Why it's good news Yorkshire's gannets now have completely black eyes

The breeding season is now gearing up for seabirds on cliffs and islands around Britain with, so far, no reports of the avian flu that has ravaged colonies for the past five years.
By Bill Tease
Published 20th Jun 2024, 00:00 BST

This is raising hopes that there is now a growing immunity to the virus among seabirds as some of those returning this year might have been exposed to it and survived in previous years.

One example is among gannets, some of which now have completely black eyes instead of the usual blue iris. This is thought to indicate that they have survived a previous avian flu infection, while blood tests on some of the gannets on Bass Rock found a 30 per cent resistance to the disease. There are also signs of developing immunity among shags.

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The Bempton Cliffs reserve has avoided any closures because of the virus because there is no close contact between visitors and the cliff-nesting birds.

Nesting gannets at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire where around 500,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. Photo credit: Danny Lawson/PA WireNesting gannets at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire where around 500,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. Photo credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Nesting gannets at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire where around 500,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. Photo credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

But further north the Farne Islands have only opened fully again this year after five years of disruption including two of a total ban on landings.

Only now, with restrictions lifted, are rangers on the islands fully able to carry out survey work again and one of the first projects is a puffin census on the eight of the 28 of the Farne Islands where they nest.

This involves monitoring nest burrows for signs of occupancy such as fresh digging, droppings, fish and feathers. Only if still unsure will a ranger risk a painful nip and reach inside to check for an adult puffin, chick or egg.

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The puffin is one of the birds Red Listed as of maximum conservation concern and previous surveys before the avian flu outbreaks found numbers were declining. One suggestion as to why is that fewer puffins are surviving the eight months they spend out at sea after breeding because of the increased intensity of winter storms caused by climate change.

In a survey published in 2021 the British Trust for Ornithology warned that the UK puffin population could plunge by as much as 90 percent by 2050 if the increases in sea temperatures caused by global warming are not checked.

Puffins only lay a single egg and it is when this hatches both adults are kept busy feeding the chick with sand eels carrying a row of them in their large beaks.

Hopefully puffins and other seabirds will be able to breed successfully this summer, in the meantime a close watch is being kept for the first signs of another avian flu outbreak including any new strains of the virus that might emerge.

Related topics:BritainYorkshire

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