LIHOU ISLAND - COMMENT BASED ON VISIT ON 17 JUNE 2007
An estimate of breeding
seabirds based mainly on numbers of active nests and also on birds
holding
territory, is as follows –
Herring Gull
60 – 70
pairs (an additional 10 – 20 pairs on Lissroy)
Lesser Black-backed Gull
30 – 40 pairs (an additional 10
pairs on Lissroy)
Great Black-backed Gull
20 – 30 pairs (an additional 5
pairs on Lissroy)
European Shag
2 active nests
on Lissroy
Great Cormorant
3 active nests on
Lihoumel
Oystercatcher
15 pairs (an
additional 2 – 5 pairs on Lissroy)
Ringed Plover
no evidence
These figures are much
lower than the average figures for Lihou. For example, there are
normally
around 15 pairs of Shag nesting on Lihoumel but there are none this
year. Gulls
are still very much in evidence but active nests are thinly
distributed. Most
of the normal breeding population seems to be present on the island but
significant proportions are ‘loafing’ and are not
associated with active nests.
The 2007 breeding season
for many local species, but especially seabirds, is the worst I have
seen in 13
years of bird ringing. It is also the worst experienced by another
ringer, Paul
Veron, who has been ringing for 30 years. The reasons for this downturn
are
probably due to prolonged rough winter weather and record sea
temperatures. Two
storm episodes during spring, including Force 9 winds in mid-May, would
have
been particularly critical to nesting gulls.
It is hoped that since
seabirds are long-lived species, the next few years will be more
successful.
Shags and Gulls can live for 10 years or more, which under normal
circumstances
allows populations to recover from poor seasons. However, in recent
years,
productive seasons have been outnumbered by satisfactory or poorer ones.
Jamie Hooper