Rare bird ducks risk to species
THE Royal Family famously never travel on the same plane to ensure the survival of the monarchy in the event of a disaster.
Now scientists say Britain’s most endangered duck employs a similar tactic by splitting up when it comes to their migration.
Despite its name, the common scoter is down to just 40 breeding pairs in the UK – mostly in the Highlands.
Researchers who tagged four birds nesting in the same loch found that they flew to different winter l ocations i n Scotland, Ireland and Morocco. A spokesman for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust said: ‘The fact they stay apart in winter is a bit like the Royal Family never flying together – it means they can’t all be affected by a single issue such as a storm or oil spill.’
The discovery is useful in the trust’s attempts to establish what is behind the falling population in Britain as the scoter is thriving elsewhere.
The spokesman said: ‘Whatever is causing their decline is more likely to be in the summer when t hey’re al l t ogether in t he Highlands.’
The common scoter, which has distinctive black plumage, remains one of the few British bird species about which little is known.
Their nests are well hidden on the ground – often amid bracken and heather – and thinly spread across r e mo t e Highland environments.
The mysterious birds spend their winter bobbing about on the sea, adding to the difficulty in locating them.
A sub-arctic species, they have become increasingly rare in the British Isles although there is a large population in Latvia.