Posted by Philip Kirkham on September 19, 2006 at 3:57 AM
Caught this series from a boat, last Saturday.
Bad news around these waters though, it would appear that although the Guillemots had a good nesting season, with plenty fledged, the young are now dying in large numbers and being washed up around these coasts. The reason is uncertain, but possibly due to starvation.
Best wishes
Phil
Posted by John Chapman on September 19, 2006 at 5:02 AM
HI Philip
great action shot and the composition is great also the presentation suits the image.
John
Aberdeen
Posted by Mike Smith on September 19, 2006 at 5:38 AM
not looking good again this year..........
"Reports of hundreds of dead or starving young seabirds around Scotland - including some many miles from the coast - and Northern Ireland are leading to speculation among experts that these incidents may be linked to a much larger problem.
Staff from several organisations, including the RSPB, are assessing the extent of the situation. Most of the casualties are Guillemots. Post-mortems on the birds has shown that many of the birds are underweight and have empty stomachs, suggesting they are suffering from a chronic shortage of food. Sandeels are a principal prey for Guillemots and many other seabirds.
Dr Euan Dunn, head of marine policy for the RSPB, said: "Able to dive 300 feet for fish prey, Guillemots are massively buffered against scarcity, so evidence of starvation signals a desperate lack of food. Food shortage has reared its ugly head in a number of Guillemot colonies in recent years, but the breadth and scale of these reports of starving birds is more troubling."
Counts of seabird colonies around Scotland and in Northern Ireland have revealed that they have had another disastrous year with food shortages leading to a low recruitment of young birds.
Commenting on the potential impacts of climate change affecting UK seabirds, the RSPB's Conservation Director, Dr Mark Avery, said: "The seas surrounding the British Isles are among the most productive in the world and, despite decades of overfishing, they still support internationally important seabird colonies. But, seabirds are facing key threats as life-giving cold-water-loving plankton shift, taking the foundation of the food chain with them. Distressing images of seabirds failing to find enough sandeels to feed their chicks is an early warning sign of worse to come."
So far there have been reports of nearly 100 dead or dying Guillemots in Northern Ireland, principally washed up on the shores of South Down, and around 120 Guillemots in the Loch Fyne area of western Scotland. Several Guillemots have also been reported from highly unusual inland locations, including the centre of Glasgow, Crianlarich and Loch Awe. Some birds have been reported swimming up small burns, presumably in a desperate attempt to find food."
Posted by David Kjaer on September 19, 2006 at 8:39 AM
Hi Phillip
Great series lets hope they get to the bottom of what is causing so many Guillemot deaths!
Really effective treatment Phillip and the little splash of water at the bottom adds enourmously IMO as it gives a reference point instead of just being 'somewhere' in the air
Terry
PS hope they find out and fix quickly the problem with the Guillemots.
Posted by Alan Woolnough on September 19, 2006 at 1:54 PM
Discussion
7 repliesBad news around these waters though, it would appear that although the Guillemots had a good nesting season, with plenty fledged, the young are now dying in large numbers and being washed up around these coasts. The reason is uncertain, but possibly due to starvation.
Best wishes
Phil
great action shot and the composition is great also the presentation suits the image.
John
Aberdeen
"Reports of hundreds of dead or starving young seabirds around Scotland - including some many miles from the coast - and Northern Ireland are leading to speculation among experts that these incidents may be linked to a much larger problem.
Staff from several organisations, including the RSPB, are assessing the extent of the situation. Most of the casualties are Guillemots. Post-mortems on the birds has shown that many of the birds are underweight and have empty stomachs, suggesting they are suffering from a chronic shortage of food. Sandeels are a principal prey for Guillemots and many other seabirds.
Dr Euan Dunn, head of marine policy for the RSPB, said: "Able to dive 300 feet for fish prey, Guillemots are massively buffered against scarcity, so evidence of starvation signals a desperate lack of food. Food shortage has reared its ugly head in a number of Guillemot colonies in recent years, but the breadth and scale of these reports of starving birds is more troubling."
Counts of seabird colonies around Scotland and in Northern Ireland have revealed that they have had another disastrous year with food shortages leading to a low recruitment of young birds.
Commenting on the potential impacts of climate change affecting UK seabirds, the RSPB's Conservation Director, Dr Mark Avery, said: "The seas surrounding the British Isles are among the most productive in the world and, despite decades of overfishing, they still support internationally important seabird colonies. But, seabirds are facing key threats as life-giving cold-water-loving plankton shift, taking the foundation of the food chain with them. Distressing images of seabirds failing to find enough sandeels to feed their chicks is an early warning sign of worse to come."
So far there have been reports of nearly 100 dead or dying Guillemots in Northern Ireland, principally washed up on the shores of South Down, and around 120 Guillemots in the Loch Fyne area of western Scotland. Several Guillemots have also been reported from highly unusual inland locations, including the centre of Glasgow, Crianlarich and Loch Awe. Some birds have been reported swimming up small burns, presumably in a desperate attempt to find food."
Great series lets hope they get to the bottom of what is causing so many Guillemot deaths!
David
Terry
PS hope they find out and fix quickly the problem with the Guillemots.
Very effective!!!!!
Definately a mysterious event going on
Alan
A great sequence.
Very sad to hear of the birds troubles.