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Seabird Movements Along the East Coast of England D Seabird movements along the east coast of England D. I. M. Wallace and W. R. P. Bourne t has been known for over a century that large movements of seabirds— Iincluding scarce species—may occur at intervals, at any time of year, along the east coast of Britain following the onset of northwest to east winds (Nelson et al. 1907, Temperley 1951). Some of the birds fly south, and may converge along the coasts of Lincolnshire and Norfolk on the Wash {Cambridge Bird Report 1954 onwards; Bourne 1976a), or the Thames estuary (Davenport 1971), where in autumn the skuas Stercorarius, terns Sterna and Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla may continue overland, while others, such as the Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus, may continue through the Strait of Dover (Oliver 1971, Oliver & Davenport 1972). More commonly, they fly north until the coastline turns west in the Grampian region, where some may follow it and a few continue southwest overland down the Great Glen in the autumn (personal observation by WRPB), but many go out to sea between northwest and north, and may eventually reach the Atlantic around north Orkney. They appear to avoid the Pentland Firth (Lea & Bourne 1975). The movement has been studied where it starts to leave the land at Rattray Head by Elkins & Williams (1970, 1972), who found that, in addition to large numbers of the main resident species, such as Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, Gannets Sula bassana, Kittiwakes and auks (Alcidae), migratory tubenoses and skuas sometimes appear at appropriate seasons. When large numbers of the latter two groups were reported all down the east coast after the hot summer of 1976, we decided that they required further investigation and appealed for information (Brit. Birds 70: 40). A subsequent increase in sea-watching, combined with studies of the birds occurring at North Sea oil installations (Bourne et al. 1979), indicated that, while 1976 was indeed a good year for the occurrence of scarce species, it was by no means unique. Large movements occurred again in the autumn of 1978 and spring of 1979, and investigations then have helped elucidate their nature. Geographical situation, and movements of common species Current information on the marine environment is summarised in Scottish Fishery Bulletin 45, and its application to ornithology is discussed by Bourne (1976b, 1978, and in Cramp et al. 1974) and Joiris (1978). A current of [Brit. Birds 74:417-426, October 1981] 417 418 Seabird movements along the east coast of England Atlantic water with a rich and varied oceanic plankton exploited by young fish hatched off the north of Scotland enters the area around Shetland and flows down the east coast of Britain. There, it is mixed by tidal currents with fresh water from the rivers and cool bottom water containing nutrient salts which sustain a further growth of plankton. The growing fish congregate in this area, which supports a vast breeding population of seabirds (Cramp et al. 1974), and in winter provides a refuge from Atlantic gales for northern winter visitors. As the water shoals south of Flamborough Head, Humber- side, it becomes more uniformly mixed, and the larger marine organisms are replaced by bacteria which help to make the water turbid. Thus, elsewhere in the North Sea there is less food for birds and the diving species cannot find it, and they are replaced by smaller numbers of aerial gulls and terns feeding at the surface. During 1978-79, co-ordinated observations along the east coast of Scotland, at the oil platforms on the Forties Field in the central North Sea (Bourne et al. 1979), and from helicopters flying between the two, together with RAF distant early warning radar covering the area, provided an insight into the seabird movements. The birds feed when dispersed at sea, gathering in flocks behind trawlers and over the fish-shoals, which are particularly numerous along the front which occurs in summer a few kilometres offshore between the well-mixed coastal water and the stratified water farther out; it is sometimes marked by the formation of a line of scum. They appear to have much spare time, which they spend resting in groups on the water, along the shore, around the oil installations, and (once they have completed their moult) in visiting the colonies, which are occupied in fine weather by some species such as Fulmars, Herring Gulls Lams argentatus and Guillemots Una aalge for much of the year (Greenwood 1972). Northward movements are sometimes distinguishable at sea with warm south winds on the west side of the high-pressure systems in the spring, but are seldom marked. Southward ones are more prominent, with cold north winds on the western side of low-pressure systems at most seasons, and become large at times in the late