1
00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:02,700


2
00:00:02,700 --> 00:00:05,260
For just a few months of the year,

3
00:00:05,260 --> 00:00:09,540
we share the United Kingdom
with a remarkable group of animals.

4
00:00:09,540 --> 00:00:15,500
Every summer, 8 million seabirds
come to our shores to breed

5
00:00:15,500 --> 00:00:18,660
and they come from quite literally
all around the world.

6
00:00:18,660 --> 00:00:22,620
Most of the time
they live out there,

7
00:00:22,620 --> 00:00:25,420
in the vast emptiness
of the world's oceans.

8
00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:29,260
But then, for a short time,
they come ashore...

9
00:00:30,860 --> 00:00:32,980
..for the breeding season.

10
00:00:34,420 --> 00:00:38,060
It's one of the greatest
wildlife gatherings on Earth,

11
00:00:38,060 --> 00:00:40,900
and it happens right here
on our doorstep.

12
00:00:42,940 --> 00:00:49,620
It's noisy, colourful, dramatic,
and, if we dig a little deeper,

13
00:00:49,620 --> 00:00:53,500
it turns out that these birds' lives
are packed full of surprises.

14
00:00:53,500 --> 00:00:58,220
Welcome to
the Springwatch Guide to Seabirds!

15
00:01:22,420 --> 00:01:26,900
Seabirds are actually
an astonishing group of animals.

16
00:01:26,900 --> 00:01:30,460
25 different species of them
come to the UK,

17
00:01:30,460 --> 00:01:34,620
and each has its own
special qualities.

18
00:01:34,620 --> 00:01:39,380
The huge Northern gannet - powerful,
the master of the ocean.

19
00:01:43,260 --> 00:01:48,580
Delicate Arctic terns,
known as swallows of the sea.

20
00:01:49,940 --> 00:01:52,420
They fly from the Antarctic Ocean

21
00:01:52,420 --> 00:01:55,660
to the northern isles of Scotland
every year.

22
00:01:58,500 --> 00:02:03,380
And fulmars have, um...
rather unpleasant habits.

23
00:02:04,980 --> 00:02:08,260
From "Eurgh" to "Ahh!"

24
00:02:08,260 --> 00:02:11,580
After nine months apart,
far out at sea,

25
00:02:11,580 --> 00:02:14,340
the gentle courtship of the puffin

26
00:02:14,340 --> 00:02:17,900
has delighted bird watchers
for generations.

27
00:02:19,980 --> 00:02:23,300
In the summer, you can find these
wonderful birds

28
00:02:23,300 --> 00:02:29,780
all around our coastline,
from the Northern Isles of Scotland,

29
00:02:29,780 --> 00:02:33,220
to the southern isles of
Wales and England

30
00:02:33,220 --> 00:02:37,500
and we're going to the very
best places to see them.

31
00:02:37,500 --> 00:02:41,620
I'm on Orkney,
off the northern tip of Scotland.

32
00:02:41,620 --> 00:02:46,620
Iolo Williams is on Skomer Island,
off the southwest coast of Wales.

33
00:02:48,460 --> 00:02:50,180
Michaela? She's in Bath,

34
00:02:50,180 --> 00:02:53,940
where she's finding out
why so many of our cities

35
00:02:53,940 --> 00:02:58,180
now echo to the plaintive cries
of seagulls.

36
00:03:00,060 --> 00:03:05,500
And Chris? Well, he's rooting about
in the bowels of Bristol Museum,

37
00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:08,580
looking for things to help him
explain some of the deeper mysteries

38
00:03:08,580 --> 00:03:10,180
of these fascinating birds.

39
00:03:11,420 --> 00:03:15,420
Together, we'll be taking
a closer look at our seabirds

40
00:03:15,420 --> 00:03:18,740
and how they're coping
in a fast-changing world.

41
00:03:21,940 --> 00:03:24,220
But first of all,

42
00:03:24,220 --> 00:03:28,460
what brings these creatures of the
sea to land for the breeding season?

43
00:03:29,700 --> 00:03:32,140
Well, of course,
they don't have any choice -

44
00:03:32,140 --> 00:03:35,180
they can't exactly
lay their eggs on water.

45
00:03:35,180 --> 00:03:37,820
And millions of them choose
our coastline

46
00:03:37,820 --> 00:03:40,940
because it provides them
with everything they need

47
00:03:40,940 --> 00:03:43,460
to raise their young.

48
00:03:45,540 --> 00:03:48,340
I used to think
that scenes like this,

49
00:03:48,340 --> 00:03:52,260
thousands of seabirds nesting,
were going on all over Europe.

50
00:03:52,260 --> 00:03:53,860
But that's not the case.

51
00:03:53,860 --> 00:03:56,940
This is a very special place.

52
00:03:56,940 --> 00:03:59,580
In fact, birds will come
from literally

53
00:03:59,580 --> 00:04:02,820
all round the world to
the British Isles to nest.

54
00:04:02,820 --> 00:04:06,500
There are two reasons -
one is the variety of nest sites.

55
00:04:06,500 --> 00:04:09,940
We've got everything that they need
to nest on, from cliffs

56
00:04:09,940 --> 00:04:13,380
to sand dunes, agricultural land,
we've got the lot.

57
00:04:13,380 --> 00:04:16,020
The second is the sea.

58
00:04:16,020 --> 00:04:18,260
Our seas are so rich in food,

59
00:04:18,260 --> 00:04:22,300
they can support literally
millions of mouths.

60
00:04:25,140 --> 00:04:30,380
I'm on Orkney, perhaps
the seabird capital of the UK.

61
00:04:31,860 --> 00:04:36,060
And this ancient archipelago off
the north coast of mainland Scotland

62
00:04:36,060 --> 00:04:39,180
is a Mecca for seabirds.

63
00:04:40,380 --> 00:04:43,300
Every summer,
nearly a million of them

64
00:04:43,300 --> 00:04:45,860
descend on these islands
to raise their young,

65
00:04:45,860 --> 00:04:50,340
including 22 out of our 25
different species.

66
00:04:54,780 --> 00:04:57,020
Just listen to this.

67
00:04:57,020 --> 00:05:00,460
LOUD BIRD CALLS

68
00:05:00,460 --> 00:05:03,060
These are the great seabird cities
of Orkney

69
00:05:03,060 --> 00:05:05,380
and there are literally
thousands of birds

70
00:05:05,380 --> 00:05:07,380
nesting all along this cliff.

71
00:05:08,620 --> 00:05:10,020
It's epic.

72
00:05:11,420 --> 00:05:16,300
Orkney has some of the tallest
sea cliffs in the British Isles.

73
00:05:16,300 --> 00:05:18,380
Relatively safe from predators,

74
00:05:18,380 --> 00:05:21,620
and right next to the ocean
they rely on for food,

75
00:05:21,620 --> 00:05:25,540
seabirds choose these rock faces
to lay their eggs

76
00:05:25,540 --> 00:05:26,860
and rear their chicks.

77
00:05:31,500 --> 00:05:35,020
Just look at them,
all lined up on these narrow ledges.

78
00:05:36,460 --> 00:05:39,700
But it's not as chaotic
as it might perhaps look.

79
00:05:42,740 --> 00:05:45,380
Now, what's fascinating
about these cliffs

80
00:05:45,380 --> 00:05:48,820
is the way the different species
separate themselves out

81
00:05:48,820 --> 00:05:50,460
when they come here to nest.

82
00:05:50,460 --> 00:05:53,300
So you've got a sort of
middle band here,

83
00:05:53,300 --> 00:05:56,540
and that's where the kittiwakes
and guillemots are nesting.

84
00:05:56,540 --> 00:06:00,620
And then tucked away in
sort of holes all around the place

85
00:06:00,620 --> 00:06:02,260
are razorbills.

86
00:06:08,940 --> 00:06:13,220
Just as they all choose
different parts of the cliff,

87
00:06:13,220 --> 00:06:17,300
they also have very
different feeding habits.

88
00:06:17,300 --> 00:06:20,620
Kittiwakes are
known as surface feeders,

89
00:06:20,620 --> 00:06:24,180
hardly dipping below the surface
of the water.

90
00:06:24,180 --> 00:06:26,340
And that's in complete contrast

91
00:06:26,340 --> 00:06:30,100
to their neighbours on the cliffs,
the guillemots.

92
00:06:30,100 --> 00:06:32,780
They're some of the deepest diving
of all seabirds,

93
00:06:32,780 --> 00:06:37,140
capable of going over 100 metres
underwater in search of food.

94
00:06:37,140 --> 00:06:38,900
Now, unless you're a keen birder,

95
00:06:38,900 --> 00:06:42,780
guillemots are easily confused
with the razorbills.

96
00:06:42,780 --> 00:06:45,700
The easiest way to tell
them apart

97
00:06:45,700 --> 00:06:48,980
is that a razorbill
has white markings on its bill.

98
00:06:48,980 --> 00:06:52,860
It also has a slightly fatter bill
than the guillemot.

99
00:06:52,860 --> 00:06:57,460
Guillemots have a totally
black head, with a narrow bill.

100
00:06:58,780 --> 00:07:00,940
But confusingly, up here on Orkney,

101
00:07:00,940 --> 00:07:05,420
some of the guillemots have
white markings round their eyes.

102
00:07:05,420 --> 00:07:07,780
They're called bridled guillemots.

103
00:07:07,780 --> 00:07:11,300
No-one knows what it's for,
but the further north you go,

104
00:07:11,300 --> 00:07:13,900
the more guillemots
seem to be bridled.

105
00:07:13,900 --> 00:07:16,180
I think it looks
rather distinguished!

106
00:07:21,220 --> 00:07:22,500
Up here on the cliffs,

107
00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:25,420
the seabirds may be
relatively safe from predators

108
00:07:25,420 --> 00:07:28,780
but those thin ledges
look awfully precarious to me.

109
00:07:31,780 --> 00:07:35,140
How on earth do they stop
the chick and particularly the eggs

110
00:07:35,140 --> 00:07:37,980
falling off into the sea?

111
00:07:40,100 --> 00:07:43,100
Chris is in the basement
of the museum where he's found

112
00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:46,620
exactly what he needs
to explain how it all works.

113
00:07:49,500 --> 00:07:53,740
Well, some of the smaller species
like kittiwakes actually make nests.

114
00:07:53,740 --> 00:07:55,620
Pretty good nests.

115
00:07:55,620 --> 00:07:59,460
They'll fly some distance to collect
weed, take it back to the ledge,

116
00:07:59,460 --> 00:08:02,900
and then weld it together
using their own faeces.

117
00:08:04,460 --> 00:08:06,940
The result is a nest
that's so substantial

118
00:08:06,940 --> 00:08:09,380
it will last from year to year.

