510 © British Birds 100 • August 2007 • 510–513

News and commentCompiled by Adrian Pitches

Opinions expressed in this feature are not necessarily those of British Birds

(Another) poor seabird season in northern ScotlandThere is alarming news from theseabird colonies of northern Scot-land with reports coming in ofapparently widespread breedingfailure that could be even worsethan in 2004. Once again, the lackof sandeels Ammodytes in ourinshore waters has forced seabirdsto abandon their breeding groundswithout fledging young.

Major Tony Crease visits CapeWrath, in Highland, every summerwith the Swaledale Ringing Group.

The cliffs at Clo Mor are thehighest in mainland Britain (281m) and normally support in theregion of 30,000–40,000 seabirds.But not this year. ‘The area wasabsolutely deserted. Normally thisis a bustling colony but there wasnot a bird there – just an eeriesilence,’ Major Crease told N&c.‘This is a crash on a catastrophicscale. I cannot tell you howdepressing this is.’ Along the 25 kmof coastline that the Swaledale

Ringing Group surveys eachsummer there was barely a handfulof Puffins Fratercula arctica, whileall the other auks had failed, as hadFulmars Fulmarus glacialis andShags Phalacrocorax aristotelis.

In Orkney, things also lookpretty grim. The RSPB’s Eric Meektold us: ‘Arctic Terns Sterna par-adisaea and Kittiwakes Rissa tri-dactyla are having an especially hardtime, with very few chicks reachingfledging. There are enormous gaps

ReviewsReviews

This companion volume to A Com-plete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife(itself soon to be republished byHelm) has been written by RichardSale, who has travelled extensivelyin the Arctic, and was also co-author of a recent monograph onthe Gyr Falcon Falco rusticolus.

The book begins with a seriesof introductory chapters whichgive background information onvarious aspects of the Arcticenvironment, including four well-balanced pages on climate change.The difficulties of defining an areathat merges into the huge land-masses of Eurasia and NorthAmerica are also discussed, andthose species which reach only thesub-Arctic are largely excludedfrom the main part of the book,which comprises systematic cov-

erage of the birds and mammals ofthe Arctic. And it is only birds andmammals, which means that onecould argue with the word ‘com-plete’ in the title, although this ispresumably used because the text isfairly extensive and has subhead-ings for Identification, Confusionspecies, Size, Voice (Communica-tion for mammals), Distribution,Diet, Breeding and Taxonomy andgeographical variation.

The photographs undoubtedlymake the greatest impact in thisstylish and well-designed book, themajority having been taken by theauthor or by Per Michelsen. Thereis at least one photograph for mostof the mammals, althoughexcluding many of the smallrodents, and at least one photo foreach species of bird. In otherwords, the photos include breedingRed-breasted Goose Branta rufi-collis, Siberian Crane Grus leucoger-anus, breeding Spoon-billedSandpiper Eurynorhynchuspygmeus, and breeding-plumageAncient Murrelet Synthliboram-phus antiquus, to name but a few.Usefully, most of the photos areaccompanied by information onthe site and the race involved,although the date is not included.The photos are supplemented by

colour plates, many clearly har-vested from other books in theA&C Black stable, although themammal plates are new. There arealso colour maps for all the mainspecies.

This is a well-produced, accu-rate and attractive book, beauti-fully presented and illustrated, andgiving excellent coverage of Arcticbirds and mammals. It is unclear,though, whether it is intended as afield guide, a handbook or an illus-trated encyclopedia. At 1.5 kg, it istoo heavy to take out in the fieldbut, if it is not intended for fielduse, then perhaps a larger formatand more detail would have beenappropriate. I also wonder howmany of the potential buyers willhave most of the information theyneed sitting on their shelvesalready, in European and NorthAmerican guides. Given the fasci-nation that Arctic animals have formany of us, however, this book is auseful additional reference and,with climate change now estab-lished as a primary environmentalconcern, this is a timely celebrationof the Arctic and a reminder ofwhat we stand to lose.

Mike Pennington

A COMPLETE GUIDE TOARCTIC WILDLIFE

By Richard Sale.Christopher Helm, A&C Black,

London, 2006.464 pages; over 450 colour

photographs; 294 maps;38 colour plates.

ISBN 13: 978-0-7136-7039-4.Hardback, £40.00.

News and comment

511British Birds 100 • August 2007 • 510–513

Another windfarm planned for LewisPlans for a third huge windfarm onthe Hebridean isle of Lewis havebeen unveiled. The 57-turbinePairc windfarm proposed by Scot-tish and Southern Energy (SSE)brings the number of wind tur-bines proposed for the island to300. If all three ‘mega windfarms’were given permission by the Scot-tish Executive, the line of turbineswould stretch for nearly 40 miles.

