Why did this seabird die at Wick riverside?
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A dead seabird is not a particularly unusual sight along the Caithness coastline but when one is found by a freshwater river then questions must be asked.
Unprecedented numbers of dead guillemots and other seabirds have been found around the far north coastline including dozens around Dunnet beach and the one pictured here at the side of Wick river close to the caravan site last weekend.
On seeing the pictures, local birder and retired BTO bird ringer, Keith Banks, said: "The guillemot you found was almost certainly a victim of malnutrition. There are likely to be several environmental issues involved. However, the main driver is likely to be the consequences of climate change impacting upon the guillemot's prey; small fish and molluscs [along with] worms and crustaceans.
"The scarcity of food offshore probably explains why the guillemot was desperately seeking an alternative source of food near the coast and the tidal stretch of the Wick River, before it eventually succumbed to malnutrition."
He added that "hundreds of guillemots" have been found along the coastlines of Scotland and England in recent weeks. The cause or causes are currently under investigation by ecological and environmental authorities.
One such authority is Dr Alex Bond, senior curator in charge of birds at the Natural History Museum in London, who was also sent the images from Wick riverside.
"Guillemots are found along the UK coastline, and particularly in Caithness, so finding one in Wick isn’t that surprising," said Dr Bond.
"What is quite different, though, is that it was in freshwater. Guillemots and their relatives – like puffins, razorbills, and tysties – live in salt water. Why this particular bird died, I’m not sure, but it was somewhere quite unusual."
Dr Bond said that a scarcity of sandeels, a primary foodsource for the birds, could have been brought about through global warming and overfishing. "Both, ultimately, could be the cause. Guillemots in the UK eat sandeels, and warming oceans mean the fish are shifting their distributions and depths, as well as timings for when they spawn.
"This can sometimes mean it doesn’t match with when seabirds’ energetic needs are greatest, when they are feeding chicks or recently fledged."
Overfishing by Scandinavian boats in UK waters also threatens the puffin, according to wildlife conservation groups. Under EU quota arrangements that have continued through Brexit, fishing boats from abroad have an almost exclusive access to sandeel fishing off the UK coast.
Algal blooms brought about by global warming could be another factor, says Dr Bond. "Seeing guillemots in strange places suggests it could be related to a hunt for food, but it could also be to do with algal blooms, or toxins more generally, causing strange behaviour in these birds."
Mass deaths of guillemots, known as "wrecks", are not unusual in the winter months during bad weather. "The fact we're seeing lots of them in unusual places suggests this wreck is something quite different."
Dr Bond highlighted Caithness as a particularly significant area for seabirds with coastal stretches being home to "tens or even hundreds of thousands of guillemots".
"This issue has been going on for some weeks so it's a serious problem," he added.
If you find a dead seabird in an unusual location please wear gloves when handling it and, if possible, send details to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Edinburgh which is conducting a study of the issue: www.ceh.ac.uk/form/general-contact-us
A special Seabird Monitoring Programme that collects data regionally and nationally to aid in conservation can be found at: app.bto.org/seabirds/public/index.jsp