119
00:08:12,140 --> 00:08:16,100
Further down the cliff,
shags also use weed to make a nest.

120
00:08:16,100 --> 00:08:18,060
But they also
add a few sticks as well,

121
00:08:18,060 --> 00:08:21,780
and they make a lovely cup
to hold their eggs and chicks.

122
00:08:26,420 --> 00:08:30,300
But other species, like the auks -
guillemots, for instance -

123
00:08:30,300 --> 00:08:33,020
make absolutely no nest at all.

124
00:08:33,020 --> 00:08:37,980
No fabric is used
in the making of their nest.

125
00:08:37,980 --> 00:08:40,660
They simply lay their eggs
onto bare rock.

126
00:08:44,460 --> 00:08:47,780
So why don't they roll into the sea?

127
00:08:47,780 --> 00:08:51,020
Well, it's all down to
a magnificent adaptation

128
00:08:51,020 --> 00:08:52,260
in the shape of the egg.

129
00:08:52,260 --> 00:08:55,660
This is a guillemot's egg,
and it's pear-shaped

130
00:08:55,660 --> 00:08:58,580
and look what happens
if it's accidentally dislodged.

131
00:09:01,220 --> 00:09:04,980
It spins in a tight circle.

132
00:09:04,980 --> 00:09:08,500
It stays on that rocky ledge.

133
00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:12,820
It doesn't fall into the sea,
many metres below.

134
00:09:14,660 --> 00:09:18,020
Brilliant.
Nature is endlessly inventive.

135
00:09:20,300 --> 00:09:23,100
So those are the seabirds
that breed on the cliff face,

136
00:09:23,100 --> 00:09:25,180
but there's also another bird

137
00:09:25,180 --> 00:09:28,380
that prefers to live at the top
of the tower block, if you like -

138
00:09:28,380 --> 00:09:30,060
the puffin.

139
00:09:30,060 --> 00:09:32,620
Now, it may be a surprise
to discover

140
00:09:32,620 --> 00:09:35,820
that puffins like to nest
underground in burrows

141
00:09:35,820 --> 00:09:39,660
and one of the best places
in the British Isles to see them

142
00:09:39,660 --> 00:09:42,900
is the Welsh island of Skomer.

143
00:09:42,900 --> 00:09:46,100
This little island is the largest

144
00:09:46,100 --> 00:09:48,300
and most important seabird
breeding colony

145
00:09:48,300 --> 00:09:50,940
in the whole of southern Britain.

146
00:09:54,420 --> 00:09:55,780
It's early April

147
00:09:55,780 --> 00:09:59,540
and things are pretty quiet
on Skomer at the moment.

148
00:09:59,540 --> 00:10:01,860
Not too many puffins here yet.

149
00:10:03,780 --> 00:10:07,500
But, out to sea, there's a sign
of what's about to happen.

150
00:10:13,020 --> 00:10:16,180
Every year,
6,000 pairs of Atlantic puffins

151
00:10:16,180 --> 00:10:18,380
flock to this Pembrokeshire island.

152
00:10:21,020 --> 00:10:24,460
It's the largest puffin
breeding colony in southern Britain.

153
00:10:33,660 --> 00:10:38,700
And I'm here to witness
the return of the first migrants.

154
00:10:41,300 --> 00:10:44,380
PUFFINS CALL

155
00:10:45,820 --> 00:10:49,860
The air is filled with puffins
flying around and calling.

156
00:10:49,860 --> 00:10:52,060
They're all looking for someone.

157
00:10:52,060 --> 00:10:56,380
PUFFINS CONTINUE TO CALL

158
00:11:13,420 --> 00:11:16,220
Puffins are faithful
to one life-long partner.

159
00:11:16,220 --> 00:11:19,460
They're known to live
for up to 29 years,

160
00:11:19,460 --> 00:11:22,940
and, in that time,
they'll return here every spring

161
00:11:22,940 --> 00:11:25,500
to the same mate and the same burrow.

162
00:11:28,820 --> 00:11:30,940
They only come to land to breed,
that's it.

163
00:11:30,940 --> 00:11:33,340
The rest of the year,
they're out on the open ocean.

164
00:11:33,340 --> 00:11:36,180
They really are a seabird,
not a land bird.

165
00:11:36,180 --> 00:11:39,820
And what you find is that they're
concentrated in various areas,

166
00:11:39,820 --> 00:11:42,580
areas that have been
well-grazed by the rabbits,

167
00:11:42,580 --> 00:11:44,300
areas that are full of holes.

168
00:11:44,300 --> 00:11:46,540
It's like a piece of Swiss cheese
under my arm here.

169
00:11:46,540 --> 00:11:49,380
You've got puffins nesting
in all of these burrows.

170
00:11:49,380 --> 00:11:53,940
A good burrow on the cliff top,
with easy access to the sea

171
00:11:53,940 --> 00:11:58,500
and all the food it offers,
is worth defending from newcomers.

172
00:12:32,060 --> 00:12:35,020
PUFFIN CALLS

173
00:12:37,740 --> 00:12:43,380
Once everything settles down, it's
time for a spot of spring-cleaning,

174
00:12:43,380 --> 00:12:46,620
and a bit of nest-building.

175
00:12:56,420 --> 00:13:00,940
And then, the puffins finally have
some special time for each other.

176
00:13:03,980 --> 00:13:06,700
This is a pair here in front of me.

177
00:13:06,700 --> 00:13:10,420
We had a little bit of nibbling,
sort of courtship, just a little bit.

178
00:13:10,420 --> 00:13:13,100
They're quite loving birds
when you see the pair together.

179
00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:15,340
BILLS CLICK

180
00:13:15,340 --> 00:13:19,540
Bill clattering is a crucial part
of re-establishing pair bonds.

181
00:13:21,980 --> 00:13:25,820
It's the puffins' way
of showing their affection.

182
00:13:28,900 --> 00:13:34,660
And you might wonder, why has a bird
like a puffin got such a huge bill?

183
00:13:36,540 --> 00:13:39,900
The summer puffin
is a beautiful thing -

184
00:13:39,900 --> 00:13:43,660
just look at this lovely broad
and colourful bill.

185
00:13:43,660 --> 00:13:47,540
It also has bright gape flanges too,
and wonderful pale cheeks.

186
00:13:47,540 --> 00:13:51,220
It's all about communicating,
it's all about display,

187
00:13:51,220 --> 00:13:55,660
Mr and Mrs Puffin letting each other
know exactly how they feel.

188
00:13:59,380 --> 00:14:03,060
And it's a serious investment
of material,

189
00:14:03,060 --> 00:14:06,900
protein has gone into making
that beak big, bright and beautiful.

190
00:14:06,900 --> 00:14:09,940
Look at this puffin,
a museum specimen

191
00:14:09,940 --> 00:14:12,380
that was taken in the winter.

192
00:14:12,380 --> 00:14:16,460
The bill has shrunk,
and it's lost all of its colour.

193
00:14:16,460 --> 00:14:19,300
It's not there
to communicate anymore,

194
00:14:19,300 --> 00:14:21,900
it's just there
to get food for itself.

195
00:14:25,780 --> 00:14:30,140
But for the moment, the puffins
are in full breeding display.

196
00:14:38,140 --> 00:14:41,260
The seabird breeding season
on Skomer has really begun.

197
00:14:51,980 --> 00:14:56,620
Back on Orkney, I'm heading
to the tiny island of Copinsay.

198
00:14:58,860 --> 00:15:02,980
It's a real hotspot for seabirds,

199
00:15:02,980 --> 00:15:05,740
and I'm here to find some
we haven't met yet.

200
00:15:06,820 --> 00:15:10,660
Now, right down at the bottom
of the cliffs here

201
00:15:10,660 --> 00:15:12,500
are a whole rank of black birds.

202
00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:13,940
Now those are shags.

203
00:15:13,940 --> 00:15:17,180
Very similar to cormorants,
you've probably seen cormorants.

204
00:15:17,180 --> 00:15:20,620
But shags stay always
near the coast,

205
00:15:20,620 --> 00:15:23,260
whereas the cormorants come inland
and they look black,

206
00:15:23,260 --> 00:15:26,860
but if you look closely
at them, they're anything but.

207
00:15:26,860 --> 00:15:30,140
They're a kind of mysterious,
magical green colour

208
00:15:30,140 --> 00:15:32,620
with a bright, bright yellow bill.

209
00:15:34,220 --> 00:15:36,820
And they're remarkable birds, shags.

210
00:15:36,820 --> 00:15:40,900
They're very deep divers.
They can go down to about 60 metres.

211
00:15:40,900 --> 00:15:45,220
It always strikes me as amazing that
a bird that can fly, can also dive.

212
00:15:45,220 --> 00:15:47,860
It can live between worlds
like that,

213
00:15:47,860 --> 00:15:50,860
and they can hold their breath
for well over a minute.

214
00:15:53,700 --> 00:15:56,660
If you look
a little higher up the cliff,

215
00:15:56,660 --> 00:15:59,780
you can see these shags
already have young.

216
00:15:59,780 --> 00:16:02,860
They look almost reptilian!

217
00:16:04,060 --> 00:16:07,940
Another seabird that breeds
on Copinsay is the Northern fulmar.

218
00:16:10,060 --> 00:16:12,860
And the fulmar's story
is a fascinating one,

219
00:16:12,860 --> 00:16:17,420
because the very first record
of a fulmar nesting here in Orkney

220
00:16:17,420 --> 00:16:18,900
was in 1900.

221
00:16:20,340 --> 00:16:26,460
By the end of the 1980s, there were
over 90,000 of them nesting here

222
00:16:26,460 --> 00:16:29,380
and that number's
stayed more or less the same.

223
00:16:31,540 --> 00:16:34,540
It's thought that
this dramatic increase in numbers

224
00:16:34,540 --> 00:16:37,580
is down to discards from
fishing vessels from the North Sea.

225
00:16:42,300 --> 00:16:46,140
Suddenly, there was
a totally new food source

226
00:16:46,140 --> 00:16:48,980
available to seabirds
like the fulmar.

227
00:16:55,500 --> 00:16:58,300
Fulmars have
one distinguishing feature

228
00:16:58,300 --> 00:17:00,740
that makes them easily recognizable

229
00:17:00,740 --> 00:17:03,020
and clearly different
from a seagull -

230
00:17:03,020 --> 00:17:07,020
a prominent tubular nostril
on top of their bills.

231
00:17:08,420 --> 00:17:12,380
But, Chris,
what exactly is the tubenose for?

232
00:17:14,580 --> 00:17:19,820
Well, all animals need salt,
but none need too much of it.

