Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Thousands of seabirds dead amid ‘completely unprecedented’ bird flu disaster

A dead gannet washed up on the shores of Shetland.
A dead gannet washed up on the shores of Shetland. Photograph provided by RSPB Scotland

Scotland’s globally important seabird populations are facing a “completely unprecedented” bird flu disaster with thousands of reported deaths.

There have been widespread deaths of important species like terns, guillemots, gannets and great skuas (known as bonxies) all across the coastlines of Scotland amid outbreaks of the disease called Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) among wild birds.

Reports of mass deaths in populations in Shetland, the Fair Isle, Orkney, the Western Isles and even the remote St Kilda have all caused major concern for conservationists.

Key colonies of gannets have been hit particularly bad at Troup Head near Pennan in Aberdeenshire, and at Noss in Shetland.

But the impact isn’t just hidden away along remote coastal cliffs — beach walkers all across the north, north-east and islands have frequently been coming across the tragic sight of dead or dying seabirds.

Ongoing wave of bird flu deaths is ‘unknown territory’

A dead great skua, or bonxie, in Shetland.
A dead great skua, or bonxie, in Shetland. Photograph by RSPB Scotland

Paul Walton, the head of species and habitats for RSPB Scotland, said: “Avian influenza circulates in wild birds quite naturally, and has done for millennia, but what we are facing now is completely unprecedented.

“In the mid-noughties there was a new variety of avian influenza called HPAI which is much, much more lethal to birds than the normal form.

“It was spread by the movement of poultry and passed secondarily into wild birds.

“We had a number of cases over recent years, but in winter 2021/22 we started having these major die-offs that have had population-level impacts.

“We are in unknown territory right now.”

Why are seabird populations so vulnerable to impact of bird flu?

A gannet colony at Troup Head.
A gannet colony at Troup Head. Photograph by Ian Francis

Paul explained that because many seabirds are long-lived, they have a “naturally slow breeding rate” and produce fewer chicks than some other types of birds.

“And when adults start dying, they can’t breed fast enough to make up for the losses, and you start to get population decline,” he added.

“So, it’s a major conservation concern.

“We’ve seen deaths of many hundreds of great skuas, which in Shetland are known as the bonxie.

“This is a species where 60% of the world’s entire population breeds in Scotland, so we’re internationally important for great skuas.

“And we’re watching them get hit really seriously by the disease.

“The deaths are happening in numbers that are really worrying.”

Where are some of the worst-hit areas?

A mix of live and dead guillemots at Mull of Galloway.
A mix of live and dead guillemots photographed at Mull of Galloway. Photograph by RSPB Scotland

Paul said that because a lot of seabird species tend to nest in tightly-packed colonies, side by side, the potential for diseases like HPAI to spread is increased, making them “incredibly vulnerable”.

“The worst-hit area so far as we can tell at the moment is Shetland, which has enormous and really important seabird colonies,” he said.

“We’re detecting bad impacts in Orkney, and in terms of gannet colonies, Troup Head has been bad.

“We’re also seeing guillemots dying on their nesting ledges at the Mull of Gallloway, and there’s problems with bonxies in the Western Isles, but the epicentre of sorts to date has been Shetland.”

“I’m really worried.

“And for my staff that work on the ground on nature reserves and who have devoted their lives to the conservation of these birds, it’s really, really distressing.”

‘This has to be a wake-up call’

A living great skua or Bonxie in Shetland.
A living great skua, or Bonxie, photographed in Shetland by Kirsty Nutt.

As well as the impact of HPAI, seabirds in Scotland are facing all sorts of challenges.

From getting tangled in abandoned fishing gear, to climate change, to low food supplies, Scotland’s globally important seabird populations are “already in a lot of trouble” according to Paul.

He said: “We need government and agencies to really step up the priority of funding that is given to seabird conservation measures so we can maximise their resilience to cope with these diseases in the future.”

What should I do if I see any dead or sickly birds?

If you come across any dead or sickly birds, stay away from them, keep your pets away from them, and do not touch them as they may be infected with bird flu.

While transmission to humans is rare, it’s not completely unheard of.

Instead, you should report them to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) by calling their helpline on 03459 33 55 77.

Further reading on bird flu:

Conversation