And so to the final instalment of this year's seabird count update and two of the seabirds with the smallest breeding populations on Ramsey and the Bishops & Clerks.
Kittiwake have never bred here in large numbers but at their peak there were 489 pairs in 1995. Subsequent years have seen a steady decline to a new low of just 51 pairs this year. The figure had been stable around 80-90 pairs for the past few years but storm force winds at the end of May washed away one of the sub colonies on the west coast and they didn't rebuild.
Ramsey is not unusual in seeing population declines in this species. Kittiwakes have been added to the ICUN Red List of birds at risk of global extinction, having declined by around 40% worldwide since the 1970's. The situation is even worse at some of the largest colonies in the UK where the species has declined by 87% since 2000. On St Kilda, in the Western Isles, 96% of the population has been lost.
The overall problem lies with food source. Sandeel availability is crucial to the breeding success of kittiwakes. However, in northern colonies at least, there is stiff competition with sandeel fisheries. Perhaps more worryingly as there is no 'quick fix', is the effect of climate change. Sandeels feed on plankton which favours cooler waters. As the sea surface temperature increases the plankton moves further north, so the sandeels move too.
But sandeels are seemingly plentiful in Pembrokeshire waters at the moment. Puffins on Skomer are photographed year on year bringing in healthy beakfulls. So why are kittiwakes struggling here? It is a question with no simple answer yet and illustrates the importance of continued long term scientific monitoring and research. Kittiwakes are 'plunge feeders' i.e. they dip into the upper 1m of the water column to catch prey. If there is a problem with the food supply here they don't have the ability to dive and change tact such as puffins and other auks do.
Kittiwakes gathering nest material from a damp run off stream on west side of Ramsey
And what about during the winter? Our birds tend to move out into the Atlantic for this period but if food is scarce out there, or increased winter storms make feeding more difficult, they will return to the colonies in poor condition the following spring. We see many more kittiwakes around the island in spring than go on to breed indicating birds are indeed arriving back at the colonies in no fit state to see through the rigours of a breeding season.
Seabirds tend to be colonial breeders as this offers safety in numbers. But as colony size decreases so does the benefit offered by this tactic. Therefore, in a vicious circle, the smaller the colony gets the more birds will be predated. But predation is not the cause of the kittiwake's decline on Ramsey. People see gulls or peregrines pulling adults or chicks off nests but this would always have occurred. In the past a large and healthy colony would have easily absorbed such losses. Many guillemot eggs and chicks will have been predated on Ramsey this year by ravens and gulls but the colony is expanding. We see predation happening and it is easy to point the finger, but we need to look at the true causes of seabird declines to find the answer and hopefully there is still time for Ramsey's kittiwakes.
Fingers crossed some kittiwake chicks make it off Ramsey this year
To end on a more positive note.....puffins! No puffins have bred on Ramsey since the early 1900's. As many of you will know this is due to predation by rats which found their way to Ramsey via shipwrecks in the 1800's. With rats eradicated, Manx shearwater numbers have boomed and storm petrels have returned but we still await the return of the puffin.
A small population breed out on the Bishops and Clerks, a string of islands that are part of the RSPB reserve lying around 2km off the NW coast of the main island. This year we counted a max of 55 individuals, the 2nd highest on record. In addition, Zeman, one of our Thousand Islands Expeditions skippers, spotted a bird on low tide rocks on the west side of Ramsey. It has been a good year for sightings of birds around the island with up to 15-20 together on the water some days. Surely it is only a matter of time?......
'The Ramsey 1' - a lone puffin makes landfall on Ramsey, carefully watched by the resident razorbills ( M Higginbottom)