233
00:17:19,820 --> 00:17:22,740
Salt regulation
is a very important affair

234
00:17:22,740 --> 00:17:26,220
and if you're a seabird,
feeding on a salty diet,

235
00:17:26,220 --> 00:17:29,220
then clearly
you've got a major problem.

236
00:17:29,220 --> 00:17:32,940
As a bird, you can't sweat
the excess salt away,

237
00:17:32,940 --> 00:17:34,460
so how do you cope?

238
00:17:34,460 --> 00:17:36,180
Well, in the case of the fulmar,

239
00:17:36,180 --> 00:17:39,620
they have a small gland between
the eye and the top of the bill

240
00:17:39,620 --> 00:17:43,020
through which
they pump all of their blood

241
00:17:43,020 --> 00:17:47,220
and it's here
that the excess salt is separated,

242
00:17:47,220 --> 00:17:50,340
and it's here that
the tubenose comes into play.

243
00:17:50,340 --> 00:17:53,500
Because that excess salt
goes into something

244
00:17:53,500 --> 00:17:56,460
that we can only call salty snot,

245
00:17:56,460 --> 00:18:00,700
and it's channelled through the
tubenose, along the top of the bill,

246
00:18:00,700 --> 00:18:03,300
it then runs down
a groove in the bill

247
00:18:03,300 --> 00:18:05,780
until it forms in a drip on the tip,

248
00:18:05,780 --> 00:18:10,260
and it can fall away clear of all of
the pristine feathers of the fulmar.

249
00:18:10,260 --> 00:18:12,820
You see, if it
didn't have the tubenose,

250
00:18:12,820 --> 00:18:15,340
the salty snot
would be running down its cheek,

251
00:18:15,340 --> 00:18:17,780
and that's not a good look
for a fulmar,

252
00:18:17,780 --> 00:18:20,620
and it's not a good look
for a small child.

253
00:18:23,260 --> 00:18:27,260
And salty snot
isn't the fulmar's only foul habit.

254
00:18:31,340 --> 00:18:33,820
I've got to be a bit careful

255
00:18:33,820 --> 00:18:37,100
because fulmars have a remarkable
way of defending themselves.

256
00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:39,260
If I was to get a little bit closer,

257
00:18:39,260 --> 00:18:43,340
she would projectile vomit,
she'd be sick all over me,

258
00:18:43,340 --> 00:18:45,380
which is extremely unpleasant

259
00:18:45,380 --> 00:18:48,180
because it smells horrible,
whoops, he might do it too,

260
00:18:48,180 --> 00:18:51,180
but worse than that,
for a predator, say a peregrine,

261
00:18:51,180 --> 00:18:54,740
if that sick gets
over their feathers,

262
00:18:54,740 --> 00:18:57,180
and they're very accurate
at shooting it out,

263
00:18:57,180 --> 00:19:01,020
it can mat the feathers up
and peregrines have been killed

264
00:19:01,020 --> 00:19:03,220
by getting too close
to these fulmars

265
00:19:03,220 --> 00:19:05,140
and getting covered in their sick.

266
00:19:06,460 --> 00:19:09,540
One more thing about fulmars -

267
00:19:09,540 --> 00:19:12,820
how old do you think she might be?

268
00:19:12,820 --> 00:19:16,740
Many of these seabirds
are very long-lived,

269
00:19:16,740 --> 00:19:19,380
but fulmars, 20, 30 years.

270
00:19:20,740 --> 00:19:27,020
One was ringed here in Orkney
on the 18th of July 1951.

271
00:19:27,020 --> 00:19:31,060
It was last seen
nearly 41 years later.

272
00:19:31,060 --> 00:19:33,380
That's not the end of the story,

273
00:19:33,380 --> 00:19:36,180
it was ringed not as a baby
but as an adult.

274
00:19:36,180 --> 00:19:41,020
So it could have been easily,
seven, ten years older than that.

275
00:19:41,020 --> 00:19:45,220
That fulmar could be 50 years old

276
00:19:45,220 --> 00:19:48,820
and that, folks,
is almost as old as ME.

277
00:19:53,220 --> 00:19:56,900
There are five species of tern
that breed in the UK,

278
00:19:56,900 --> 00:20:00,900
but this is perhaps my favourite,
the Arctic tern.

279
00:20:02,340 --> 00:20:07,300
Every spring, these beautiful birds,
known as the swallows of the sea,

280
00:20:07,300 --> 00:20:11,740
make an extraordinary journey,
travelling over 20,000 miles

281
00:20:11,740 --> 00:20:14,940
from the Antarctic Ocean to Orkney.

282
00:20:14,940 --> 00:20:19,820
It's the longest migration
ever recorded by any animal.

283
00:20:19,820 --> 00:20:24,260
In a single lifetime,
one of these delicate-looking birds

284
00:20:24,260 --> 00:20:27,340
might have travelled
over 1.5 million miles,

285
00:20:27,340 --> 00:20:31,620
that's to the moon and back
three times.

286
00:20:31,620 --> 00:20:34,740
They weigh little more
than 100 grams

287
00:20:34,740 --> 00:20:37,500
and, to me, they look like
they're made of paper.

288
00:20:37,500 --> 00:20:39,820
Origami birds!

289
00:20:39,820 --> 00:20:45,100
Let's think for a moment about the
lives these birds lead out at sea.

290
00:20:45,100 --> 00:20:48,220
They only spend around three months
of the year living here,

291
00:20:48,220 --> 00:20:51,580
in the relative shelter
of our shores.

292
00:20:51,580 --> 00:20:54,260
But the rest of the time,
they're out there,

293
00:20:54,260 --> 00:20:57,740
trying to survive in the great
wilderness of our oceans.

294
00:21:06,980 --> 00:21:10,780
One of the most spectacular
of our seabird visitors

295
00:21:10,780 --> 00:21:12,900
is the Northern gannet.

296
00:21:12,900 --> 00:21:17,660
It's the largest of our seabirds,
with a wingspan of six feet.

297
00:21:17,660 --> 00:21:22,060
The gannet is capable of travelling
huge distances in search of food.

298
00:21:22,060 --> 00:21:26,460
And, of course, it also does this!

299
00:21:32,420 --> 00:21:36,780
But how does it thump into the water
without hurting itself?

300
00:21:38,260 --> 00:21:42,660
Well, firstly,
they have no external nostrils.

301
00:21:42,660 --> 00:21:46,180
If you're throwing yourself into
the sea at about 45 miles an hour,

302
00:21:46,180 --> 00:21:49,420
you don't want water
going up your nose hard.

303
00:21:49,420 --> 00:21:53,300
Secondly, they have air bags
over the tops of their heads,

304
00:21:53,300 --> 00:21:56,300
through their necks,
and on the fronts of their wings

305
00:21:56,300 --> 00:21:59,020
and these cushion the impact
as they hit the water.

306
00:22:04,940 --> 00:22:07,860
But lastly, it's all to do
with their body position,

307
00:22:07,860 --> 00:22:09,940
because as they enter the water,

308
00:22:09,940 --> 00:22:12,820
they put their wings back
so that they go in,

309
00:22:12,820 --> 00:22:16,420
in an extremely streamlined fashion.

310
00:22:16,420 --> 00:22:19,620
They go into the water
like torpedoes

311
00:22:19,620 --> 00:22:23,500
and to see it
is absolutely fantastic.

312
00:22:25,980 --> 00:22:29,020
Many seabirds, like the gannet
and Arctic tern,

313
00:22:29,020 --> 00:22:31,860
choose to breed
on very remote islands,

314
00:22:31,860 --> 00:22:34,700
which most of us
will never get to visit.

315
00:22:34,700 --> 00:22:37,540
But there are plenty of
other seabirds

316
00:22:37,540 --> 00:22:41,260
that choose to come to us
in seaside towns all over Britain.

317
00:22:42,420 --> 00:22:45,660
Michaela went for a day out
in Weston-Super-Mare,

318
00:22:45,660 --> 00:22:49,900
where she met some of our most
regular visitors, the seagulls.

319
00:22:52,220 --> 00:22:56,020
But did you know there's actually
no such thing as a seagull?

320
00:22:56,020 --> 00:22:59,500
In fact, it's the collective name
for a group of seabirds,

321
00:22:59,500 --> 00:23:03,900
and, here in the UK,
we commonly see 11 different species.

322
00:23:03,900 --> 00:23:08,380
We call them seagulls because
we think they all look the same -

323
00:23:08,380 --> 00:23:12,300
big, white birds that live
by the seaside, with a noisy call.

324
00:23:12,300 --> 00:23:15,500
But, of course, they all have
distinguishing features.

325
00:23:20,020 --> 00:23:23,860
The two gulls you're most likely
to see at the seaside

326
00:23:23,860 --> 00:23:27,500
are the herring gull,
and the lesser black-backed gull.

327
00:23:27,500 --> 00:23:30,540
And it's easy to get them confused.

328
00:23:30,540 --> 00:23:32,460
But let's take a look at them.

329
00:23:32,460 --> 00:23:37,260
The herring gull
is a very large, noisy bird.

330
00:23:39,540 --> 00:23:42,740
It's got a light grey back
and black wing tips.

331
00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:46,340
And pink legs.

332
00:23:49,460 --> 00:23:55,540
Now, this gull has yellow legs,
a dark-grey back and a yellow bill

333
00:23:55,540 --> 00:23:59,260
and that means
it's a lesser black-backed gull.

334
00:23:59,260 --> 00:24:02,500
If you've ever looked carefully
at either of these gulls

335
00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:04,860
during the breeding season,
you may have noticed

336
00:24:04,860 --> 00:24:07,540
they have a bright red spot
on their bill.

337
00:24:07,540 --> 00:24:11,180
But do you know
what that's for? Chris?

338
00:24:11,180 --> 00:24:15,060
Well, it's really important,
it's a target,

339
00:24:15,060 --> 00:24:18,260
a target for the young gull chicks
to peck at

340
00:24:18,260 --> 00:24:20,540
when the adult returns to the nest,

341
00:24:20,540 --> 00:24:22,940
and if you watch them,
as soon as it gets there,

342
00:24:22,940 --> 00:24:25,660
they jab furiously at the spot,

343
00:24:25,660 --> 00:24:30,700
this instigates the
regurgitating behaviour in the adult

344
00:24:30,700 --> 00:24:33,940
that ensures that the youngsters
get their meal.

345
00:24:36,660 --> 00:24:39,380
There's another gull
that you're quite likely to see

346
00:24:39,380 --> 00:24:42,180
down by the sea
and that's the black-headed gull.

347
00:24:44,140 --> 00:24:45,940
Despite its name,

348
00:24:45,940 --> 00:24:48,740
its head is actually more
of a dark chocolate brown colour.

