Guide to Sea Birds Springwatch


Guide to Sea Birds

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For just a few months of the year,

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we share the United Kingdom with a remarkable group of animals.

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Every summer, 8 million seabirds come to our shores to breed

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and they come from quite literally all around the world.

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Most of the time they live out there,

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in the vast emptiness of the world's oceans.

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But then, for a short time, they come ashore...

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..for the breeding season.

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It's one of the greatest wildlife gatherings on Earth,

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and it happens right here on our doorstep.

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It's noisy, colourful, dramatic, and, if we dig a little deeper,

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it turns out that these birds' lives are packed full of surprises.

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Welcome to the Springwatch Guide to Seabirds!

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Seabirds are actually an astonishing group of animals.

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25 different species of them come to the UK,

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and each has its own special qualities.

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The huge Northern gannet - powerful, the master of the ocean.

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Delicate Arctic terns, known as swallows of the sea.

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They fly from the Antarctic Ocean

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to the northern isles of Scotland every year.

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And fulmars have, um... rather unpleasant habits.

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From "Eurgh" to "Ahh!"

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After nine months apart, far out at sea,

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the gentle courtship of the puffin

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has delighted bird watchers for generations.

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In the summer, you can find these wonderful birds

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all around our coastline, from the Northern Isles of Scotland,

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to the southern isles of Wales and England

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and we're going to the very best places to see them.

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I'm on Orkney, off the northern tip of Scotland.

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Iolo Williams is on Skomer Island, off the southwest coast of Wales.

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Michaela? She's in Bath,

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where she's finding out why so many of our cities

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now echo to the plaintive cries of seagulls.

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And Chris? Well, he's rooting about in the bowels of Bristol Museum,

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looking for things to help him explain some of the deeper mysteries

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of these fascinating birds.

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Together, we'll be taking a closer look at our seabirds

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and how they're coping in a fast-changing world.

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But first of all,

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what brings these creatures of the sea to land for the breeding season?

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Well, of course, they don't have any choice -

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they can't exactly lay their eggs on water.

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And millions of them choose our coastline

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because it provides them with everything they need

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to raise their young.

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I used to think that scenes like this,

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thousands of seabirds nesting, were going on all over Europe.

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But that's not the case.

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This is a very special place.

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In fact, birds will come from literally

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all round the world to the British Isles to nest.

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There are two reasons - one is the variety of nest sites.

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We've got everything that they need to nest on, from cliffs

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to sand dunes, agricultural land, we've got the lot.

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The second is the sea.

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Our seas are so rich in food,

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they can support literally millions of mouths.

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I'm on Orkney, perhaps the seabird capital of the UK.

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And this ancient archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland

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is a Mecca for seabirds.

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Every summer, nearly a million of them

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descend on these islands to raise their young,

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including 22 out of our 25 different species.

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Just listen to this.

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LOUD BIRD CALLS

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These are the great seabird cities of Orkney

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and there are literally thousands of birds

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nesting all along this cliff.

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It's epic.

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Orkney has some of the tallest sea cliffs in the British Isles.

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Relatively safe from predators,

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and right next to the ocean they rely on for food,

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seabirds choose these rock faces to lay their eggs

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and rear their chicks.

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Just look at them, all lined up on these narrow ledges.

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But it's not as chaotic as it might perhaps look.

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Now, what's fascinating about these cliffs

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is the way the different species separate themselves out

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when they come here to nest.

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So you've got a sort of middle band here,

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and that's where the kittiwakes and guillemots are nesting.

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And then tucked away in sort of holes all around the place

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are razorbills.

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Just as they all choose different parts of the cliff,

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they also have very different feeding habits.

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Kittiwakes are known as surface feeders,

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hardly dipping below the surface of the water.

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And that's in complete contrast

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to their neighbours on the cliffs, the guillemots.

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They're some of the deepest diving of all seabirds,

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capable of going over 100 metres underwater in search of food.

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Now, unless you're a keen birder,

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guillemots are easily confused with the razorbills.

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The easiest way to tell them apart

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is that a razorbill has white markings on its bill.

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It also has a slightly fatter bill than the guillemot.

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Guillemots have a totally black head, with a narrow bill.

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But confusingly, up here on Orkney,

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some of the guillemots have white markings round their eyes.

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They're called bridled guillemots.

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No-one knows what it's for, but the further north you go,

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the more guillemots seem to be bridled.

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I think it looks rather distinguished!

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Up here on the cliffs,

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the seabirds may be relatively safe from predators

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but those thin ledges look awfully precarious to me.

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How on earth do they stop the chick and particularly the eggs

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falling off into the sea?

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Chris is in the basement of the museum where he's found

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exactly what he needs to explain how it all works.

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Well, some of the smaller species like kittiwakes actually make nests.

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Pretty good nests.

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They'll fly some distance to collect weed, take it back to the ledge,

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and then weld it together using their own faeces.

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The result is a nest that's so substantial

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it will last from year to year.

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Further down the cliff, shags also use weed to make a nest.

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But they also add a few sticks as well,

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and they make a lovely cup to hold their eggs and chicks.

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But other species, like the auks - guillemots, for instance -

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make absolutely no nest at all.

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No fabric is used in the making of their nest.

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They simply lay their eggs onto bare rock.

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So why don't they roll into the sea?

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Well, it's all down to a magnificent adaptation

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in the shape of the egg.

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This is a guillemot's egg, and it's pear-shaped

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and look what happens if it's accidentally dislodged.

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It spins in a tight circle.

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It stays on that rocky ledge.

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It doesn't fall into the sea, many metres below.

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Brilliant. Nature is endlessly inventive.

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So those are the seabirds that breed on the cliff face,

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but there's also another bird

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that prefers to live at the top of the tower block, if you like -

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the puffin.

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Now, it may be a surprise to discover

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that puffins like to nest underground in burrows

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and one of the best places in the British Isles to see them

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is the Welsh island of Skomer.

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This little island is the largest

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and most important seabird breeding colony

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in the whole of southern Britain.

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It's early April

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and things are pretty quiet on Skomer at the moment.

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Not too many puffins here yet.

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But, out to sea, there's a sign of what's about to happen.

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Every year, 6,000 pairs of Atlantic puffins

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flock to this Pembrokeshire island.

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It's the largest puffin breeding colony in southern Britain.

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And I'm here to witness the return of the first migrants.

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PUFFINS CALL

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The air is filled with puffins flying around and calling.

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They're all looking for someone.

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PUFFINS CONTINUE TO CALL

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Puffins are faithful to one life-long partner.

