come from a ground-breaking study that used satellite tags to monitor the activities of storm petrels over a number of years.
Exp er ts say the data pro - vides a unique insight into the behaviour of the tiny seabirds, which are mainly active at night, and offers important lessons about how they might be protected.
An adult storm petrel is not much bigger than a sparrow and weighs just 25g to 30g – the same as three £1 coins.
Scotland and the UK area key stronghold for the amberlisted species, with around 2.5 per cent of the global population – almost 11,000 pairs – based on the isle of Mousa in Shetland.
Researchers built nest boxes on Mousa, a designated European Special Pro tection Area with storm petrels as a named feature, allowing them to easily capture, tag and release the birds.
GPS tags weighing less than 1g were fitted to the tail feathers of 42 individuals, which were then tracked over four breeding seasons.
Data showed foraging trips usually lasted from one to three days and ranged up to 300km from the nests.
However, one bird – which may have been blown off course in a storm – travelled almost 400km to the Norwegian coast and then stunned researchers by returning its nest in just 24 hours.
Paper author Mark Bolton said :“This was ambitious research and provides the most comprehensive insight into how these tiny birds use our vast marine environment to feed and raise their young.
“The new insights about their behaviour demonstrate the value of fundamental science as well as providing an amazing window into the travels of our smallest seabird.”
Head of marine policy at RSPB Scotland Alex Kinninmonth added :“Embracing this game-changing technology has allowed us to build a more complete picture of the lives of these elusive birds.
“Without it, any attempt to identify locations for conservation action or to assess the potential threats to the storm petrels from this important colony would have overlooked these key places.
“Scotland’ s sea birds are already in trouble and face an uncertain future, so expanding our knowledge of where they go at sea and why is vital to give them a fighting chance against ever-increasing human-made pressures.
“New findings such as these must be heeded by governments as they regulate activity at sea if we are to see a reversal of downward trends.”
Experts say the insights could help shape future work to safeguard the birds.
“Embracing this game-changing technology has allowed us to build a more complete picture of the lives of these elusive birds”
ALEX KINNINMONTH
Head of marine policy, RSPB Scotland