349
00:24:50,460 --> 00:24:53,660
But don't get confused,
because in the winter

350
00:24:53,660 --> 00:24:56,500
the black-headed gull
loses its dark head.

351
00:24:56,500 --> 00:24:59,940
It just gets left with these
funny headphone-like markings!

352
00:25:01,180 --> 00:25:05,380
These gulls have a red bill
and red legs, too.

353
00:25:06,620 --> 00:25:09,900
Honestly, seagull ID isn't easy,

354
00:25:09,900 --> 00:25:13,860
but with a few tips it is possible
to tell them apart.

355
00:25:21,260 --> 00:25:23,900
Gulls are one
of the most domesticated,

356
00:25:23,900 --> 00:25:26,740
and most visible, of our seabirds.

357
00:25:28,020 --> 00:25:31,860
But, on Skomer,
Iolo's got a much shyer bird.

358
00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:36,980
It's the middle of May

359
00:25:36,980 --> 00:25:41,380
and the island is quickly turning
into a crowded maternity ward.

360
00:25:41,380 --> 00:25:44,060
Everywhere, there are seabirds
sitting on eggs.

361
00:25:52,940 --> 00:25:57,540
And the sky is busy with birds
preparing for the arrival of chicks.

362
00:25:57,540 --> 00:26:00,060
They're all out looking for food.

363
00:26:07,100 --> 00:26:10,780
But after dark, this island
turns into a very different place.

364
00:26:13,860 --> 00:26:16,740
The air is filled
with the eerie calls

365
00:26:16,740 --> 00:26:18,940
of a rather curious seabird
of the night.

366
00:26:22,020 --> 00:26:25,460
The Manx shearwater
is the most numerous bird on Skomer.

367
00:26:25,460 --> 00:26:29,100
128,000 pairs of them
come here to breed every year,

368
00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:31,300
a third of the world population.

369
00:26:35,540 --> 00:26:37,460
During daylight hours,

370
00:26:37,460 --> 00:26:40,900
the adults are either hiding away
in burrows underground,

371
00:26:40,900 --> 00:26:44,820
where they lay their eggs,
or far out to sea, foraging.

372
00:26:48,820 --> 00:26:52,260
It's only at night that the
Manx shearwaters will return to land

373
00:26:52,260 --> 00:26:53,860
to swap incubating duties.

374
00:27:00,340 --> 00:27:03,620
But why are Manx shearwaters
so clumsy?

375
00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:09,620
Well, it's all to do with
the positioning of their legs.

376
00:27:09,620 --> 00:27:12,580
Look, they're right at the back
of the body here.

377
00:27:12,580 --> 00:27:16,180
Now this is perfect for a life
at sea, perfect for paddling,

378
00:27:16,180 --> 00:27:17,980
and perfect for diving.

379
00:27:17,980 --> 00:27:19,740
But it's no good for walking.

380
00:27:19,740 --> 00:27:23,540
And I know this mounted specimen
shows the animal walking,

381
00:27:23,540 --> 00:27:25,980
but to be honest with you,
whenever I've seen them,

382
00:27:25,980 --> 00:27:28,620
they've been shuffling along
on their breast.

383
00:27:28,620 --> 00:27:30,020
Pretty hopeless.

384
00:27:30,020 --> 00:27:32,180
And, of course, prone to predation

385
00:27:32,180 --> 00:27:35,300
from some of the larger gull
and skua species

386
00:27:35,300 --> 00:27:37,380
and it's for this reason

387
00:27:37,380 --> 00:27:41,420
that shearwaters
only come ashore at night.

388
00:27:43,660 --> 00:27:48,060
Unfortunately, there are still
plenty of victims every year.

389
00:27:48,060 --> 00:27:52,380
This is what happens when
a Manx shearwater is caught, killed,

390
00:27:52,380 --> 00:27:56,740
and eaten by the biggest predator on
Skomer, the great black-backed gull.

391
00:27:59,300 --> 00:28:01,580
And it's not just the
great black-backed gull

392
00:28:01,580 --> 00:28:04,540
that these seabirds have to fear.

393
00:28:04,540 --> 00:28:08,220
They run the gauntlet of death
every time they leave their ledge.

394
00:28:10,700 --> 00:28:14,740
Lots of predators time their breeding
cycle to that of their prey -

395
00:28:14,740 --> 00:28:15,780
peregrines,

396
00:28:15,780 --> 00:28:17,820
buzzards,

397
00:28:17,820 --> 00:28:19,620
gulls.

398
00:28:22,620 --> 00:28:24,540
And there's one seabird on Orkney

399
00:28:24,540 --> 00:28:27,940
that has earned itself the nickname
"the northern pirate".

400
00:28:30,620 --> 00:28:35,860
Cruising the cliffs, the Arctic skua
is a stunning bird -

401
00:28:35,860 --> 00:28:39,740
graceful, streamlined,
breathtakingly agile.

402
00:28:39,740 --> 00:28:44,380
But it has a rather unusual
speciality - kleptoparasitism.

403
00:28:44,380 --> 00:28:48,660
The Arctic skua likes to chase
and bully other seabirds

404
00:28:48,660 --> 00:28:51,700
until they give up their food.

405
00:28:51,700 --> 00:28:55,580
It's perfectly capable
of catching its own meal,

406
00:28:55,580 --> 00:28:58,700
but it just prefers
to steal from others.

407
00:29:02,620 --> 00:29:04,700
So far we've got a feel

408
00:29:04,700 --> 00:29:07,340
for the tremendous variety
of British seabirds,

409
00:29:07,340 --> 00:29:10,260
and what a fascinating
group of animals they are.

410
00:29:10,260 --> 00:29:14,860
Each with their own special
abilities and adaptations.

411
00:29:14,860 --> 00:29:16,220
But as a group,

412
00:29:16,220 --> 00:29:19,700
seabirds are experiencing
some tough challenges right now.

413
00:29:20,820 --> 00:29:25,140
The sea itself
is changing quite dramatically

414
00:29:25,140 --> 00:29:28,980
and birds like the Arctic skua
are struggling.

415
00:29:28,980 --> 00:29:31,740
Since the mid 1980s,

416
00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:36,460
Arctic skuas in Orkney
have declined by nearly 70%.

417
00:29:37,940 --> 00:29:42,020
And unfortunately it's not the only
seabird that's in trouble up here.

418
00:29:43,940 --> 00:29:47,660
On a very windy morning, I met up
with Eric Meek from the RSPB,

419
00:29:47,660 --> 00:29:51,060
who's lived
and worked with seabirds

420
00:29:51,060 --> 00:29:54,660
on Orkney for over 30 years.

421
00:29:54,660 --> 00:29:58,780
During that time,
he's seen some dramatic changes.

422
00:30:00,180 --> 00:30:04,260
Eric, at first sight,
this cliff seems to have

423
00:30:04,260 --> 00:30:07,860
lots of birds nesting on it,
but all is not as it seems, is it?

424
00:30:07,860 --> 00:30:11,180
No, and that's the case with
a lot of our seabird colonies,

425
00:30:11,180 --> 00:30:14,180
but this one perhaps more
than any other.

426
00:30:14,180 --> 00:30:18,660
It looks quite busy, at the moment,
but compared to the mid 1980s,

427
00:30:18,660 --> 00:30:22,500
there's only a tiny fraction
of the birds that were here then.

428
00:30:22,500 --> 00:30:25,100
What sort of numbers
are we talking about?

429
00:30:25,100 --> 00:30:28,380
Well, the kittiwakes
have gone down by over 90%.

430
00:30:28,380 --> 00:30:30,020
90%?!

431
00:30:30,020 --> 00:30:32,620
And the guillemots
are down by over 90% as well.

432
00:30:34,260 --> 00:30:39,660
Regular bird watchers say the cliffs
of Orkney have gone quiet,

433
00:30:39,660 --> 00:30:41,940
and you can see what they mean.

434
00:30:44,660 --> 00:30:50,180
Great seabird cities like this one
at Row Head on mainland Orkney,

435
00:30:50,180 --> 00:30:52,020
are peppered with empty ledges,

436
00:30:52,020 --> 00:30:56,620
which until recently would have been
full of breeding seabirds.

437
00:30:56,620 --> 00:31:00,100
30 years ago, how would this
have looked? Can you remember?

438
00:31:00,100 --> 00:31:05,140
Just a seething mass of birds.

439
00:31:05,140 --> 00:31:07,300
We made a film about Orkney birds

440
00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:09,980
called Northern Flights
actually in 1989.

441
00:31:09,980 --> 00:31:11,500
So that's 23 years ago.

442
00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:14,900
And it's there in the film
for everyone to see.

443
00:31:14,900 --> 00:31:20,180
And it is just a mass of seabirds.
Just a hive of activity.

444
00:31:20,180 --> 00:31:23,900
And compared to then,
things are very, very different now.

445
00:31:23,900 --> 00:31:24,740
Gosh.

446
00:31:26,900 --> 00:31:30,740
If you look closely,
you can see a sad sight -

447
00:31:30,740 --> 00:31:34,580
some abandoned kittiwake nests.

448
00:31:34,580 --> 00:31:36,540
The birds did try to breed,

449
00:31:36,540 --> 00:31:39,100
but then, they gave up.

450
00:31:39,100 --> 00:31:41,700
So what on earth is happening
up here in Orkney?

451
00:31:42,860 --> 00:31:45,180
During the breeding season,

452
00:31:45,180 --> 00:31:49,140
a lot of seabirds rely
on a single food source, sand eels.

453
00:31:54,100 --> 00:31:58,780
These small fish are full of fatty
acids and packed with proteins,

454
00:31:58,780 --> 00:32:01,380
essential for growing chicks.

455
00:32:01,380 --> 00:32:05,500
But there's been a real shortage
of sand eels in recent years.

456
00:32:05,500 --> 00:32:10,420
And with less food available, some
seabirds on Orkney are struggling.

457
00:32:14,620 --> 00:32:18,900
To see this decline
must be quite upsetting for you.

458
00:32:18,900 --> 00:32:22,500
It's extremely upsetting,
and very, very disappointing.

459
00:32:22,500 --> 00:32:25,780
The saddest thing
is that there's no quick fix.

460
00:32:29,060 --> 00:32:34,500
So things are looking very
serious for some seabirds in Orkney.

461
00:32:34,500 --> 00:32:35,900
But what about in the south?

462
00:32:39,220 --> 00:32:43,940
Well, surprisingly,
that's a very different story.

463
00:32:43,940 --> 00:32:47,100
The seabirds on Skomer
are actually doing pretty well.

464
00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:50,580
So where are we headed then, Tim?

