Seabird wrecks – guest blog by Gareth Cunningham, RSPB Cymru marine officer

Every year and particularly in winter, some seabirds are washed up on beaches in Wales. Seabirds face many hazards, both man-made and natural, and birds may be storm-wrecked by adverse weather conditions that exhaust the birds and sometimes very large numbers can be affected. Oil and other pollution may also kill or disable birds, and seabirds may also be accidentally caught and killed in fishing nets in some circumstances. In all cases, live and dead seabirds may be found ashore. We expect and are now seeing a number of birds wash up in relation to the extreme weather events this winter. We are aware of the razorbills, guillemots and some puffins already washing up on Rhossili, Llangenith and Swansea beaches, and have been in contact with the national trust, MCAA (Coastguard), and Natural Resources Wales. However if more birds continue to wash up we would welcome details. We are keen to monitor and record numbers of `beached’ seabirds so that we can identify what’s happening and, as appropriate, take action with partner NGOs and the statutory agencies. The information we need is: • Date of finding birds. • Location of birds (a grid reference is ideal). • Numbers of birds. • Species of birds – a physical description is helpful for identification. • Number dead and number live. • Details of any obvious pollution (oil or other substance) – extent of pollutant on birds, description (colour smell etc) of substance. [Please do not assume that `beached’ birds have been affected by pollutants – plumage may be discoloured by sand or mud on the beach, and birds may look different if they have been scavenged or started to decay naturally]. • Details of any ringed birds. [If safe to do so, dead birds should be checked for rings, as this can help identify the ages and origins of affected birds. Details of ringed birds can be reported online at www.ring.ac] • Name and contact details of person finding birds (this is so we can contact you for more info if necessary). The more detail the better and photos are helpful, precise information enables us to gauge the extent of any problem better and to cross reference reports where we receive several calls about the same birds. However we are still keen to receive reports even if, for example, there is uncertainty over numbers or species identification. So please get in touch via cymru@rspb.org.uk or if you find live sea birds that can be rescued it is recommended they should contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999. We would advise you not to attempt rescuing the seabirds yourself or to handle them.