World Seabird Day: here’s how you can get involved

Fersiwn Gymraeg ar gael yma.

World Seabird Day is coming up on July 3 and we encourage you to dress up for the occasion! So, go on, be more puffin…

You can download your own free puffin mask template here, with simple instructions and a colouring-in guide.

We would love to see your creations. Why not share them using the hashtag #SeabirdStrategy on World Seabird Day on July 3?

Got a few minutes to help seabirds?

• Ask the Welsh Government to commit to a seabird recovery strategy. The Governments in both Scotland and England have committed to creating strategies to protect seabirds. However, the Welsh Government has yet to take this vital step. Don’t let seabirds in Wales get left behind. You can read more about the threat to seabirds in Wales and the need for a strategy below.
  
  Please help us to call for a seabird strategy on the 3^rd of July by sharing a photo of you or a member of your family wearing the mask on Twitter or Facebook, with the hashtag #SeabirdStrategy. If you would like to go one step further in making your voice heard, do tag the Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths @Lesley4Wrexham in your tweet. You could also tag the Welsh Government’s environment teams @WGEnviroAgri.

If you are unable to print and colour the mask, you can still get involved. Why not share a photo of a seabird or a part of the coast that you love, along with the hashtag? We look forward to seeing your contributions!

You can also help seabirds by:

• Joining us in calling for a green recovery. Nature has been so important to us all during the Covid-19 crisis; a response to Covid-19 is needed, which will help people and nature recover together.
• Checking to see if you have any puffin photographs where the birds have food in their beaks. If you do, please submit them to our scientists’ studying puffin diet.

A seabird recovery strategy

Seabirds face numerous dangers. These include climate change impacts, entanglement in plastic and fishing gear, disturbance, predators at breeding sites and loss of habitat.

It’s therefore perhaps not surprising that marine birds across the UK and globally are struggling more than any other bird group. A recent evaluation of progress shows that the UK has made the least progress on conserving seabirds (as compared to progress on protecting other aspects of the marine ecosystem). In fact, the status of UK marine birds is a ‘declining situation’.

Wales’ responsibility for the fate of UK seabirds has never been greater. Since the late 1980s, the long-term trend of seabirds in Scotland has declined by nearly 40%. Meanwhile, several seabird species in Wales have maintained increasing populations (such as the Atlantic puffin, a species threatened with global extinction). However, sadly, some of Wales’ seabirds are mirroring the trends seen in our neighbouring counties.  For instance, there has been a severe decline in Wales’ breeding kittiwakes of 35% since 1986! 

A Seabird Recovery Strategy for Wales would provide political commitment to and a foundation for strategic, dedicated action to reverse these negative trends and prevent other species following the same path, while continuing to protect those seabirds doing well in Wales to counteract losses elsewhere in the UK. 

Enjoy World Seabird Day by becoming a puffin and join our call for a Welsh Seabird Recovery Strategy!

If you’ve enjoyed taking part in this activity and would like to get more involved in RSPB Cymru’s work, sign up to be a campaign champion here.

While you’re here, we’re also running an e-action calling for the Welsh Government to committing to a Green Recovery from the impacts of Covid-19. Read this blog to find out more, and click here to complete our e-action!