465
00:32:50,580 --> 00:32:54,180
It's June, and Iolo's joined
Professor Tim Guilford,

466
00:32:54,180 --> 00:32:56,900
a seabird scientist
from Oxford University,

467
00:32:56,900 --> 00:33:00,300
to find out how the breeding season
is going this year.

468
00:33:03,940 --> 00:33:06,660
Here we go.
Tread carefully here.

469
00:33:06,660 --> 00:33:08,460
Yeah, you must be really careful

470
00:33:08,460 --> 00:33:11,300
cos this is just
a honeycomb of burrows under here.

471
00:33:11,300 --> 00:33:13,700
OK. There we are.

472
00:33:13,700 --> 00:33:16,580
So what exactly
are we doing here then, Tim?

473
00:33:16,580 --> 00:33:20,420
Well, Iolo, we're measuring
the growth rate of the baby puffins

474
00:33:20,420 --> 00:33:23,980
to see how the reproduction
on Skomer is going.

475
00:33:23,980 --> 00:33:25,100
Right, OK.

476
00:33:25,100 --> 00:33:27,980
Dave, let's have a look and see
if there's anything in this burrow.

477
00:33:27,980 --> 00:33:31,940
Hopefully there's one in here. There
was one in here a little while ago.

478
00:33:31,940 --> 00:33:34,860
How old is this one then, Dave?
It's a fair size.

479
00:33:34,860 --> 00:33:39,140
Um, this one is just over a month
old, so he'll be gone pretty soon.

480
00:33:39,140 --> 00:33:41,180
Right, you want to weigh
and measure that, Dave,

481
00:33:41,180 --> 00:33:44,820
so we can put it back
as soon as we possibly can.

482
00:33:44,820 --> 00:33:48,620
So he's got a wing of 139mm.

483
00:33:48,620 --> 00:33:51,980
OK, yup. So weight is what?

484
00:33:51,980 --> 00:33:55,580
270 grams. 270 grams.

485
00:33:55,580 --> 00:34:00,180
And roughly what weight
will he be when he heads off to sea?

486
00:34:00,180 --> 00:34:02,700
That's a reasonable weight.

487
00:34:02,700 --> 00:34:06,780
The heaviest one I've found
this year was 385 grams,

488
00:34:06,780 --> 00:34:10,420
which is actually the heaviest one
I've ever found on the island,

489
00:34:10,420 --> 00:34:14,860
but they fledge
anywhere between 275, 320 or so.

490
00:34:14,860 --> 00:34:17,100
So this, Tim, this is a good sign.

491
00:34:17,100 --> 00:34:19,180
It shows that these birds
are very well fed.

492
00:34:19,180 --> 00:34:20,980
Yeah, this is a nice example

493
00:34:20,980 --> 00:34:23,500
of how well they are doing
on Skomer, I think.

494
00:34:24,780 --> 00:34:26,380
And eating what mainly?

495
00:34:26,380 --> 00:34:29,700
Eating sprats and sand eels,
those are the preferred foods,

496
00:34:29,700 --> 00:34:32,060
but sand eels are an important part
of their diet.

497
00:34:33,980 --> 00:34:38,420
What puzzles me is why puffins
on Skomer are doing so well,

498
00:34:38,420 --> 00:34:43,060
and yet on Orkney and
some of these northern islands,

499
00:34:43,060 --> 00:34:44,340
the population's crashed.

500
00:34:44,340 --> 00:34:47,580
That's right. And it's that
distinction between what's happening

501
00:34:47,580 --> 00:34:50,220
here in Pembrokeshire
and what's happening in the north,

502
00:34:50,220 --> 00:34:52,260
that has fascinated
ecologists for some time.

503
00:34:52,260 --> 00:34:54,260
And it has to be something to do,
we think,

504
00:34:54,260 --> 00:34:56,940
has to be something to do with
the availability of sand eels.

505
00:34:56,940 --> 00:34:59,220
So down here sand eels are as big,

506
00:34:59,220 --> 00:35:02,420
as healthy as they have
been for years.

507
00:35:02,420 --> 00:35:06,220
In the north, and in Scotland,
there have been serious declines

508
00:35:06,220 --> 00:35:07,700
in sand eel availability.

509
00:35:07,700 --> 00:35:11,860
Why is that? Is it climate change?
Is it over-fishing? Or what, Tim?

510
00:35:11,860 --> 00:35:13,780
We don't know for certain

511
00:35:13,780 --> 00:35:16,620
and it could be a combination of
those two factors and other things.

512
00:35:16,620 --> 00:35:20,060
But we do know that there have been
increases in sea surface temperature

513
00:35:20,060 --> 00:35:22,700
in the North Sea in recent years.

514
00:35:22,700 --> 00:35:25,100
And these have coincided
with the decline

515
00:35:25,100 --> 00:35:28,100
in puffin productivity
and populations.

516
00:35:28,100 --> 00:35:32,940
And we also know that these higher
temperatures affect the plankton

517
00:35:32,940 --> 00:35:35,940
on which sand eels feed
and this has a knock-on effect

518
00:35:35,940 --> 00:35:37,540
into the seabird productivity.

519
00:35:37,540 --> 00:35:40,220
And of course fewer sand eels,
fewer puffins.

520
00:35:40,220 --> 00:35:41,780
That's absolutely right, yeah.

521
00:35:44,060 --> 00:35:46,620
In recent years,
climate change has caused

522
00:35:46,620 --> 00:35:51,140
the North Sea water temperature
to rise by almost two degrees.

523
00:35:51,140 --> 00:35:56,740
And this has had a huge effect on the
delicately-balanced marine ecosystem.

524
00:35:56,740 --> 00:36:00,700
Cold water plankton species
that the sand eels rely on for food

525
00:36:00,700 --> 00:36:03,980
have moved north
in search of colder water.

526
00:36:03,980 --> 00:36:07,420
And the new, warmer-water species
that have replaced them

527
00:36:07,420 --> 00:36:11,260
bloom at the wrong time
for the developing sand eel larvae.

528
00:36:11,260 --> 00:36:13,900
Without enough food
at the right time,

529
00:36:13,900 --> 00:36:16,140
the sand eel population has crashed.

530
00:36:17,460 --> 00:36:19,900
Are we going to see
population declines,

531
00:36:19,900 --> 00:36:22,580
like we're seeing
on the northern islands,

532
00:36:22,580 --> 00:36:24,460
eventually down here as well?

533
00:36:24,460 --> 00:36:27,740
Well, we can't say for certain,
and obviously we hope not,

534
00:36:27,740 --> 00:36:31,140
we hope that it's an isolated
situation in the North Sea.

535
00:36:31,140 --> 00:36:34,620
But if climate change is part
of the cause of that,

536
00:36:34,620 --> 00:36:37,180
then I guess, in the long term,
it is very likely

537
00:36:37,180 --> 00:36:39,300
that we will see such changes
here as well,

538
00:36:39,300 --> 00:36:41,100
but for the moment
things are looking good.

539
00:36:42,460 --> 00:36:45,980
So it seems there's a clear
north-south split,

540
00:36:45,980 --> 00:36:51,300
with seabirds on southern islands
like Skomer doing well.

541
00:36:51,300 --> 00:36:54,700
Whilst those on northern islands
like Orkney are struggling.

542
00:36:55,940 --> 00:36:58,940
In fact, they're doing so badly
up here on Orkney,

543
00:36:58,940 --> 00:37:01,940
there's a chance we may lose
some of them altogether.

544
00:37:01,940 --> 00:37:04,860
Like the Arctic tern.

545
00:37:12,420 --> 00:37:15,260
I'm back with Eric
on the island of Westray,

546
00:37:15,260 --> 00:37:19,980
and today we're going to try
and ring some Arctic tern chicks.

547
00:37:19,980 --> 00:37:23,940
But we're met
with a very sad sight.

548
00:37:23,940 --> 00:37:27,020
Look at that. That is sad.

549
00:37:27,020 --> 00:37:28,660
That's a dead chick.

550
00:37:29,780 --> 00:37:32,100
Poor little thing.

551
00:37:32,100 --> 00:37:35,420
Interesting, you know,
to know why that's died.

552
00:37:35,420 --> 00:37:39,740
We don't know,
maybe it's not getting enough food.

553
00:37:39,740 --> 00:37:43,420
By monitoring the number
of ringed birds

554
00:37:43,420 --> 00:37:45,700
that return to Orkney each year,

555
00:37:45,700 --> 00:37:48,980
Eric is able to
measure breeding success

556
00:37:48,980 --> 00:37:51,060
and survival rates
of these seabirds.

557
00:37:53,860 --> 00:37:56,700
A nest with two eggs, just here.
Look at that!

558
00:37:56,700 --> 00:38:00,340
When they're getting plenty of food,
they'll lay a clutch of three.

559
00:38:00,340 --> 00:38:03,140
And, you know,
if their food supply's really good

560
00:38:03,140 --> 00:38:05,020
they'll rear all three chicks.

561
00:38:06,220 --> 00:38:10,300
But in recent years, the food supply
hasn't been so good.

562
00:38:10,300 --> 00:38:13,980
So this is a clutch of two, some
years we just see clutches of one.

563
00:38:13,980 --> 00:38:16,180
There's another clutch of two
over there.

564
00:38:17,380 --> 00:38:19,060
But, so far, no more chicks.

565
00:38:24,500 --> 00:38:26,140
OK, so there's a scrape here.

566
00:38:26,140 --> 00:38:30,340
Just with a single chick there,
do you see it? I've got it.

567
00:38:30,340 --> 00:38:32,940
They're brilliantly camouflaged.
Fantastic.

568
00:38:34,860 --> 00:38:37,780
It just sits absolutely still, Eric.
It does.

569
00:38:37,780 --> 00:38:39,460
Look at that!

570
00:38:39,460 --> 00:38:42,620
So this chick, small as
though it is, it's OK to ring.

571
00:38:44,020 --> 00:38:47,460
88751.

572
00:38:49,020 --> 00:38:55,380
So, Eric, you've been studying these
birds, these terns, for how long?

573
00:38:55,380 --> 00:38:59,420
Well, I first came to Orkney 31 years
ago, at the beginning of 1981.

574
00:38:59,420 --> 00:39:01,820
And the year before I came, 1980,

575
00:39:01,820 --> 00:39:06,580
there'd been a big tern census,
both in Orkney and Shetland.

576
00:39:06,580 --> 00:39:12,340
And in Orkney the figure
was a phenomenal 33,000 pairs.

577
00:39:12,340 --> 00:39:14,900
That's pairs? Yup. 33,000 pairs!

578
00:39:14,900 --> 00:39:21,180
And in Shetland there were 31,00
pairs. So these are big, big numbers.