The largest and most contro-versial of the three windfarmsplanned for Lewis is the LewisWindpower (Amec/British Energy)proposal for 181 turbines. TheRSPB has campaigned vigorouslyagainst this development on theLewis Peatlands Special ProtectionArea, which is home to nationally

important breeding populations ofdivers, raptors and waders. Theoriginal proposal was for 234 tur-bines but this was modified fol-lowing RSPB lobbying and theconcerns of islanders. The WesternIsles Council has voted in favour ofthe windfarm and a decision fromthe Scottish Executive is expectedsoon.

Besides two small windfarmstotalling nine turbines, there is theMuaitheabhal windfarm proposalby Beinn Mhor Power for 53 tur-bines on the Pairc peninsula.

Now, a third major planningapplication, also on the Paircpeninsula, has been submitted.With 57 turbines it’s barely a thirdthe size of the Lewis Windpower

scheme, but it could have a fargreater impact on the island’s eaglepopulation than has been projectedfor the far larger development. SSE,in its own environmental assess-ment, predicts that three GoldenEagles Aquila chrysaetos could bekilled by the turbine blades at Paircin every year of the windfarm’s 25-year lifespan. The Pairc peninsulais also home to 15% of the UK’sbreeding population of White-tailed Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla, sothese birds are also under threat.

Peat slides caused by construc-tion work on the peat bogs are alsoa strong possibility. In 2003, 0.5 km2

of peat slid 2.5 km down a hillsideat Derrybrien, in western Ireland,during construction of a windfarm.

in our Guillemot Uria aalge coloniesand birds seem to be leaving indroves without fledging chicks.Razorbills Alca torda are also havinga hard time and we are findingeither dead or underweight chicks inthe colonies where we ring.’

As in previous poor seasons, itseems that a chronic shortage ofsandeels is to blame. Warming seaswith consequent changes in the dis-tribution of the sandeels’ planktonfood is the most likely explanationbut industrial fishing could also beimplicated (for example, there is anenormous sandeel processing plantat Esbjerg in Denmark where thefish are turned into fertiliser andanimal feed).

In Shetland the full picture hasyet to be revealed. The breedingseason has once again been verylate and at the time of writing, thesituation is clearly patchy, althoughthere have been widespread failuresin some areas. On Fair Isle, forexample, breeding success of Kitti-wakes, terns and Razorbills is zero,or close to it, while Guillemotshave fared only a little better. ArcticSkuas Stercorarius parasiticus tooare doing badly and nest defencehas been very half-hearted, butGreat Skuas S. skua are currentlypresent in record numbers andhave produced lots of chicks –although it remains to be seen howmany will survive to fledging. Only

40 km farther north, at SumburghHead, Guillemots look to beheading for a moderate season, asfeeding rates are being described as‘reasonable’, although Razorbillpopulation levels at study plots areat an all-time low since recordsbegan and there appears to be non-breeding in both species. Kitti-wakes are also faring somewhatbetter here than on Fair Isle and,while some colonies of Arctic Ternshave failed completely, there arestill chicks surviving at others,another reflection of the patchynature of key prey-fish species.

N&c would welcome reportsfrom other seabird colonies asbreeding results are collated.

Sea Eagles flown in to Scotland and IrelandThe reintroduction of White-tailedEagles to eastern Scotland and theRepublic of Ireland started inearnest in June with the arrival ofyoung birds from Norway. Con-signments of 15 eaglets were flownin to both countries by Norwegianair force cargo planes. Both sets ofyoung birds will be reared inaviaries before their release laterthis summer. The Scottish releasesite is being kept secret but theIrish eagles will be released in Kil-larney national park.

The East Scotland Sea EagleProject, funded by RSPB and Scot-tish Natural Heritage, will run forfive years at a total cost of£250,000. James Reynolds, of RSPBScotland, said: ‘If left to their owndevices, the now stable west-coastpopulations might take decadesbefore they begin to reoccupy theirformer haunts in the eastern low-lands. For this reason, the east-coast project will continue over afurther four years, with up to 20chicks a year being brought from

Norway and released, so that a self-sustaining population will becomeestablished.’

The Norwegian birds may begrateful to have crossed the NorthSea. A further four White-tailedEagles have been killed by windturbine blades at the controversial68-turbine windfarm on the Smølaarchipelago off Norway’s northwestcoast, bringing to 13 the number ofeagles killed there in the past twoyears.

512 British Birds 100 • August 2007 • 510–513

News and comment

British Birdsat the Birdfair

The British Birdwatching Fair ishere again and BB has plenty tocelebrate at this year’s event, whichwill be held at Rutland Water on17th–19th August. The BBi DVD-ROM containing the entire archiveof the journal from 1907 to 2006will be launched at the Birdfair andavailable for purchase on theBirdGuides stand. There will be ademonstration of the DVD-ROMin Lecture Marquee 2 at 10.00 hrson the Friday of the Birdfair (17thAugust). And another note for yourBirdfair programme is the presen-tation of the BB Bird Photographof the Year prizes by Springwatchstar Simon King in the EventsMarquee at 16.30 on the Friday. Allare welcome.