autumn. North winds persisted for several weeks during the spring of 1979, and on radar films the feeding seabirds, which usually mill about at random out at sea, could sometimes be seen beginning to drift slowly southward as the wind rose. Some of these birds could be seen from the shore, but the movement soon became incon• spicuous there because the birds drifting south out at sea were greatly outnumbered locally by a concentrated return movement north up the coast, presumably because the wind is weaker there. As the wind fell, they started to return north out at sea as well, and the coasting movement died away. A further example of the effect of drift on seabird movements, of the type probably responsible for many large east coast influxes, occurred when a strongly-developed front moved north over the area on 9th December 1978. During a helicopter trip out to the oilfield in a violent easterly gale (as the front passed during the morning), those birds which could be seen appeared to be drifting slowly west low over the water with the wind. Then, as the wind fell during the afternoon, Alan Morley saw an unprece- Seabird movements along the east coast oj England 419 dented return movement, of 1,000 Kittiwakes with some Common Gulls Lams cams and auks, east, past the oilfield, with smaller numbers again next day. Comparatively few birds accumulated along the coast at this time, as the gale moved on rapidly, but, with sustained east winds, large numbers accumulate offshore and head into the wind along the coast. Status of scarcer species The long, hot summer of 1976 was accompanied by the appearance of numbers of Manx Shearwaters Pujftnus puffinus off North Humberside. As the warm weather gave way to north winds, mist and rain in the third week of August, modern records for the numbers of Great P. gravis and Cory's Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea, and Pomarine Stercorarius pomarinus and Long-tailed Skuas S. longicaudus, were broken. Later, the record for Sooty Shearwaters was also broken and that for Pomarine Skuas was matched in 1978. It also became clear from a scrutiny of the older literature that at least the skua observations were far from unprecedented, although there appears to have been an increase in the number of shearwaters recorded in recent decades, possibly owing to more effective observation. Seabird movements, including a large proportion of the scarce skuas, were noticed on the east coast in autumn at least as early as 1867 (Zoologist (1867): 1008-1014). They were prominent again and received a great deal of attention in the early years of the enquiry into migration at coastal lights. Numbers of terns and Arctic Skuas S. parasiticus were attracted to Tees Bay by small fish in September 1879, and 40-50 skuas were shot. Then 'thousands' of Pomarine Skuas, with smaller numbers of the other species, appeared there from the east about one hour after the onset of a north- veering-to-northeast gale and heavy rain on the morning of 14th October 1879, and some flew north up the coast while others continued inland. They were very tame, and over 150 were shot. There were still considerable numbers next day and, when the wind rose again, on 17th, and they were seen at least as far south as Norfolk. Similar movements on a smaller scale were noticed on the Yorkshire coast again on 28th October 1880 (Zoologist (1880): 8-19, 511) and on 30th November 1911 (Nelson 1911). Manx and Sooty Shearwaters were first noticed to reach hundreds off the Isle of May in late September 1959 (Watson 1959). The old records confirm the impression from modern observations that numbers of scarce migrants may accumulate offshore in some autumns, notably those when there are many shoaling fish, and that the birds are then liable to be brought inshore by north to east winds. The following summary shows the status of the scarcer species. Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis Coasting movements of pale birds reaching 3,000 to 5,000 per hour occur from Scotland to south of the Humber at intervals throughout the year. They are commonest from early March to early May and from early August to mid September, with a drop then as the young fledge and their parents go to sea to moult. The movements are sometimes, but not always, associated with those 420 Seabird movements along the east coast oj England of the shearwaters. Grey Fulmars with dark underwings, which are very rare in the British breeding population, are now being recorded increasingly frequently at all seasons, occasionally forming up to 8% of those passing Flamborough Head. On 17th December 1978, there were 225 normal Fulmars, 2,225 pale grey ones, four darker and one very dark individual there; presumably, they belonged to the small, dark northern populations also wrecked all around the North Sea in the spring of 1962 (Pashby & Cudworth 1969).
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