579
00:39:21,180 --> 00:39:23,420
Some days during the breeding season,

580
00:39:23,420 --> 00:39:26,460
we could go into
some of these big colonies

581
00:39:26,460 --> 00:39:28,460
and ring up to 1,000 chicks in a day.

582
00:39:28,460 --> 00:39:30,300
Absolutely phenomenal.

583
00:39:30,300 --> 00:39:35,540
Then around about 1984, 1985,

584
00:39:35,540 --> 00:39:38,860
we were still ringing
big numbers of chicks,

585
00:39:38,860 --> 00:39:43,340
but in one of those years
we didn't get a single recovery.

586
00:39:43,340 --> 00:39:46,980
Now, that was very odd, we didn't
know exactly what was going on.

587
00:39:46,980 --> 00:39:50,020
And what seems to have happened
actually, is that those chicks

588
00:39:50,020 --> 00:39:52,220
didn't fledge, they didn't survive.

589
00:39:52,220 --> 00:39:55,980
The food supply had failed and
they probably never left the colony.

590
00:39:55,980 --> 00:39:59,660
And from then on, we started
seeing more and more problems

591
00:39:59,660 --> 00:40:02,420
in these tern colonies
with numbers declining,

592
00:40:02,420 --> 00:40:05,380
years of very,
very poor breeding success.

593
00:40:05,380 --> 00:40:07,900
And what about now?
What is, what's the latest figure?

594
00:40:07,900 --> 00:40:10,380
Well, this looks like
a great colony, doesn't it?

595
00:40:10,380 --> 00:40:11,780
Yeah, it does.

596
00:40:11,780 --> 00:40:14,780
But we've only got about
70 or 80 pairs here.

597
00:40:14,780 --> 00:40:17,860
But if you think overall,
you had, what was it,

598
00:40:17,860 --> 00:40:19,980
33,000 pairs here on Orkney.

599
00:40:19,980 --> 00:40:22,140
How many pairs
do you think you've got now?

600
00:40:22,140 --> 00:40:25,180
We reckon that the numbers have
gone down now by three quarters.

601
00:40:25,180 --> 00:40:29,180
We've probably only got about a
quarter of those birds left, if that.

602
00:40:29,180 --> 00:40:30,980
Crikey.

603
00:40:30,980 --> 00:40:33,900
Let's put him back, Eric.

604
00:40:38,900 --> 00:40:42,940
Ah, brilliant,
just the same as my chickens,

605
00:40:42,940 --> 00:40:46,300
put a shirt over their head,
and they're completely relaxed.

606
00:40:48,100 --> 00:40:49,340
Let's go.

607
00:40:49,340 --> 00:40:52,340
Bit of a magician, Eric. Wonderful.

608
00:40:55,460 --> 00:40:58,820
It's very sad to think that seabirds
like the Arctic tern

609
00:40:58,820 --> 00:41:02,460
could soon be lost
as a breeding species -

610
00:41:02,460 --> 00:41:05,340
they'll still visit,
but not stay to breed.

611
00:41:05,340 --> 00:41:08,420
Unfortunately, we aren't suddenly
going to be able to reverse

612
00:41:08,420 --> 00:41:10,020
the effects of climate change,

613
00:41:10,020 --> 00:41:12,300
so there's very little
we can do to help.

614
00:41:22,500 --> 00:41:25,340
But there is a team of
RSPB researchers,

615
00:41:25,340 --> 00:41:29,340
who are involved with some
extremely exciting new science.

616
00:41:31,020 --> 00:41:33,540
Until now, we've known very little

617
00:41:33,540 --> 00:41:37,300
about what our seabirds do
once they leave their colony.

618
00:41:37,300 --> 00:41:39,500
So these researchers
are fitting birds

619
00:41:39,500 --> 00:41:41,780
with small electronic tags

620
00:41:41,780 --> 00:41:44,580
to work out where they're going
to feed during the day,

621
00:41:44,580 --> 00:41:48,020
how far they go,
how long they spend fishing.

622
00:41:50,220 --> 00:41:54,540
The data they're gathering is giving
us some remarkable new insights

623
00:41:54,540 --> 00:41:56,420
into the lives of our seabirds,

624
00:41:56,420 --> 00:42:00,180
which in the future may enable us
to do something to help.

625
00:42:06,380 --> 00:42:09,340
I've come to meet Andy Knight
from the RSPB

626
00:42:09,340 --> 00:42:11,580
here in Orkney to find out more.

627
00:42:12,820 --> 00:42:16,860
Some of the results already here.
What does this one show us?

628
00:42:16,860 --> 00:42:19,780
Yes, if you look at this one,
this is a shag.

629
00:42:19,780 --> 00:42:23,180
And you can see from here
there's a lot of activity there.

630
00:42:23,180 --> 00:42:24,820
So this is all in a 24-hour period.

631
00:42:24,820 --> 00:42:27,220
So there's obviously
a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.

632
00:42:27,220 --> 00:42:30,500
To give you an idea of scale,
this is on Copinsay

633
00:42:30,500 --> 00:42:33,140
and that island's what,
half a mile long?

634
00:42:33,140 --> 00:42:35,580
So it's travelling
very little distance at all.

635
00:42:35,580 --> 00:42:38,820
Shag doing pretty well.
They're a generalist feeder,

636
00:42:38,820 --> 00:42:42,180
so they can feed on pretty
much any species they want,

637
00:42:42,180 --> 00:42:44,860
as long as they can
get it in their mouth.

638
00:42:44,860 --> 00:42:46,900
And the chicks don't mind
what they get.

639
00:42:46,900 --> 00:42:48,380
They regurgitate the fish,

640
00:42:48,380 --> 00:42:51,220
so doesn't matter whether it's a
big or small fish, it's just mush.

641
00:42:51,220 --> 00:42:54,820
So that's the shag,
and it's doing fairly well.

642
00:42:54,820 --> 00:42:58,300
But what about this one?

643
00:42:58,300 --> 00:43:00,940
Yeah, now this one is kittiwake.

644
00:43:02,180 --> 00:43:03,820
This is a plunge feeder.

645
00:43:03,820 --> 00:43:06,020
It's a different way of feeding
to the shag.

646
00:43:06,020 --> 00:43:08,060
So it can only get food
from the surface.

647
00:43:08,060 --> 00:43:11,380
It can only bring back one fish
at a time, the sand eel,

648
00:43:11,380 --> 00:43:14,740
it can't choose which,
it would just be sand eels.

649
00:43:14,740 --> 00:43:18,420
And you can instantly see that
there's quite a difference there.

650
00:43:18,420 --> 00:43:22,420
In the other map there,
Copinsay filled your image there.

651
00:43:22,420 --> 00:43:24,940
Here, Copinsay is just a dot,

652
00:43:24,940 --> 00:43:27,580
you can't even make it out
on the map.

653
00:43:27,580 --> 00:43:29,780
You've got most of
the rest of northeast Scotland,

654
00:43:29,780 --> 00:43:31,500
all the way down to Aberdeen here,

655
00:43:31,500 --> 00:43:35,860
the ferry time from Aberdeen
to Orkney is eight hours,

656
00:43:35,860 --> 00:43:37,780
so that's a long way.

657
00:43:37,780 --> 00:43:41,740
Well, that must be travelling what,
over 100 miles here, isn't it?

658
00:43:41,740 --> 00:43:43,260
Would you say?

659
00:43:43,260 --> 00:43:45,420
Way more. Several hundred kilometres.

660
00:43:45,420 --> 00:43:47,020
To get one fish?

661
00:43:47,020 --> 00:43:49,060
To eventually bring one fish back.

662
00:43:49,060 --> 00:43:53,260
One fish back to the chick. Is that
usual? Is that what you'd expect?

663
00:43:53,260 --> 00:43:57,580
As an ecologist, it's absolutely
not what you'd expect.

664
00:43:57,580 --> 00:44:00,500
So it's having to go
and find where those sand eels are.

665
00:44:00,500 --> 00:44:03,500
And to breed successfully,
you would expect it to travel

666
00:44:03,500 --> 00:44:06,500
just a short distance
to bring fish regularly back.

667
00:44:06,500 --> 00:44:09,540
And, in this case,
it obviously isn't managing that.

668
00:44:09,540 --> 00:44:13,620
So there on that map, we can see
why the kittiwakes are in trouble.

669
00:44:13,620 --> 00:44:16,380
They're having to travel
an enormous distance.

670
00:44:18,340 --> 00:44:22,420
But there's something else positive
here, maybe in the long term,

671
00:44:22,420 --> 00:44:27,420
because it seems to be
sort of stopping in specific areas.

672
00:44:27,420 --> 00:44:31,140
It does, and the research is,
that's really the purpose of it,

673
00:44:31,140 --> 00:44:34,620
to find out exactly
where these birds are feeding,

674
00:44:34,620 --> 00:44:39,900
we can identify where the key
feeding areas are and from that,

675
00:44:39,900 --> 00:44:42,340
that will help us
to determine in the future

676
00:44:42,340 --> 00:44:46,700
how we protect these sea areas for
the long-term benefit of these birds.

677
00:44:46,700 --> 00:44:50,140
Not just the places where they nest,
but the places where they feed,

678
00:44:50,140 --> 00:44:52,460
which is something
we just didn't know before.

679
00:44:55,060 --> 00:44:57,660
We're pretty good at protecting
our seabirds on land.

680
00:44:57,660 --> 00:45:00,700
We've created nature reserves

681
00:45:00,700 --> 00:45:03,340
at many of the larger seabird
breeding colonies.

682
00:45:03,340 --> 00:45:07,700
But seabirds spend
most of their lives out at sea

683
00:45:09,580 --> 00:45:12,540
so if we're really
going to help them,

684
00:45:12,540 --> 00:45:16,020
ideally, we need to start
protecting them out there too.

685
00:45:20,860 --> 00:45:23,540
The hope is research like this

686
00:45:23,540 --> 00:45:27,620
will allow us to identify
feeding hotspots in the ocean,

687
00:45:27,620 --> 00:45:31,060
which one day we can designate
as new Marine Nature Reserves.

688
00:45:34,500 --> 00:45:38,060
But this is not a simple story.

689
00:45:38,060 --> 00:45:41,220
While many of our seabirds,
like the kittiwake,

690
00:45:41,220 --> 00:45:44,860
are experiencing sharp declines,
others are doing much better.

691
00:45:46,420 --> 00:45:49,100
Bass Rock, off the east coast
of Scotland,

692
00:45:49,100 --> 00:45:55,660
hosts around 20% of the entire world
population of Northern gannets.

693
00:45:55,660 --> 00:45:59,380
And the colony
is expanding every year.

