Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-23T11:45:22.936Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Trends of population change at colonies of cliff-nesting seabirds in the Moray Firth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

G. P. Mudge
Affiliation:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, U.K.
Get access

Synopsis

Available information on the sizes and locations of seabird breeding colonies in the Moray Firth is reviewed. Guillemot is the most abundant species with a population of about 149,000 individuals at thirteen main colonies. The bulk of the populations of each species occur in east Caithness. Comparison of counts made in 1969 with more recent censuses indicate substantial increases in population size in the 1970s for most species. The results of annual counts at detailed study plots in five Caithness colonies between 1980 and 1984 suggest that this trend of increase has ceased for guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Coulson, J. C. 1963. The status of the kittiwake in the British Isles. Bird Study 10, 147179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cramp, S., Bourne, W. R. P. & Saunders, D. 1974. The Seabirds of Britain and Ireland. London: Collins.Google Scholar
Fisher, J. 1952. A history of the fulmar Fulmarus glacialis and its population problems. Ibis 94, 334354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, J. 1966. The fulmar population of Britain and Ireland, 1959. Bird Study 13, 576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, J. & Waterston, G. 1941. The breeding distribution, history and population of the fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) in the British Isles. Journal of Animal Ecology 10, 204272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, M. P., Wanless, S. & Rothery, P. 1983. Assessing changes in the numbers of guillemots Uria aalge at breeding colonies. Bird Study 30, 5766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, C. 1975. Timing and frequency of census counts of cliff-nesting auks. British Birds 68, 507513.Google Scholar
Mudge, G. P. 1979. The cliff-breeding seabirds of east Caithness in 1977. Scottish Birds 10, 247261.Google Scholar
North, S. G. 1979. Breeding seabird census, 1979. Pennan Head. Lion's Head and Troup Head (Banff & Buchan). Unpubl. Nature Conservancy Council Report.Google Scholar
Seabird Group 1980. Auk censuring manual. Seabird Group Guide available from Seabird Group, c/o The Lodge, Sandy. Bedfordshire SG19 2DL.Google Scholar
Smith, R. W. J. 1969. Scottish cormorant colonies. Scottish Birds 5, 363378.Google Scholar
Stowe, T. J. 1982. Recent population trends in cliff-breeding seabirds in Britain and Ireland. Ibis 124, 502510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stowe, T. J. & Harris, M. P. 1984. Status of guillemots and razorbills in Britain and Ireland. Seabird 7, 518.Google Scholar
Wanless, S., French, D. D., Harris, M. P. & Langslow, D. R. 1982. Detection of annual changes in the numbers of cliff-nesting seabirds in Orkney 1976–80. Journal of Animal Ecology 51, 785795.CrossRefGoogle Scholar