Gannets only started nesting at Noup Cliffs in 2003, when 3 pairs built nests, one of which managed to fledge a single chick, and they have been increasing ever since! In 2004 they had increased to 14 birds nesting with 11 chicks fledged, and then they really took off, increasing rapidly with each year, so that by 2011 they had reached an astounding 600 nesting birds! However, they have now begun to slow down a bit and although they are still increasing, they are not doing so quite as rapidly as they were, so perhaps they are reaching their peak numbers on Noup Cliffs now? In order to answer this question we need to continue to monitor the success of these elegant seabirds, and that is exactly what we did!
Last Monday (25th June) myself, Alan and Julie all went over to Westray to complete the annual count of the Gannets breeding at our Noup Cliffs reserve, and what a glorious day it turned out to be! This survey basically involves walking along the top of the cliffs at Noup and using a telescope or binoculars to scan along the cliffs and count all of the nesting Gannets. The survey took about 4 hours in total and we counted a grand total of 623 nests – a moderate increase on last year’s 600! As you may know, most of the breeding seabirds are declining in numbers up here, but once again things are looking up for the Gannet population! This is thought to be because Gannets will eat a wider variety of food - whereas most seabirds rely heavily on a diet of Sandeels, Gannets will eat a variety of fish species such as Herring or even Squid. They will also fly further to find their food than many other seabird species, and will dive fairly deep to get their food. Because of this, Gannets are less affected by the movements of Sandeels than many of the other seabird species, such as Kittiwakes, which are much more dependant on Sandeels for food.
Graph showing the increase in the number of Gannets nesting at Noup Cliffs since 2003
Me and Julie counting Gannet nests at Noup Cliffs
The cliffs in all their glory!
Close up of adults with chicks!