Irish Wildlife Manuals No. 114, the Status of Ireland's Breeding Seabirds
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ISSN 1393 – 6670 N A T I O N A L P A R K S A N D W I L D L I F E S ERVICE THE STATUS OF IRELAND’S BREEDING SEABIRDS: BIRDS DIRECTIVE ARTICLE 12 REPORTING 2013 – 2018 Sinéad Cummins, Claire Lauder, Alan Lauder and David Tierney I R I S H W I L D L I F E M ANUAL S 114 National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) commissions a range of reports from external contractors to provide scientific evidence and advice to assist it in its duties. The Irish Wildlife Manuals series serves as a record of work carried out or commissioned by NPWS, and is one means by which it disseminates scientific information. Others include scientific publications in peer reviewed journals. The views and recommendations presented in this report are not necessarily those of NPWS and should, therefore, not be attributed to NPWS. Front cover, small photographs from top row: Coastal heath, Howth Head, Co. Dublin, Maurice Eakin; Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris, Eddie Dunne, NPWS Image Library; Marsh Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia, Brian Nelson; Puffin Fratercula arctica, Mike Brown, NPWS Image Library; Long Range and Upper Lake, Killarney National Park, NPWS Image Library; Limestone pavement, Bricklieve Mountains, Co. Sligo, Andy Bleasdale; Meadow Saffron Colchicum autumnale, Lorcan Scott; Barn Owl Tyto alba, Mike Brown, NPWS Image Library; A deep water fly trap anemone Phelliactis sp., Yvonne Leahy; Violet Crystalwort Riccia huebeneriana, Robert Thompson Main photograph: Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis, David Tierney. The Status of Ireland’s Breeding Seabirds: Birds Directive Article 12 Reporting 2013 – 2018 Sinéad Cummins, Claire Lauder, Alan Lauder and David Tierney Cummins, S., Lauder, C., Lauder, A. & Tierney, T. D. (2019) The Status of Ireland’s Breeding Seabirds: Birds Directive Article 12 Reporting 2013 – 2018. Irish Wildlife Manuals, No. 114. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ireland The NPWS Project Officer for this report was: David Tierney; [email protected] This IWM was edited by David Tierney and Brian Nelson ISSN 1393 – 6670 An tSeirbhís Páirceanna Náisiúnta agus Fiadhúlra 2019 National Parks and Wildlife Service 2019 An Roinn Cultúir, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta, 90 Sráid an Rí Thuaidh, Margadh na Feirme, Baile Átha Cliath 7, D07N7CV Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, 90 North King Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 N7CV 1 Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................. iii 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1 2 Ireland’s National Seabird Monitoring Programme 2013 – 2018 ........................................................... 3 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 2013 – 2018 Survey Coverage ............................................................................................................ 4 2.3 Census Methods .................................................................................................................................. 6 2.4 Site and subsite boundaries ............................................................................................................... 7 2.5 Count quality and data processing ................................................................................................... 7 3 Species accounts ............................................................................................................................................ 9 3.1 Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis ............................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Gannet Morus bassanus ................................................................................................. 13 3.3 Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo carbo ..................................................................................... 16 3.4 Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis aristotelis ................................................................................. 19 3.5 Great Skua Catharacta skua .......................................................................................................... 22 3.6 Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus ............................................................................... 25 3.7 Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus ........................................................................................... 28 3.8 Common Gull Larus canus .................................................................................................... 31 3.9 Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus ................................................................ 33 3.10 Herring Gull Larus argentatus ................................................................... 36 3.11 Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus ....................................................................... 39 3.12 Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla ................................................................................................. 42 3.13 Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis ......................................................................................... 45 3.14 Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii ........................................................................................... 48 3.15 Common Tern Sterna hirundo .................................................................................................... 51 3.16 Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea ....................................................................................................... 54 3.17 Little Tern Sternula albifrons ....................................................................................................... 56 3.18 Guillemot Uria aalge ................................................................................................................. 58 3.19 Razorbill Alca torda .................................................................................................... 61 3.20 Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle ................................................................................................... 64 3.21 Burrow nesting seabirds ................................................................................................................... 66 4 Pressures & Threats .................................................................................................................................... 67 4.1 Renewable Energy ............................................................................................................................. 68 4.2 Commercial Fishing .......................................................................................................................... 68 4.3 Climate Change ................................................................................................................................. 69 4.4 Predation ............................................................................................................................................ 70 4.5 Plastics and other marine particulate pollution ............................................................................ 71 4.6 Recreational disturbance .................................................................................................................. 71 4.7 Others .................................................................................................................................................. 72 5 Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................. 73 Targeted seabird conservation management can produce dividends ................................................. 73 The recorded decline of Ireland’s breeding Kittiwake population is a cause for concern ................ 73 Biosecurity and burrow nesting seabirds ................................................................................................ 73 Sustainable seabird monitoring for the future ........................................................................................ 74 6 Bibliography & Relevant Literature ......................................................................................................... 75 IWM 114 (2019) Ireland’s Breeding Seabirds 2013 - 2018 Executive Summary Every summer approximately one half to three-quarters of a million seabirds congregate in colonies across Ireland to start their breeding season. Their preferred breeding habitats are principally found on mainland cliffs and on offshore marine islands. These breeding sites are often in close proximity to the rich foraging habitat of continental shelf waters. Ireland is particularly important for its breeding populations of Manx Shearwater, Storm Petrel and Roseate Tern. This Irish Wildlife Manual describes our contemporary knowledge of the twenty-four species of seabirds that regularly breed in Ireland. Data collected under the National Seabird Monitoring Programme over the period 2013 – 2018 inclusive allowed for the production of robust contemporary population estimates for the majority