Tracking seabirds on Orkney

8 Jul 2013

RSPB research assistants Chris Taylor and Derren Fox, give us an update on tracking seabirds on Orkney...

Tracking seabirds on Orkney

Seabird communities are great indicators of the health of the marine environment. This summer myself (Chris) and Derren Fox have been given the fantastic opportunity to assist with the monitoring of where seabirds are foraging for food. We have been attaching small GPS devices onto shags and razorbills and will soon be moving onto fulmar, kittiwake and guillemots. This information is crucial at a time when Marine Protected Areas are being discussed more and more.

Actually doing the tagging though is a small part of the process. In order to carry out this work there is a lot of preparation.

This involves

Training – we need to ensure we cause minimum disturbance to the seabirds to avoid affecting their behaviour. We have spent a lot of time with other experienced researchers to learn the ropes. We also need to make sure we can attach the devices securely to the birds so that we can recover the device.

Ellie Owen, Chris Taylor and our dummy Shag to refine our catching techniques. Photo by Derren Fox.

Preparation of tracking devices – GPS loggers need to be stripped down to minimise weight and charged and numbered so we can keep track of them.

GPS loggers being prepared for deployments. Photo by Chris Taylor.

Monitoring – we need to regularly observe our species so that we know how they are behaving. This is important so that we know what stage in the breeding season each species are at. If we try and deploy on a seabird too early there is a chance of the bird abandoning the nest. We also monitor the productivity (number of young each species are having) so that we can work out whether the seabirds are having a good or poor season. This can be compared against foraging tracks from similar species in other years when productivity might be higher or lower to see how foraging strategies may alter between seasons.

Razorbill by Chris Taylor

Arranging boats – We are currently working on three islands around Orkney. Copinsay, Muckle Skerry and Swona. We have to visit these three islands in rotation making sure that our timings fit in with how the seabirds progressing. Each time we go out to an island we also need to set up camp.

Field Station Base Camp on Muckle Skerry. Photo by Chris Taylor.

Catching the seabird – this can take a long time of stealthy fieldwork.

The actual tagging – this usually takes around 6 minutes then the bird is released either back to its burrow or out to sea. We then wait to watch the bird back on the nest and guard the area from gulls. Taking the device off a few days later takes about 5 minutes and we also take basic measurements from the bird (weight, etc.)

After razorbills we shall be tagging fulmar, a species with a long incubation and chick rearing period which is a little later than the Auks.