694
00:46:00,540 --> 00:46:07,020
Since 2001, numbers have gone
from 42,000 breeding pairs,

695
00:46:07,020 --> 00:46:11,100
to well over 55,000, good news.

696
00:46:11,100 --> 00:46:14,340
Here on Orkney,
it's a similar situation.

697
00:46:16,580 --> 00:46:19,980
I'm back with Eric,
who's brought me to Noup Head.

698
00:46:21,820 --> 00:46:27,060
From time immemorial,
the only gannet colony in Orkney

699
00:46:27,060 --> 00:46:30,500
was on Sule Stack, 40 miles out
into the Atlantic that way.

700
00:46:30,500 --> 00:46:35,060
And then in 2003,
two new colonies suddenly sprung up,

701
00:46:35,060 --> 00:46:36,700
on the little island of Sule Skerry,

702
00:46:36,700 --> 00:46:38,700
which is about five miles
from the Stack,

703
00:46:38,700 --> 00:46:44,380
and here on the Noup, just out
of the blue, three nests were found.

704
00:46:44,380 --> 00:46:47,980
That was 2003. By 2009,
there were 500 nests here.

705
00:46:47,980 --> 00:46:50,300
They just went up like a rocket.

706
00:46:50,300 --> 00:46:53,340
And now, this year,
we've just counted them again

707
00:46:53,340 --> 00:46:56,060
and there are 623 nests.

708
00:46:56,060 --> 00:46:59,380
So does that mean overall gannet
numbers are actually increasing?

709
00:46:59,380 --> 00:47:01,460
They seem to be at the moment.

710
00:47:01,460 --> 00:47:05,340
And the reason for them
coming here is possibly because

711
00:47:05,340 --> 00:47:07,940
Sule Stack got over-populated,
there's about 5,000 pairs there.

712
00:47:07,940 --> 00:47:12,020
So as far as we know, at the moment
this is a good news story in Orkney?

713
00:47:12,020 --> 00:47:15,100
Yes, it's one of the few
in the seabird world.

714
00:47:15,100 --> 00:47:17,780
Why do you think
the gannets are doing so well?

715
00:47:17,780 --> 00:47:20,540
Well, they're not totally
dependent on sand eels.

716
00:47:20,540 --> 00:47:22,460
All the other birds we've been seeing

717
00:47:22,460 --> 00:47:26,180
eat almost nothing but sand eels,
and if they can't get sand eels,

718
00:47:26,180 --> 00:47:28,260
then their breeding success
is badly affected.

719
00:47:28,260 --> 00:47:32,340
The gannet is a big bird.
It can fly long distances.

720
00:47:32,340 --> 00:47:36,380
It can hunt for food over a wide area
away from the colony.

721
00:47:36,380 --> 00:47:39,460
And it can hunt on much bigger fish,
things like mackerel, for example.

722
00:47:39,460 --> 00:47:42,700
And they also eat
a lot of fisheries discards,

723
00:47:42,700 --> 00:47:46,580
the fish that are being thrown back
into the sea off fishing vessels.

724
00:47:46,580 --> 00:47:49,180
And they're incredibly spectacular
when they fish.

725
00:47:49,180 --> 00:47:51,420
Oh, absolutely.
Thumping into the water.

726
00:47:51,420 --> 00:47:53,980
Vertical dive,
from 100 feet up or more.

727
00:47:53,980 --> 00:47:57,140
Putting their wings back
and just slicing through the water.

728
00:47:57,140 --> 00:48:00,620
And what a spectacular sight
that is. Fabulous bird.

729
00:48:03,780 --> 00:48:06,260
It seems that right now

730
00:48:06,260 --> 00:48:10,900
the most successful seabirds
are those capable of adapting.

731
00:48:10,900 --> 00:48:14,580
Even, in some cases,
moving away from the sea itself.

732
00:48:17,260 --> 00:48:19,260
Michaela's heading
to the city of Bath

733
00:48:19,260 --> 00:48:23,740
where seabirds like the herring gull
and lesser black-backed gull

734
00:48:23,740 --> 00:48:26,780
are becoming an increasingly
common sight.

735
00:48:26,780 --> 00:48:30,500
Listen to that noise -
now that is the sound of seagulls.

736
00:48:30,500 --> 00:48:31,860
And when I was a little girl,

737
00:48:31,860 --> 00:48:36,180
if you heard that, it meant that you
were in a town or city by the sea.

738
00:48:36,180 --> 00:48:38,380
But, these days, that's not the case.

739
00:48:38,380 --> 00:48:44,060
You could be anywhere in the country,
even in the land-locked city of Bath.

740
00:48:44,060 --> 00:48:47,620
Today I'm meeting
ornithologist Peter Rock,

741
00:48:47,620 --> 00:48:51,540
who's spent the last years
studying the rise of gulls

742
00:48:51,540 --> 00:48:53,340
in our towns and cities.

743
00:48:54,220 --> 00:48:57,660
Peter, I must say, I've always found
the City of Bath a very nice place.

744
00:48:57,660 --> 00:49:01,100
Yup. But what do the gulls
find so attractive about Bath

745
00:49:01,100 --> 00:49:02,940
and other towns and cities?

746
00:49:02,940 --> 00:49:06,660
OK, now, turn your gull brain on.
And have a look out there.

747
00:49:06,660 --> 00:49:11,620
And what you can see is a whole load
of islands with very steep cliffs.

748
00:49:12,700 --> 00:49:16,780
That means that they're very safe.
No predators.

749
00:49:16,780 --> 00:49:19,140
Hardly any disturbance.

750
00:49:20,620 --> 00:49:24,460
Our towns offer other benefits too,
like street lighting

751
00:49:24,460 --> 00:49:26,580
that means they can forage
later into the night.

752
00:49:27,940 --> 00:49:30,740
And, of course, there are a lot more
food opportunities.

753
00:49:33,420 --> 00:49:36,620
These birds know everything
there is to know about food

754
00:49:36,620 --> 00:49:38,660
within a radius of 100km of here.

755
00:49:38,660 --> 00:49:42,380
They know where restaurants
are leaving their waste out.

756
00:49:42,380 --> 00:49:44,580
They know all the landfills,
of course.

757
00:49:44,580 --> 00:49:47,820
They know everything they need to,
which is why they're so successful.

758
00:49:51,140 --> 00:49:56,660
Seagulls are moving into our towns
and cities all over the UK,

759
00:49:56,660 --> 00:49:58,060
it's not just Bath.

760
00:49:58,060 --> 00:50:01,820
It seems the places we choose to live
are more and more attractive to them

761
00:50:01,820 --> 00:50:04,420
as they struggle
to make a living at sea.

762
00:50:04,420 --> 00:50:08,100
Today Peter's going to be ringing
some of this year's chicks.

763
00:50:08,100 --> 00:50:09,340
Grab him.

764
00:50:09,340 --> 00:50:10,780
Grab him?!

765
00:50:10,780 --> 00:50:13,580
That's it, grab him!
Grab him, yeah, lovely.

766
00:50:15,140 --> 00:50:19,060
It's the best way for him to keep
tabs on these urban gull populations

767
00:50:19,060 --> 00:50:21,540
and find out
more about what's going on.

768
00:50:21,540 --> 00:50:23,540
So this is where
we're doing our ringing?

769
00:50:23,540 --> 00:50:26,180
Shove them right up
against the wall, look. That's it.

770
00:50:27,420 --> 00:50:31,100
When Peter's ringing the chicks,
he also takes some measurements,

771
00:50:31,100 --> 00:50:33,700
which allow him
to work out their age, sex,

772
00:50:33,700 --> 00:50:36,300
and even what species they are.

773
00:50:36,300 --> 00:50:38,820
Because when they're this young,

774
00:50:38,820 --> 00:50:41,860
lesser black-backed
and herring gulls look very similar.

775
00:50:41,860 --> 00:50:43,460
I just open the wing.

776
00:50:43,460 --> 00:50:45,900
The primaries are all dark,

777
00:50:45,900 --> 00:50:49,220
and in particular that area there
is darkish and plain.

778
00:50:49,220 --> 00:50:52,300
So this is a lesser black-backed?
This is a lesser black-backed gull.

779
00:50:52,300 --> 00:50:54,620
In herring gulls,
this would all be very pale

780
00:50:54,620 --> 00:50:56,860
and it would be very mottled

781
00:50:56,860 --> 00:51:00,540
and then the primaries would
be brown as opposed to blackish.

782
00:51:00,540 --> 00:51:02,940
How old do you reckon this one is?

783
00:51:02,940 --> 00:51:06,020
By the size of him, six weeks.

784
00:51:06,020 --> 00:51:09,780
And I expect them at six weeks
to have a wing of around about 300,

785
00:51:09,780 --> 00:51:13,300
and you can see that this one
is actually 301.

786
00:51:13,300 --> 00:51:17,420
Thanks to Peter's detailed records
going back decades,

787
00:51:17,420 --> 00:51:21,420
we've learnt a huge amount about the
seagulls that are now living inland.

788
00:51:21,420 --> 00:51:23,300
And they're a very different bird

789
00:51:23,300 --> 00:51:26,700
from the birds
we see around the coast.

790
00:51:26,700 --> 00:51:29,700
These urban gulls
will never go back to the wild.

791
00:51:29,700 --> 00:51:34,820
They will always go to another
urban colony, if they're female,

792
00:51:34,820 --> 00:51:37,900
or back to their own colony
if they're male.

793
00:51:37,900 --> 00:51:41,180
So an urban gull will always
be an urban gull? Yep, yeah.

794
00:51:41,180 --> 00:51:43,820
Can I let this one go?
You certainly can, yes.

795
00:51:43,820 --> 00:51:46,620
Now, remember he can bite,
but he won't bite hard.

796
00:51:46,620 --> 00:51:49,660
OK. Oh, hello, hello.
Where shall I put him?

797
00:51:49,660 --> 00:51:52,780
Shove him down there,
that'll be fine. Just let him go.

798
00:51:52,780 --> 00:51:54,580
OK, ready? One, two, three, go.

799
00:51:54,580 --> 00:51:56,420
Don't have to throw him,
just put him down.

800
00:51:56,420 --> 00:51:59,460
Oh, he wants to stick around,
this one. No, he's off!

801
00:51:59,460 --> 00:52:03,540
So Peter, urban numbers of gulls
are up, rural numbers are down,

802
00:52:03,540 --> 00:52:06,180
but how is the population
doing as a whole?

803
00:52:06,180 --> 00:52:08,980
What we're looking at is a decline
overall in the population.

804
00:52:08,980 --> 00:52:13,860
The difference of course is that
urban gulls are very successful,

805
00:52:13,860 --> 00:52:16,620
and are increasing rapidly.