The BB stand is in Marquee 3on stands 24/25 and BirdGuides isin the same marquee on stands13/14/15/16. Subscribers who wantto pick up their reduced-pricecopies of BBi should form anorderly queue at the BirdGuidesstand!

A reminder that the £75.00special offer to subscribers extendsto December but the pre-publica-tion price to non-subscribers of£85 expires in mid August. Tellyour friends to get their orders infast – and subscribe to BB forquality content long into oursecond century!

BB comes upsmelling of… roses?

Sensitive subscribers may havenoticed that BB in its centenaryyear looks and feels different(thicker, heavier issues with morepages) and it even smells different!Our printer, Hastings PrintingCompany Ltd, has introduced newinks, which use natural, vegetabledyes rather than synthetic chemi-cals and so are far more environ-mentally friendly. We hope readerswill appreciate that BB is doing itsbit to be green (and blue, red,yellow…).

The one that got away (twice)This month’s must-watch video clip is of the Somerset Yellow-nosed Alba-tross Thalassarche chlororhynchos. Yes, a potential ‘First’ for Britain missedby every one of this nation’s hard-core twitchers but available to all via theinternet! The exhausted immature bird was found on the beach at Brean,near Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, by a walker on 29th June. It was takento a local wildlife rescue centre and recuperated overnight. The followingday the bird was released from Brean Down and flew off into the BristolChannel. No birders were present but photos and video were taken by thebird’s rescuers and will presumably be submitted to BBRC. For the fullstory see: www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/2007/albatros-released-30-06-07.shtml

Amazingly, a Yellow-nosed Albatross was photographed off the Norwe-gian coast, northwest of Grip, More og Romsdal, at 15.00 hrs the previousday, 28th June; and what was presumably the same bird was seen from anoffshore platform, northwest of Trondheim, between 4th and 8th July. It, ora second, or a third albatross, was subsequently seen off Malmo, southernSweden, on 8th July and was last noted heading inland!

And then, perhaps most remarkably of all, we received news that aYellow-nosed Albatross had been seen at an inland lake on 2nd and 3rd Julyin Manton, north Lincolnshire! Presumably this was the Somerset bird; andconceivably the Scandinavian bird too? The Lincolnshire bird arrived onthe evening of 2nd July, mobbed by a large group of gulls, and landed onthe 20-ha lake, where it was attacked by Mute Swans Cygnus olor. The birdseemed somewhat lethargic and spent the night there. It was still presentthe following morning, again seen by anglers at the lake. At one stage, PaulCondon, who photographed the bird, cast a bait device into the water andthe albatross flew across and pounced on it, picking it up; this behaviourwas repeated before Paul gave up, not wanting to harm the bird. Havingthus narrowly escaped becoming the first victim of longlining on a Britishfishing lake, the albatross left Manton sometime on the afternoon of 3rdJuly. And again, no birders managed to see this bird! N&c is grateful toGraham Catley for passing on the story and the photos to BB; Graham,who lives just 30 km from the lake, came off valium long enough to write afew details for N&c, just as we went to press…

News and comment

215. Immature Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos,Manton, Lincolnshire, July 2007.

Paul

Con

don

513© British Birds 100 • August 2007 • 510–513

News and commentNews and comment

BBRC appoints a new chairman

The British Birds Rarities Committee is sponsored by Carl Zeiss Ltd.Chairman: Colin Bradshaw, 9 Tynemouth Place,Tynemouth,Tyne & Wear NE30 4BJ

Secretary: Nigel Hudson, Post Office Flat, St Mary’s, Scilly TR21 0LL

After 18 years’ involvement withBBRC, the last 11 as Chairman,Colin Bradshaw will retire on 31stMarch 2008. His outstanding man-agerial skills and vision havesteered the committee throughtimes of great and often difficultchange. These have includedunprecedented developments inidentification and taxonomy, the

move to electronic submission and,most recently, the recruitment of anew secretary. He can now lookforward to a very well-earned rest.

Following a call for nomina-tions earlier this year, the board ofdirectors of British Birds hasappointed Adam Rowlands as thenew Chairman. Having been avoting member on BBRC since

1999, he is a vastly experienced andimmensely respected recordassessor. His experience as thereserve manager at two of theRSPB’s flagship reserves (Titchwell,in Norfolk, and, presently, Mins-mere, in Suffolk) testifies to hisoutstanding abilities as a manager,diplomat and administrator. Suchskills will be essential in his newposition as Chairman of BBRC.Crucially, he is also a vastly experi-enced birder and bird finder withknowledge of bird identification tomatch. He will take over at theAGM in spring 2008, after a nine-month transition period.

The Chairman’s job is nevereasy, completely voluntary andalways busy, and all involved withBBRC consider themselves veryfortunate to have secured his com-mitment to this important role.

Rarities Committee news

217. Adam Rowlands.

216. Immature Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos, with Mute Swans Cygnus olor,Manton, Lincolnshire, July 2007.

Paul

Con

don