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They're known to live for up to 29 years,

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and, in that time, they'll return here every spring

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to the same mate and the same burrow.

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They only come to land to breed, that's it.

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The rest of the year, they're out on the open ocean.

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They really are a seabird, not a land bird.

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And what you find is that they're concentrated in various areas,

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areas that have been well-grazed by the rabbits,

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areas that are full of holes.

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It's like a piece of Swiss cheese under my arm here.

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You've got puffins nesting in all of these burrows.

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A good burrow on the cliff top, with easy access to the sea

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and all the food it offers, is worth defending from newcomers.

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PUFFIN CALLS

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Once everything settles down, it's time for a spot of spring-cleaning,

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and a bit of nest-building.

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And then, the puffins finally have some special time for each other.

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This is a pair here in front of me.

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We had a little bit of nibbling, sort of courtship, just a little bit.

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They're quite loving birds when you see the pair together.

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BILLS CLICK

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Bill clattering is a crucial part of re-establishing pair bonds.

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It's the puffins' way of showing their affection.

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And you might wonder, why has a bird like a puffin got such a huge bill?

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The summer puffin is a beautiful thing -

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just look at this lovely broad and colourful bill.

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It also has bright gape flanges too, and wonderful pale cheeks.

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It's all about communicating, it's all about display,

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Mr and Mrs Puffin letting each other know exactly how they feel.

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And it's a serious investment of material,

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protein has gone into making that beak big, bright and beautiful.

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Look at this puffin, a museum specimen

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that was taken in the winter.

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The bill has shrunk, and it's lost all of its colour.

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It's not there to communicate anymore,

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it's just there to get food for itself.

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But for the moment, the puffins are in full breeding display.

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The seabird breeding season on Skomer has really begun.

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Back on Orkney, I'm heading to the tiny island of Copinsay.

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It's a real hotspot for seabirds,

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and I'm here to find some we haven't met yet.

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Now, right down at the bottom of the cliffs here

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are a whole rank of black birds.

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Now those are shags.

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Very similar to cormorants, you've probably seen cormorants.

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But shags stay always near the coast,

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whereas the cormorants come inland and they look black,

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but if you look closely at them, they're anything but.

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They're a kind of mysterious, magical green colour

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with a bright, bright yellow bill.

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And they're remarkable birds, shags.

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They're very deep divers. They can go down to about 60 metres.

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It always strikes me as amazing that a bird that can fly, can also dive.

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It can live between worlds like that,

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and they can hold their breath for well over a minute.

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If you look a little higher up the cliff,

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you can see these shags already have young.

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They look almost reptilian!

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Another seabird that breeds on Copinsay is the Northern fulmar.

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And the fulmar's story is a fascinating one,

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because the very first record of a fulmar nesting here in Orkney

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was in 1900.

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By the end of the 1980s, there were over 90,000 of them nesting here

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and that number's stayed more or less the same.

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It's thought that this dramatic increase in numbers

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is down to discards from fishing vessels from the North Sea.

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Suddenly, there was a totally new food source

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available to seabirds like the fulmar.

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Fulmars have one distinguishing feature

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that makes them easily recognizable

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and clearly different from a seagull -

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a prominent tubular nostril on top of their bills.

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But, Chris, what exactly is the tubenose for?

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Well, all animals need salt, but none need too much of it.

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Salt regulation is a very important affair

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and if you're a seabird, feeding on a salty diet,

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then clearly you've got a major problem.

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As a bird, you can't sweat the excess salt away,

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so how do you cope?

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Well, in the case of the fulmar,

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they have a small gland between the eye and the top of the bill

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through which they pump all of their blood

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and it's here that the excess salt is separated,

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and it's here that the tubenose comes into play.

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Because that excess salt goes into something

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that we can only call salty snot,

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and it's channelled through the tubenose, along the top of the bill,

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it then runs down a groove in the bill

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until it forms in a drip on the tip,

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and it can fall away clear of all of the pristine feathers of the fulmar.

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You see, if it didn't have the tubenose,

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the salty snot would be running down its cheek,

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and that's not a good look for a fulmar,

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and it's not a good look for a small child.

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And salty snot isn't the fulmar's only foul habit.

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I've got to be a bit careful

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because fulmars have a remarkable way of defending themselves.

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If I was to get a little bit closer,

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she would projectile vomit, she'd be sick all over me,

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which is extremely unpleasant

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because it smells horrible, whoops, he might do it too,

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but worse than that, for a predator, say a peregrine,

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if that sick gets over their feathers,

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and they're very accurate at shooting it out,

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it can mat the feathers up and peregrines have been killed

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by getting too close to these fulmars

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and getting covered in their sick.

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One more thing about fulmars -

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how old do you think she might be?

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Many of these seabirds are very long-lived,

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but fulmars, 20, 30 years.

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One was ringed here in Orkney on the 18th of July 1951.

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It was last seen nearly 41 years later.

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That's not the end of the story,

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it was ringed not as a baby but as an adult.

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So it could have been easily, seven, ten years older than that.

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That fulmar could be 50 years old

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and that, folks, is almost as old as ME.

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There are five species of tern that breed in the UK,

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but this is perhaps my favourite, the Arctic tern.

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Every spring, these beautiful birds, known as the swallows of the sea,

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make an extraordinary journey, travelling over 20,000 miles

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from the Antarctic Ocean to Orkney.

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It's the longest migration ever recorded by any animal.

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In a single lifetime, one of these delicate-looking birds

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might have travelled over 1.5 million miles,

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that's to the moon and back three times.

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They weigh little more than 100 grams

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and, to me, they look like they're made of paper.

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Origami birds!

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Let's think for a moment about the lives these birds lead out at sea.

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They only spend around three months of the year living here,

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in the relative shelter of our shores.

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But the rest of the time, they're out there,

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trying to survive in the great wilderness of our oceans.

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One of the most spectacular of our seabird visitors

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is the Northern gannet.

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It's the largest of our seabirds, with a wingspan of six feet.

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The gannet is capable of travelling huge distances in search of food.

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And, of course, it also does this!

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But how does it thump into the water without hurting itself?

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Well, firstly, they have no external nostrils.

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If you're throwing yourself into the sea at about 45 miles an hour,

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you don't want water going up your nose hard.

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Secondly, they have air bags over the tops of their heads,

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through their necks, and on the fronts of their wings

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and these cushion the impact as they hit the water.

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But lastly, it's all to do with their body position,

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because as they enter the water,

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they put their wings back so that they go in,

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in an extremely streamlined fashion.