806
00:52:16,620 --> 00:52:18,740
Whereas rural gulls are declining,

807
00:52:18,740 --> 00:52:21,060
and quite dramatically, too,
actually.

808
00:52:21,060 --> 00:52:26,460
We're looking at a situation
where, eventually, urban gulls

809
00:52:26,460 --> 00:52:29,460
will be more numerous
than rural gulls.

810
00:52:29,460 --> 00:52:31,780
Urban gulls are taking over
the world, you mark my words.

811
00:52:31,780 --> 00:52:33,580
Actually, I'm not joking!

812
00:52:33,580 --> 00:52:34,940
HE LAUGHS

813
00:52:38,300 --> 00:52:42,100
It seems that some of the most
successful seabirds are the ones

814
00:52:42,100 --> 00:52:46,220
that have ditched the sea and headed
inland for alternative food sources.

815
00:52:46,220 --> 00:52:50,220
And it's incredible how well
these urban gulls are doing.

816
00:52:50,220 --> 00:52:53,060
However,
if their success continues,

817
00:52:53,060 --> 00:52:55,540
it could cause them problems,

818
00:52:55,540 --> 00:52:59,580
as many local residents
and councils view them as pests.

819
00:53:02,620 --> 00:53:05,700
These big birds
can make a dreadful mess.

820
00:53:05,700 --> 00:53:07,460
And that terrible noise.

821
00:53:07,460 --> 00:53:09,300
GULLS CALL

822
00:53:09,300 --> 00:53:12,780
You know, all they're actually
saying to each other is,

823
00:53:12,780 --> 00:53:15,180
"Come and mate with me, or get lost!"

824
00:53:15,180 --> 00:53:16,660
What a racket.

825
00:53:17,900 --> 00:53:21,580
I guess if we're going to keep
enjoying seabirds in the UK,

826
00:53:21,580 --> 00:53:24,100
we ALL need to adapt.

827
00:53:26,500 --> 00:53:30,460
We're extremely fortunate
that, every summer,

828
00:53:30,460 --> 00:53:33,940
eight million seabirds
choose to come to our shores

829
00:53:33,940 --> 00:53:35,460
to have their young.

830
00:53:37,300 --> 00:53:41,620
Their breeding season provides us
with a wonderful wildlife spectacle.

831
00:53:45,500 --> 00:53:48,460
But, of course,
it all comes to an end

832
00:53:48,460 --> 00:53:51,500
when the seabirds return to the sea.

833
00:53:57,860 --> 00:54:01,060
Iolo's back on Skomer
for one last time.

834
00:54:05,100 --> 00:54:07,220
It's late June,

835
00:54:07,220 --> 00:54:10,580
and we're getting to the end
of the seabird breeding season.

836
00:54:11,700 --> 00:54:15,660
Some of the chicks
are starting to think about fledging.

837
00:54:15,660 --> 00:54:18,780
Careful where we go,
just watch your footing there.

838
00:54:18,780 --> 00:54:20,940
'But first of all,
Tim's taking me to meet

839
00:54:20,940 --> 00:54:24,100
'one of the island's
newest arrivals.'

840
00:54:24,100 --> 00:54:27,820
Let's see what we've got in there.
Right, let's see what we've got.

841
00:54:27,820 --> 00:54:29,340
Ahh, what a beautiful bird.

842
00:54:29,340 --> 00:54:32,380
That's brilliant.
Come on, little guy.

843
00:54:32,380 --> 00:54:34,180
How old is that, Tim?

844
00:54:34,180 --> 00:54:36,220
That's five days old, Iolo.

845
00:54:36,220 --> 00:54:37,700
Five days! Is that all? Yeah.

846
00:54:37,700 --> 00:54:39,860
It's grown a lot in days, hasn't it?
Yeah, yeah.

847
00:54:39,860 --> 00:54:42,740
We'd better weigh it.
We're going to weigh it.

848
00:54:42,740 --> 00:54:45,380
And a typical Manx shearwater beak
already. That long beak.

849
00:54:45,380 --> 00:54:48,700
Oh, yes. You can already see
it's a baby Manx shearwater.

850
00:54:48,700 --> 00:54:50,900
That's 135 grams.

851
00:54:50,900 --> 00:54:53,340
Do you want me to hold him for you?
Yeah, why don't you?

852
00:54:53,340 --> 00:54:56,420
Come here, boy,
get my hands nice and warm.

853
00:54:56,420 --> 00:54:58,820
Look at that, what a little beauty!

854
00:54:58,820 --> 00:55:02,260
Hey, get your head up, look,
don't worry, we mean you no harm,

855
00:55:02,260 --> 00:55:03,540
I'll just keep you warm.

856
00:55:03,540 --> 00:55:06,140
And this will be in its burrow
for how long now?

857
00:55:06,140 --> 00:55:08,620
Almost another 70 days.

858
00:55:08,620 --> 00:55:10,780
So it's not going to leave
until mid-September?

859
00:55:10,780 --> 00:55:12,220
That's right. Early September.

860
00:55:12,220 --> 00:55:14,460
It'll be one of the last birds
on the island, won't it?

861
00:55:14,460 --> 00:55:17,260
Everything, all the other seabirds
pretty much will have finished

862
00:55:17,260 --> 00:55:19,100
long before the shearwaters fledge.

863
00:55:19,100 --> 00:55:21,820
And in fact, most of their parents
will have gone

864
00:55:21,820 --> 00:55:23,140
by the time they fledge as well.

865
00:55:23,140 --> 00:55:25,780
And, of course, they go
all the way down to South America.

866
00:55:25,780 --> 00:55:27,100
That's right, yes.

867
00:55:27,100 --> 00:55:30,900
So a journey of, what,
25,000km round trip, probably.

868
00:55:30,900 --> 00:55:33,140
Plenty of food down there for them.

869
00:55:33,140 --> 00:55:35,580
Right, I'd better give you
that to put back.

870
00:55:35,580 --> 00:55:38,220
Thank you very much then,
what a stunning little bird.

871
00:55:38,220 --> 00:55:40,260
Thank you for that,
that's a real privilege.

872
00:55:40,260 --> 00:55:45,060
Now, Tim, we've known for quite some
time that our Manx shearwaters

873
00:55:45,060 --> 00:55:47,740
go all the way down off the coast
of South America,

874
00:55:47,740 --> 00:55:51,100
but what we haven't
known until now, Tim,

875
00:55:51,100 --> 00:55:53,220
is where our puffins go
in the winter.

876
00:55:54,460 --> 00:55:58,420
So the picture for puffin migration
has been very patchy until recently,

877
00:55:58,420 --> 00:56:02,380
when we were able to
use geo-location technology

878
00:56:02,380 --> 00:56:05,780
to track individual puffins
using these little devices here.

879
00:56:05,780 --> 00:56:07,660
And where do they go?

880
00:56:07,660 --> 00:56:09,900
Well, it's a very
interesting picture.

881
00:56:09,900 --> 00:56:12,700
The answer seems to be
that they go pretty much everywhere.

882
00:56:12,700 --> 00:56:14,020
I mean, I'm exaggerating,

883
00:56:14,020 --> 00:56:16,380
but they have this
highly dispersive migration.

884
00:56:16,380 --> 00:56:18,420
From Skomer,
we have puffins which...

885
00:56:18,420 --> 00:56:23,300
breeding puffins which migrate out
towards Greenland, beyond Greenland.

886
00:56:23,300 --> 00:56:26,340
We have some which
migrate down into the Mediterranean.

887
00:56:26,340 --> 00:56:29,940
And each individual
is doing something different.

888
00:56:29,940 --> 00:56:32,660
In fact,
puffins from neighbouring burrows,

889
00:56:32,660 --> 00:56:36,820
who've spent the summer living just a
couple of feet away from each other,

890
00:56:36,820 --> 00:56:40,340
could end up spending the winter
thousands of miles apart.

891
00:56:46,020 --> 00:56:49,300
The breeding season on Skomer
is drawing to a close.

892
00:56:49,300 --> 00:56:53,380
It's time for the seabirds
to start heading back out to sea,

893
00:56:53,380 --> 00:56:56,820
and their chicks
will soon follow them.

894
00:56:56,820 --> 00:57:01,740
For these young birds, it's a brave
jump into the great blue yonder,

895
00:57:01,740 --> 00:57:05,940
but also a brave leap
into a very uncertain future.

896
00:57:09,700 --> 00:57:13,900
Let's for a moment
be ruthlessly realistic.

897
00:57:13,900 --> 00:57:17,700
The process of climate change
is not going to stop,

898
00:57:17,700 --> 00:57:19,300
the temperature of these seas

899
00:57:19,300 --> 00:57:22,540
is going to continue to rise
inexorably.

900
00:57:22,540 --> 00:57:26,580
So what's going to happen
right here in Orkney, right now?

901
00:57:26,580 --> 00:57:29,100
Well, some of our seabirds,
unfortunately,

902
00:57:29,100 --> 00:57:31,500
are not going to make it.
They've had it.

903
00:57:31,500 --> 00:57:34,380
But I don't think
those magnificent sea cliffs

904
00:57:34,380 --> 00:57:37,060
are going to fall silent.

905
00:57:37,060 --> 00:57:39,540
It's just going to be
a process of change.

906
00:57:39,540 --> 00:57:42,460
The numbers are going to change,
and the types of bird nesting there

907
00:57:42,460 --> 00:57:45,380
are also going to change.

908
00:57:45,380 --> 00:57:49,580
But maybe, over the centuries,
that change has gone on anyway.

909
00:57:49,580 --> 00:57:52,460
We've just got to hope that some,
at least,

910
00:57:52,460 --> 00:57:55,780
of our seabirds can keep pace
with what's happening now.

911
00:58:00,180 --> 00:58:04,060
A lot of work is being done
to find out what's going wrong

912
00:58:04,060 --> 00:58:08,180
with our seabirds,
and what we can do to help them.

913
00:58:08,180 --> 00:58:12,580
But I can't urge you enough
to get out and visit

914
00:58:12,580 --> 00:58:15,700
one of these seabird colonies
for yourself in summer.

915
00:58:15,700 --> 00:58:20,100
The Orkneys, the Bass Rock,
the Skomer Island Complex -

916
00:58:20,100 --> 00:58:23,500
these are wildlife spectacles
with no compare.

917
00:58:23,500 --> 00:58:25,540
They're better than the Serengeti.

918
00:58:25,540 --> 00:58:27,220
They're better than Antarctica.

919
00:58:27,220 --> 00:58:31,220
They really are
the best of British wildlife.

920
00:58:54,380 --> 00:58:57,340
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd