Last Sunday at Bempton Cliffs we held a joint marine event with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Experienced volunteers for both organizations, Angela and Ken Belk, manned the marquee and provided information to interested visitors. We would like to say a huge thank you to both of these dedicated volunteers, without whom we would not have been able to run the event.
Why is the RSPB concerned about sealife?
Because every year, just under 8 million seabirds from 26 species, such as kittiwakes and puffins, come to the British Coast to breed. Of these, seven come to Bempton, with an eighth (shag) breeding nearby. When they’re not breeding, most of these species live out at sea and face many threats, notably from fisheries, loss of feeding habitat or food, from increasing offshore development, from pollution such as oil and chemicals and also by getting tangled in marine litter and debris.
We work on a range of issues to protect and conserve our seabirds and shorebirds, as well as the wonderful marine environment on which they depend, from the impacts of human activities. At Bempton this involves seabird monitoring research as well as diet studies and kittiwake tagging. The purpose of this research is to get an idea of the breeding success of different species’ as well as an idea of what the seabirds are eating and where they are searching for this food.
If you would like to help combat the threats to our marine life then consider becoming an RSPB Sealife Guardian. By giving as little as £2 a month you could help us put pressure on governments, fund seabird research and protect the places where seabirds and marine wildlife live. For more information on this please visit http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/sealife/index.aspx# or come down to Bempton Cliffs and ask for more information.
(Photos by Nick Turver, August 2010)
Rachael Tulloch (Warden Intern, RSPB Fairburn Ings)