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They go into the water like torpedoes

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and to see it is absolutely fantastic.

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Many seabirds, like the gannet and Arctic tern,

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choose to breed on very remote islands,

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which most of us will never get to visit.

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But there are plenty of other seabirds

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that choose to come to us in seaside towns all over Britain.

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Michaela went for a day out in Weston-Super-Mare,

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where she met some of our most regular visitors, the seagulls.

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But did you know there's actually no such thing as a seagull?

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In fact, it's the collective name for a group of seabirds,

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and, here in the UK, we commonly see 11 different species.

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We call them seagulls because we think they all look the same -

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big, white birds that live by the seaside, with a noisy call.

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But, of course, they all have distinguishing features.

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The two gulls you're most likely to see at the seaside

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are the herring gull, and the lesser black-backed gull.

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And it's easy to get them confused.

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But let's take a look at them.

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The herring gull is a very large, noisy bird.

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It's got a light grey back and black wing tips.

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And pink legs.

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Now, this gull has yellow legs, a dark-grey back and a yellow bill

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and that means it's a lesser black-backed gull.

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If you've ever looked carefully at either of these gulls

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during the breeding season, you may have noticed

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they have a bright red spot on their bill.

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But do you know what that's for? Chris?

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Well, it's really important, it's a target,

0:24:100:24:14

a target for the young gull chicks to peck at

0:24:140:24:17

when the adult returns to the nest,

0:24:170:24:19

and if you watch them, as soon as it gets there,

0:24:190:24:22

they jab furiously at the spot,

0:24:220:24:24

this instigates the regurgitating behaviour in the adult

0:24:240:24:29

that ensures that the youngsters get their meal.

0:24:290:24:33

There's another gull that you're quite likely to see

0:24:350:24:38

down by the sea and that's the black-headed gull.

0:24:380:24:41

Despite its name,

0:24:430:24:45

its head is actually more of a dark chocolate brown colour.

0:24:450:24:48

But don't get confused, because in the winter

0:24:490:24:52

the black-headed gull loses its dark head.

0:24:520:24:55

It just gets left with these funny headphone-like markings!

0:24:550:24:59

These gulls have a red bill and red legs, too.

0:25:000:25:04

Honestly, seagull ID isn't easy,

0:25:050:25:09

but with a few tips it is possible to tell them apart.

0:25:090:25:13

Gulls are one of the most domesticated,

0:25:200:25:23

and most visible, of our seabirds.

0:25:230:25:26

But, on Skomer, Iolo's got a much shyer bird.

0:25:270:25:31

It's the middle of May

0:25:340:25:36

and the island is quickly turning into a crowded maternity ward.

0:25:360:25:40

Everywhere, there are seabirds sitting on eggs.

0:25:400:25:43

And the sky is busy with birds preparing for the arrival of chicks.

0:25:520:25:56

They're all out looking for food.

0:25:560:25:59

But after dark, this island turns into a very different place.

0:26:060:26:10

The air is filled with the eerie calls

0:26:130:26:16

of a rather curious seabird of the night.

0:26:160:26:18

The Manx shearwater is the most numerous bird on Skomer.

0:26:210:26:24

128,000 pairs of them come here to breed every year,

0:26:240:26:28

a third of the world population.

0:26:280:26:30

During daylight hours,

0:26:340:26:36

the adults are either hiding away in burrows underground,

0:26:360:26:40

where they lay their eggs, or far out to sea, foraging.

0:26:400:26:44

It's only at night that the Manx shearwaters will return to land

0:26:480:26:51

to swap incubating duties.

0:26:510:26:53

But why are Manx shearwaters so clumsy?

0:26:590:27:02

Well, it's all to do with the positioning of their legs.

0:27:050:27:08

Look, they're right at the back of the body here.

0:27:080:27:11

Now this is perfect for a life at sea, perfect for paddling,

0:27:110:27:15

and perfect for diving.

0:27:150:27:17

But it's no good for walking.

0:27:170:27:19

And I know this mounted specimen shows the animal walking,

0:27:190:27:22

but to be honest with you, whenever I've seen them,

0:27:220:27:25

they've been shuffling along on their breast.

0:27:250:27:27

Pretty hopeless.

0:27:270:27:29

And, of course, prone to predation

0:27:290:27:31

from some of the larger gull and skua species

0:27:310:27:34

and it's for this reason

0:27:340:27:36

that shearwaters only come ashore at night.

0:27:360:27:40

Unfortunately, there are still plenty of victims every year.

0:27:420:27:47

This is what happens when a Manx shearwater is caught, killed,

0:27:470:27:51

and eaten by the biggest predator on Skomer, the great black-backed gull.

0:27:510:27:56

And it's not just the great black-backed gull

0:27:580:28:00

that these seabirds have to fear.

0:28:000:28:03

They run the gauntlet of death every time they leave their ledge.

0:28:030:28:07

Lots of predators time their breeding cycle to that of their prey -

0:28:090:28:13

peregrines,

0:28:130:28:15

buzzards,

0:28:150:28:17

gulls.

0:28:170:28:19

And there's one seabird on Orkney

0:28:210:28:23

that has earned itself the nickname "the northern pirate".

0:28:230:28:27

Cruising the cliffs, the Arctic skua is a stunning bird -

0:28:290:28:35

graceful, streamlined, breathtakingly agile.

0:28:350:28:38

But it has a rather unusual speciality - kleptoparasitism.

0:28:380:28:43

The Arctic skua likes to chase and bully other seabirds

0:28:430:28:47

until they give up their food.

0:28:470:28:50

It's perfectly capable of catching its own meal,

0:28:500:28:54

but it just prefers to steal from others.

0:28:540:28:58

So far we've got a feel

0:29:010:29:03

for the tremendous variety of British seabirds,

0:29:030:29:06

and what a fascinating group of animals they are.

0:29:060:29:09

Each with their own special abilities and adaptations.

0:29:090:29:14

But as a group,

0:29:140:29:15

seabirds are experiencing some tough challenges right now.

0:29:150:29:19

The sea itself is changing quite dramatically

0:29:200:29:24

and birds like the Arctic skua are struggling.

0:29:240:29:28

Since the mid 1980s,

0:29:280:29:31

Arctic skuas in Orkney have declined by nearly 70%.

0:29:310:29:35

And unfortunately it's not the only seabird that's in trouble up here.

0:29:370:29:41

On a very windy morning, I met up with Eric Meek from the RSPB,

0:29:430:29:46

who's lived and worked with seabirds

0:29:460:29:50

on Orkney for over 30 years.

0:29:500:29:54

During that time, he's seen some dramatic changes.

0:29:540:29:58

Eric, at first sight, this cliff seems to have

0:29:590:30:03

lots of birds nesting on it, but all is not as it seems, is it?

0:30:030:30:07

No, and that's the case with a lot of our seabird colonies,

0:30:070:30:10

but this one perhaps more than any other.

0:30:100:30:13

It looks quite busy, at the moment, but compared to the mid 1980s,

0:30:130:30:17

there's only a tiny fraction of the birds that were here then.

0:30:170:30:21

What sort of numbers are we talking about?

0:30:210:30:24

Well, the kittiwakes have gone down by over 90%.

0:30:240:30:27

90%?!

0:30:270:30:29

And the guillemots are down by over 90% as well.

0:30:290:30:32

Regular bird watchers say the cliffs of Orkney have gone quiet,

0:30:330:30:38

and you can see what they mean.

0:30:380:30:41

Great seabird cities like this one at Row Head on mainland Orkney,

0:30:430:30:49

are peppered with empty ledges,

0:30:490:30:51

which until recently would have been full of breeding seabirds.

0:30:510:30:55

30 years ago, how would this have looked? Can you remember?

0:30:550:30:59

Just a seething mass of birds.

0:30:590:31:04

We made a film about Orkney birds

0:31:040:31:06

called Northern Flights actually in 1989.

0:31:060:31:09

So that's 23 years ago.

0:31:090:31:10

And it's there in the film for everyone to see.

0:31:100:31:14

And it is just a mass of seabirds. Just a hive of activity.

0:31:140:31:19

And compared to then, things are very, very different now.

0:31:190:31:23

Gosh.

0:31:230:31:24

If you look closely, you can see a sad sight -

0:31:260:31:30

some abandoned kittiwake nests.

0:31:300:31:33

The birds did try to breed,

0:31:330:31:35

but then, they gave up.

0:31:350:31:38

So what on earth is happening up here in Orkney?

0:31:380:31:41

During the breeding season,

0:31:420:31:44

a lot of seabirds rely on a single food source, sand eels.

0:31:440:31:48

These small fish are full of fatty acids and packed with proteins,

0:31:530:31:58

essential for growing chicks.

0:31:580:32:00

But there's been a real shortage of sand eels in recent years.

0:32:000:32:04

And with less food available, some seabirds on Orkney are struggling.

0:32:040:32:09

To see this decline must be quite upsetting for you.

0:32:130:32:18

It's extremely upsetting, and very, very disappointing.

0:32:180:32:21

The saddest thing is that there's no quick fix.

0:32:210:32:25

So things are looking very serious for some seabirds in Orkney.

0:32:280:32:33

But what about in the south?

0:32:330:32:35

Well, surprisingly, that's a very different story.

0:32:380:32:43

The seabirds on Skomer are actually doing pretty well.

0:32:430:32:46

So where are we headed then, Tim?

0:32:470:32:49

It's June, and Iolo's joined Professor Tim Guilford,

0:32:490:32:53

a seabird scientist from Oxford University,

0:32:530:32:56

to find out how the breeding season is going this year.

0:32:560:32:59

Here we go. Tread carefully here.

0:33:030:33:06

Yeah, you must be really careful

0:33:060:33:07

cos this is just a honeycomb of burrows under here.

0:33:070:33:10

OK. There we are.

0:33:100:33:12

So what exactly are we doing here then, Tim?

0:33:120:33:15

Well, Iolo, we're measuring the growth rate of the baby puffins

0:33:150:33:19

to see how the reproduction on Skomer is going.

0:33:190:33:23

Right, OK.

0:33:230:33:24

Dave, let's have a look and see if there's anything in this burrow.

0:33:240:33:27

Hopefully there's one in here. There was one in here a little while ago.

0:33:270:33:31

How old is this one then, Dave? It's a fair size.

0:33:310:33:34

Um, this one is just over a month old, so he'll be gone pretty soon.

0:33:340:33:38

Right, you want to weigh and measure that, Dave,

0:33:380:33:40

so we can put it back as soon as we possibly can.

0:33:400:33:44

So he's got a wing of 139mm.

0:33:440:33:47

OK, yup. So weight is what?

0:33:470:33:51

-270 grams.

-270 grams.

0:33:510:33:54

And roughly what weight will he be when he heads off to sea?

0:33:540:33:59

That's a reasonable weight.

0:33:590:34:01

The heaviest one I've found this year was 385 grams,

0:34:010:34:06

which is actually the heaviest one I've ever found on the island,

0:34:060:34:09

but they fledge anywhere between 275, 320 or so.

0:34:090:34:14

So this, Tim, this is a good sign.

0:34:140:34:16

It shows that these birds are very well fed.

0:34:160:34:18

Yeah, this is a nice example

0:34:180:34:20

of how well they are doing on Skomer, I think.

0:34:200:34:22

And eating what mainly?

0:34:240:34:25

Eating sprats and sand eels, those are the preferred foods,

0:34:250:34:28

but sand eels are an important part of their diet.

0:34:280:34:31

What puzzles me is why puffins on Skomer are doing so well,

0:34:330:34:37

and yet on Orkney and some of these northern islands,

0:34:370:34:42

the population's crashed.

0:34:420:34:43

That's right. And it's that distinction between what's happening

0:34:430:34:46

here in Pembrokeshire and what's happening in the north,

0:34:460:34:49

that has fascinated ecologists for some time.

0:34:490:34:51

And it has to be something to do, we think,

0:34:510:34:53

has to be something to do with the availability of sand eels.

0:34:530:34:56

So down here sand eels are as big,

0:34:560:34:58

as healthy as they have been for years.

0:34:580:35:01

In the north, and in Scotland, there have been serious declines

0:35:010:35:05

in sand eel availability.

0:35:050:35:07

Why is that? Is it climate change? Is it over-fishing? Or what, Tim?

0:35:070:35:11

We don't know for certain

0:35:110:35:13

and it could be a combination of those two factors and other things.

0:35:130:35:15

But we do know that there have been increases in sea surface temperature

0:35:150:35:19

in the North Sea in recent years.

0:35:190:35:21

And these have coincided with the decline

0:35:210:35:24

in puffin productivity and populations.

0:35:240:35:27

And we also know that these higher temperatures affect the plankton

0:35:270:35:32

on which sand eels feed and this has a knock-on effect

0:35:320:35:35

into the seabird productivity.

0:35:350:35:36

And of course fewer sand eels, fewer puffins.

0:35:360:35:39

That's absolutely right, yeah.

0:35:390:35:41

In recent years, climate change has caused

0:35:430:35:45

the North Sea water temperature to rise by almost two degrees.

0:35:450:35:50

And this has had a huge effect on the delicately-balanced marine ecosystem.

0:35:500:35:56

Cold water plankton species that the sand eels rely on for food

0:35:560:36:00

have moved north in search of colder water.

0:36:000:36:03

And the new, warmer-water species that have replaced them

0:36:030:36:06

bloom at the wrong time for the developing sand eel larvae.

0:36:060:36:10

Without enough food at the right time,

0:36:100:36:13

the sand eel population has crashed.

0:36:130:36:15

Are we going to see population declines,

0:36:160:36:19

like we're seeing on the northern islands,

0:36:190:36:21

eventually down here as well?

0:36:210:36:23

Well, we can't say for certain, and obviously we hope not,

0:36:230:36:27

we hope that it's an isolated situation in the North Sea.

0:36:270:36:30

But if climate change is part of the cause of that,

0:36:300:36:33

then I guess, in the long term, it is very likely

0:36:330:36:36

that we will see such changes here as well,

0:36:360:36:38

but for the moment things are looking good.

0:36:380:36:40

So it seems there's a clear north-south split,

0:36:410:36:45

with seabirds on southern islands like Skomer doing well.

0:36:450:36:50

Whilst those on northern islands like Orkney are struggling.

0:36:500:36:54

In fact, they're doing so badly up here on Orkney,

0:36:550:36:58

there's a chance we may lose some of them altogether.

0:36:580:37:01

Like the Arctic tern.

0:37:010:37:04

I'm back with Eric on the island of Westray,

0:37:110:37:14

and today we're going to try and ring some Arctic tern chicks.

0:37:140:37:19

But we're met with a very sad sight.

0:37:190:37:23

Look at that. That is sad.

0:37:230:37:26

That's a dead chick.

0:37:260:37:28

Poor little thing.

0:37:290:37:31

Interesting, you know, to know why that's died.

0:37:310:37:34

We don't know, maybe it's not getting enough food.

0:37:340:37:39

By monitoring the number of ringed birds

0:37:390:37:42

that return to Orkney each year,

0:37:420:37:45

Eric is able to measure breeding success

0:37:450:37:48

and survival rates of these seabirds.

0:37:480:37:50

-A nest with two eggs, just here.

-Look at that!

0:37:530:37:56

When they're getting plenty of food, they'll lay a clutch of three.

0:37:560:37:59

And, you know, if their food supply's really good

0:37:590:38:02

they'll rear all three chicks.

0:38:020:38:04

But in recent years, the food supply hasn't been so good.

0:38:050:38:09

So this is a clutch of two, some years we just see clutches of one.

0:38:090:38:13

There's another clutch of two over there.

0:38:130:38:15

But, so far, no more chicks.

0:38:160:38:18

OK, so there's a scrape here.

0:38:230:38:25

-Just with a single chick there, do you see it?

-I've got it.

0:38:250:38:29

-They're brilliantly camouflaged.

-Fantastic.

0:38:290:38:32

-It just sits absolutely still, Eric.

-It does.

0:38:340:38:37

Look at that!

0:38:370:38:38

So this chick, small as though it is, it's OK to ring.

0:38:380:38:42

88751.

0:38:430:38:46

So, Eric, you've been studying these birds, these terns, for how long?

0:38:480:38:54

Well, I first came to Orkney 31 years ago, at the beginning of 1981.

0:38:540:38:58

And the year before I came, 1980,

0:38:580:39:01

there'd been a big tern census, both in Orkney and Shetland.

0:39:010:39:05

And in Orkney the figure was a phenomenal 33,000 pairs.

0:39:050:39:11

-That's pairs?

-Yup.

-33,000 pairs!

0:39:110:39:14

And in Shetland there were 31,00 pairs. So these are big, big numbers.

0:39:140:39:20

Some days during the breeding season,

0:39:200:39:22

we could go into some of these big colonies

0:39:220:39:25

and ring up to 1,000 chicks in a day.

0:39:250:39:27

Absolutely phenomenal.

0:39:270:39:29

Then around about 1984, 1985,

0:39:290:39:34

we were still ringing big numbers of chicks,

0:39:340:39:38

but in one of those years we didn't get a single recovery.

0:39:380:39:42

Now, that was very odd, we didn't know exactly what was going on.

0:39:420:39:46

And what seems to have happened actually, is that those chicks

0:39:460:39:49

didn't fledge, they didn't survive.

0:39:490:39:51

The food supply had failed and they probably never left the colony.

0:39:510:39:55

And from then on, we started seeing more and more problems

0:39:550:39:58

in these tern colonies with numbers declining,

0:39:580:40:01

years of very, very poor breeding success.

0:40:010:40:04

And what about now? What is, what's the latest figure?

0:40:040:40:07

Well, this looks like a great colony, doesn't it?

0:40:070:40:09

Yeah, it does.

0:40:090:40:11

But we've only got about 70 or 80 pairs here.

0:40:110:40:14

But if you think overall, you had, what was it,

0:40:140:40:17

33,000 pairs here on Orkney.

0:40:170:40:19

How many pairs do you think you've got now?

0:40:190:40:21

We reckon that the numbers have gone down now by three quarters.

0:40:210:40:24

We've probably only got about a quarter of those birds left, if that.

0:40:240:40:28

Crikey.

0:40:280:40:30

Let's put him back, Eric.

0:40:300:40:33

Ah, brilliant, just the same as my chickens,

0:40:380:40:42

put a shirt over their head, and they're completely relaxed.

0:40:420:40:45

Let's go.

0:40:470:40:48

Bit of a magician, Eric. Wonderful.

0:40:480:40:51

It's very sad to think that seabirds like the Arctic tern

0:40:540:40:58

could soon be lost as a breeding species -

0:40:580:41:01

they'll still visit, but not stay to breed.

0:41:010:41:04

Unfortunately, we aren't suddenly going to be able to reverse

0:41:040:41:07

the effects of climate change,

0:41:070:41:09

so there's very little we can do to help.

0:41:090:41:11

But there is a team of RSPB researchers,

0:41:210:41:24

who are involved with some extremely exciting new science.

0:41:240:41:28

Until now, we've known very little

0:41:300:41:32

about what our seabirds do once they leave their colony.

0:41:320:41:36

So these researchers are fitting birds

0:41:360:41:38

with small electronic tags

0:41:380:41:41

to work out where they're going to feed during the day,

0:41:410:41:43

how far they go, how long they spend fishing.

0:41:430:41:47

The data they're gathering is giving us some remarkable new insights

0:41:490:41:53

into the lives of our seabirds,

0:41:530:41:55

which in the future may enable us to do something to help.

0:41:550:41:59

I've come to meet Andy Knight from the RSPB

0:42:050:42:08

here in Orkney to find out more.

0:42:080:42:10

Some of the results already here. What does this one show us?

0:42:120:42:16

Yes, if you look at this one, this is a shag.

0:42:160:42:19

And you can see from here there's a lot of activity there.

0:42:190:42:22

So this is all in a 24-hour period.

0:42:220:42:24

So there's obviously a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.

0:42:240:42:26

To give you an idea of scale, this is on Copinsay

0:42:260:42:29

and that island's what, half a mile long?

0:42:290:42:32

So it's travelling very little distance at all.

0:42:320:42:34

Shag doing pretty well. They're a generalist feeder,

0:42:340:42:38

so they can feed on pretty much any species they want,

0:42:380:42:41

as long as they can get it in their mouth.

0:42:410:42:44

And the chicks don't mind what they get.

0:42:440:42:46

They regurgitate the fish,

0:42:460:42:47

so doesn't matter whether it's a big or small fish, it's just mush.

0:42:470:42:50

So that's the shag, and it's doing fairly well.

0:42:500:42:54

But what about this one?

0:42:540:42:57

Yeah, now this one is kittiwake.

0:42:570:43:00

This is a plunge feeder.

0:43:010:43:03

It's a different way of feeding to the shag.

0:43:030:43:05

So it can only get food from the surface.

0:43:050:43:07

It can only bring back one fish at a time, the sand eel,

0:43:070:43:10

it can't choose which, it would just be sand eels.

0:43:100:43:13

And you can instantly see that there's quite a difference there.

0:43:130:43:17

In the other map there, Copinsay filled your image there.

0:43:170:43:21

Here, Copinsay is just a dot,

0:43:210:43:24

you can't even make it out on the map.

0:43:240:43:26

You've got most of the rest of northeast Scotland,

0:43:260:43:29

all the way down to Aberdeen here,

0:43:290:43:30

the ferry time from Aberdeen to Orkney is eight hours,

0:43:300:43:35

so that's a long way.

0:43:350:43:37

Well, that must be travelling what, over 100 miles here, isn't it?

0:43:370:43:41

Would you say?

0:43:410:43:42

Way more. Several hundred kilometres.

0:43:420:43:44

To get one fish?

0:43:440:43:46

To eventually bring one fish back.

0:43:460:43:48

One fish back to the chick. Is that usual? Is that what you'd expect?

0:43:480:43:52

As an ecologist, it's absolutely not what you'd expect.

0:43:520:43:56

So it's having to go and find where those sand eels are.

0:43:560:43:59

And to breed successfully, you would expect it to travel

0:43:590:44:02

just a short distance to bring fish regularly back.

0:44:020:44:05

And, in this case, it obviously isn't managing that.

0:44:050:44:08

So there on that map, we can see why the kittiwakes are in trouble.

0:44:080:44:12

They're having to travel an enormous distance.

0:44:120:44:15

But there's something else positive here, maybe in the long term,

0:44:170:44:21

because it seems to be sort of stopping in specific areas.

0:44:210:44:26

It does, and the research is, that's really the purpose of it,

0:44:260:44:30

to find out exactly where these birds are feeding,

0:44:300:44:33

we can identify where the key feeding areas are and from that,

0:44:330:44:39

that will help us to determine in the future

0:44:390:44:41

how we protect these sea areas for the long-term benefit of these birds.

0:44:410:44:45

Not just the places where they nest, but the places where they feed,

0:44:450:44:49

which is something we just didn't know before.

0:44:490:44:51

We're pretty good at protecting our seabirds on land.

0:44:540:44:56

We've created nature reserves

0:44:560:44:59

at many of the larger seabird breeding colonies.

0:44:590:45:02

But seabirds spend most of their lives out at sea

0:45:020:45:07

so if we're really going to help them,

0:45:080:45:11

ideally, we need to start protecting them out there too.

0:45:110:45:15

The hope is research like this

0:45:200:45:22

will allow us to identify feeding hotspots in the ocean,

0:45:220:45:26

which one day we can designate as new Marine Nature Reserves.

0:45:260:45:30

But this is not a simple story.

0:45:330:45:37

While many of our seabirds, like the kittiwake,

0:45:370:45:40

are experiencing sharp declines, others are doing much better.

0:45:400:45:44

Bass Rock, off the east coast of Scotland,

0:45:450:45:48

hosts around 20% of the entire world population of Northern gannets.

0:45:480:45:54

And the colony is expanding every year.

0:45:540:45:58

Since 2001, numbers have gone from 42,000 breeding pairs,

0:45:590:46:06

to well over 55,000, good news.

0:46:060:46:10

Here on Orkney, it's a similar situation.

0:46:100:46:13

I'm back with Eric, who's brought me to Noup Head.

0:46:150:46:19

From time immemorial, the only gannet colony in Orkney

0:46:210:46:26

was on Sule Stack, 40 miles out into the Atlantic that way.

0:46:260:46:29

And then in 2003, two new colonies suddenly sprung up,

0:46:290:46:34

on the little island of Sule Skerry,

0:46:340:46:36

which is about five miles from the Stack,

0:46:360:46:37

and here on the Noup, just out of the blue, three nests were found.

0:46:370:46:43

That was 2003. By 2009, there were 500 nests here.

0:46:430:46:47

They just went up like a rocket.

0:46:470:46:49

And now, this year, we've just counted them again

0:46:490:46:52

and there are 623 nests.

0:46:520:46:55

So does that mean overall gannet numbers are actually increasing?

0:46:550:46:58

They seem to be at the moment.

0:46:580:47:00

And the reason for them coming here is possibly because

0:47:000:47:04

Sule Stack got over-populated, there's about 5,000 pairs there.

0:47:040:47:07

So as far as we know, at the moment this is a good news story in Orkney?

0:47:070:47:11

Yes, it's one of the few in the seabird world.

0:47:110:47:14

Why do you think the gannets are doing so well?

0:47:140:47:17

Well, they're not totally dependent on sand eels.

0:47:170:47:19

All the other birds we've been seeing

0:47:190:47:21

eat almost nothing but sand eels, and if they can't get sand eels,

0:47:210:47:25

then their breeding success is badly affected.

0:47:250:47:27

The gannet is a big bird. It can fly long distances.

0:47:270:47:31

It can hunt for food over a wide area away from the colony.

0:47:310:47:35

And it can hunt on much bigger fish, things like mackerel, for example.

0:47:350:47:38

And they also eat a lot of fisheries discards,

0:47:380:47:42

the fish that are being thrown back into the sea off fishing vessels.

0:47:420:47:45

And they're incredibly spectacular when they fish.

0:47:450:47:48

-Oh, absolutely.

-Thumping into the water.

0:47:480:47:50

Vertical dive, from 100 feet up or more.

0:47:500:47:53

Putting their wings back and just slicing through the water.

0:47:530:47:56

-And what a spectacular sight that is.

-Fabulous bird.

0:47:560:48:00

It seems that right now

0:48:030:48:05

the most successful seabirds are those capable of adapting.

0:48:050:48:10

Even, in some cases, moving away from the sea itself.

0:48:100:48:14

Michaela's heading to the city of Bath

0:48:160:48:18

where seabirds like the herring gull and lesser black-backed gull

0:48:180:48:23

are becoming an increasingly common sight.

0:48:230:48:26

Listen to that noise - now that is the sound of seagulls.

0:48:260:48:29

And when I was a little girl,

0:48:290:48:31

if you heard that, it meant that you were in a town or city by the sea.

0:48:310:48:35

But, these days, that's not the case.

0:48:350:48:37

You could be anywhere in the country, even in the land-locked city of Bath.

0:48:370:48:43

Today I'm meeting ornithologist Peter Rock,

0:48:430:48:46

who's spent the last years studying the rise of gulls

0:48:460:48:50

in our towns and cities.

0:48:500:48:52

Peter, I must say, I've always found the City of Bath a very nice place.

0:48:530:48:57

-Yup.

-But what do the gulls find so attractive about Bath

0:48:570:49:00

and other towns and cities?

0:49:000:49:02

OK, now, turn your gull brain on. And have a look out there.

0:49:020:49:05

And what you can see is a whole load of islands with very steep cliffs.

0:49:050:49:10

That means that they're very safe. No predators.

0:49:120:49:16

Hardly any disturbance.

0:49:160:49:18

Our towns offer other benefits too, like street lighting

0:49:190:49:23

that means they can forage later into the night.

0:49:230:49:25

And, of course, there are a lot more food opportunities.

0:49:270:49:30

These birds know everything there is to know about food

0:49:320:49:35

within a radius of 100km of here.

0:49:350:49:37

They know where restaurants are leaving their waste out.

0:49:370:49:41

They know all the landfills, of course.

0:49:410:49:43

They know everything they need to, which is why they're so successful.

0:49:430:49:47

Seagulls are moving into our towns and cities all over the UK,

0:49:500:49:56

it's not just Bath.

0:49:560:49:57

It seems the places we choose to live are more and more attractive to them

0:49:570:50:01

as they struggle to make a living at sea.

0:50:010:50:03

Today Peter's going to be ringing some of this year's chicks.

0:50:030:50:07

Grab him.

0:50:070:50:08

Grab him?!

0:50:080:50:10

That's it, grab him! Grab him, yeah, lovely.

0:50:100:50:12

It's the best way for him to keep tabs on these urban gull populations

0:50:140:50:18

and find out more about what's going on.

0:50:180:50:20

So this is where we're doing our ringing?

0:50:200:50:22

Shove them right up against the wall, look. That's it.

0:50:220:50:25

When Peter's ringing the chicks, he also takes some measurements,

0:50:260:50:30

which allow him to work out their age, sex,

0:50:300:50:33

and even what species they are.

0:50:330:50:35

Because when they're this young,

0:50:350:50:38

lesser black-backed and herring gulls look very similar.

0:50:380:50:41

I just open the wing.

0:50:410:50:42

The primaries are all dark,

0:50:420:50:45

and in particular that area there is darkish and plain.

0:50:450:50:48

-So this is a lesser black-backed?

-This is a lesser black-backed gull.

0:50:480:50:51

In herring gulls, this would all be very pale

0:50:510:50:54

and it would be very mottled

0:50:540:50:56

and then the primaries would be brown as opposed to blackish.

0:50:560:50:59

How old do you reckon this one is?

0:50:590:51:02

By the size of him, six weeks.

0:51:020:51:05

And I expect them at six weeks to have a wing of around about 300,

0:51:050:51:09

and you can see that this one is actually 301.

0:51:090:51:12

Thanks to Peter's detailed records going back decades,

0:51:120:51:16

we've learnt a huge amount about the seagulls that are now living inland.

0:51:160:51:20

And they're a very different bird

0:51:200:51:22

from the birds we see around the coast.

0:51:220:51:25

These urban gulls will never go back to the wild.

0:51:250:51:29

They will always go to another urban colony, if they're female,

0:51:290:51:34

or back to their own colony if they're male.

0:51:340:51:37

-So an urban gull will always be an urban gull?

-Yep, yeah.

0:51:370:51:40

-Can I let this one go?

-You certainly can, yes.

0:51:400:51:43

Now, remember he can bite, but he won't bite hard.

0:51:430:51:45

OK. Oh, hello, hello. Where shall I put him?

0:51:450:51:48

Shove him down there, that'll be fine. Just let him go.

0:51:480:51:52

OK, ready? One, two, three, go.

0:51:520:51:53

Don't have to throw him, just put him down.

0:51:530:51:55

Oh, he wants to stick around, this one. No, he's off!

0:51:550:51:58

So Peter, urban numbers of gulls are up, rural numbers are down,

0:51:580:52:02

but how is the population doing as a whole?

0:52:020:52:05

What we're looking at is a decline overall in the population.

0:52:050:52:08

The difference of course is that urban gulls are very successful,

0:52:080:52:13

and are increasing rapidly.

0:52:130:52:15

Whereas rural gulls are declining,

0:52:150:52:18

and quite dramatically, too, actually.

0:52:180:52:20

We're looking at a situation where, eventually, urban gulls

0:52:200:52:25

will be more numerous than rural gulls.

0:52:250:52:28

Urban gulls are taking over the world, you mark my words.

0:52:280:52:31

Actually, I'm not joking!

0:52:310:52:32

HE LAUGHS

0:52:320:52:34

It seems that some of the most successful seabirds are the ones

0:52:370:52:41

that have ditched the sea and headed inland for alternative food sources.

0:52:410:52:45

And it's incredible how well these urban gulls are doing.

0:52:450:52:49

However, if their success continues,

0:52:490:52:52

it could cause them problems,

0:52:520:52:54

as many local residents and councils view them as pests.

0:52:540:52:59

These big birds can make a dreadful mess.

0:53:010:53:05

And that terrible noise.

0:53:050:53:06

GULLS CALL

0:53:060:53:08

You know, all they're actually saying to each other is,

0:53:080:53:12

"Come and mate with me, or get lost!"

0:53:120:53:14

What a racket.

0:53:140:53:16

I guess if we're going to keep enjoying seabirds in the UK,

0:53:170:53:20

we ALL need to adapt.

0:53:200:53:23

We're extremely fortunate that, every summer,

0:53:250:53:29

eight million seabirds choose to come to our shores

0:53:290:53:33

to have their young.

0:53:330:53:34

Their breeding season provides us with a wonderful wildlife spectacle.

0:53:360:53:41

But, of course, it all comes to an end

0:53:440:53:47

when the seabirds return to the sea.

0:53:470:53:50

Iolo's back on Skomer for one last time.

0:53:570:54:00

It's late June,

0:54:040:54:06

and we're getting to the end of the seabird breeding season.

0:54:060:54:09

Some of the chicks are starting to think about fledging.

0:54:100:54:14

Careful where we go, just watch your footing there.

0:54:140:54:18

'But first of all, Tim's taking me to meet

0:54:180:54:20

'one of the island's newest arrivals.'

0:54:200:54:23

-Let's see what we've got in there.

-Right, let's see what we've got.

0:54:230:54:27

Ahh, what a beautiful bird.

0:54:270:54:28

That's brilliant. Come on, little guy.

0:54:280:54:31

How old is that, Tim?

0:54:310:54:33

That's five days old, Iolo.

0:54:330:54:35

-Five days! Is that all?

-Yeah.

0:54:350:54:36

-It's grown a lot in days, hasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

0:54:360:54:39

-We'd better weigh it.

-We're going to weigh it.

0:54:390:54:42

And a typical Manx shearwater beak already. That long beak.

0:54:420:54:44

Oh, yes. You can already see it's a baby Manx shearwater.

0:54:440:54:47

That's 135 grams.

0:54:470:54:50

-Do you want me to hold him for you?

-Yeah, why don't you?

0:54:500:54:52

Come here, boy, get my hands nice and warm.

0:54:520:54:55

Look at that, what a little beauty!

0:54:550:54:58

Hey, get your head up, look, don't worry, we mean you no harm,

0:54:580:55:01

I'll just keep you warm.

0:55:010:55:02

And this will be in its burrow for how long now?

0:55:020:55:05

Almost another 70 days.

0:55:050:55:07

So it's not going to leave until mid-September?

0:55:070:55:10

That's right. Early September.

0:55:100:55:11

It'll be one of the last birds on the island, won't it?

0:55:110:55:13

Everything, all the other seabirds pretty much will have finished

0:55:130:55:16

long before the shearwaters fledge.

0:55:160:55:18

And in fact, most of their parents will have gone

0:55:180:55:21

by the time they fledge as well.

0:55:210:55:22

And, of course, they go all the way down to South America.

0:55:220:55:25

That's right, yes.

0:55:250:55:26

So a journey of, what, 25,000km round trip, probably.

0:55:260:55:30

Plenty of food down there for them.

0:55:300:55:32

Right, I'd better give you that to put back.

0:55:320:55:34

Thank you very much then, what a stunning little bird.

0:55:340:55:37

Thank you for that, that's a real privilege.

0:55:370:55:39

Now, Tim, we've known for quite some time that our Manx shearwaters

0:55:390:55:44

go all the way down off the coast of South America,

0:55:440:55:47

but what we haven't known until now, Tim,

0:55:470:55:50

is where our puffins go in the winter.

0:55:500:55:52

So the picture for puffin migration has been very patchy until recently,

0:55:530:55:57

when we were able to use geo-location technology

0:55:570:56:01

to track individual puffins using these little devices here.

0:56:010:56:05

And where do they go?

0:56:050:56:06

Well, it's a very interesting picture.

0:56:060:56:09

The answer seems to be that they go pretty much everywhere.

0:56:090:56:12

I mean, I'm exaggerating,

0:56:120:56:13

but they have this highly dispersive migration.

0:56:130:56:15

From Skomer, we have puffins which...

0:56:150:56:17

breeding puffins which migrate out towards Greenland, beyond Greenland.

0:56:170:56:22

We have some which migrate down into the Mediterranean.

0:56:220:56:25

And each individual is doing something different.

0:56:250:56:29

In fact, puffins from neighbouring burrows,

0:56:290:56:31

who've spent the summer living just a couple of feet away from each other,

0:56:310:56:36

could end up spending the winter thousands of miles apart.

0:56:360:56:39

The breeding season on Skomer is drawing to a close.

0:56:450:56:48

It's time for the seabirds to start heading back out to sea,

0:56:480:56:52

and their chicks will soon follow them.

0:56:520:56:56

For these young birds, it's a brave jump into the great blue yonder,

0:56:560:57:01

but also a brave leap into a very uncertain future.

0:57:010:57:05

Let's for a moment be ruthlessly realistic.

0:57:090:57:13

The process of climate change is not going to stop,

0:57:130:57:17

the temperature of these seas

0:57:170:57:18

is going to continue to rise inexorably.

0:57:180:57:21

So what's going to happen right here in Orkney, right now?

0:57:210:57:25

Well, some of our seabirds, unfortunately,

0:57:250:57:28

are not going to make it. They've had it.

0:57:280:57:30

But I don't think those magnificent sea cliffs

0:57:300:57:33

are going to fall silent.

0:57:330:57:36

It's just going to be a process of change.

0:57:360:57:38

The numbers are going to change, and the types of bird nesting there

0:57:380:57:41

are also going to change.

0:57:410:57:44

But maybe, over the centuries, that change has gone on anyway.

0:57:440:57:48

We've just got to hope that some, at least,

0:57:480:57:51

of our seabirds can keep pace with what's happening now.

0:57:510:57:55

A lot of work is being done to find out what's going wrong

0:57:590:58:03

with our seabirds, and what we can do to help them.

0:58:030:58:07

But I can't urge you enough to get out and visit

0:58:070:58:11

one of these seabird colonies for yourself in summer.

0:58:110:58:15

The Orkneys, the Bass Rock, the Skomer Island Complex -

0:58:150:58:19

these are wildlife spectacles with no compare.

0:58:190:58:22

They're better than the Serengeti.

0:58:220:58:24

They're better than Antarctica.

0:58:240:58:26

They really are the best of British wildlife.

0:58:260:58:30

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0:58:530:58:56

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