Inspired by birds, informed by science Northern Ireland This is the eighth edition of the Northern Ireland Seabird Report, covering 2020. The report is the published outcome of the work of the Northern Ireland Seabird Network Seabird Report – a network of volunteers, researchers and organisations – coordinated by the BTO Seabird Coordinator, and funded by NIEA. 2020 British Trust for Ornithology Head Office: ISBN 978-1-912642-23-6 The Nunnery, Thetford Norfolk IP24 2PU Tel: +44 (0)1842 750050 www.bto.org Registered Charity No. 216652 (England & Wales) SC039193 (Scotland) Company Limited by Guarantee No. 357284 (England & Wales) FRONT COVER IMAGE: BLACK GUILLEMOT, BY CHRISTINE CASSIDY 9 781912 642236 Inspired by birds, informed by science Can you help monitor Northern Irish seabirds? Northern Ireland is home to important populations of seabirds at the UK-level, and monitoring these is essential to their conservation. This report relies upon the efforts of volunteers in the Northern Ireland Inspired by birds, informed by science Seabird Network, who donate their time to collect data on breeding seabirds on their local patch. Due to the combined efforts of the Northern Ireland Seabird Network, the NIEA-funded NI Seabird Coordinator and the large annual surveys carried out by the RSPB and the National Trust, Northern Ireland’s seabirds enjoy a good level of survey coverage compared to other parts of the UK. However, each year there are still sites that do not regularly receive any counts. Northern Ireland Seabird Report 2020 What do we need, and why? There are two main types of data collected for the JNCC Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP): breeding NI Seabird Steering Group abundance data (counts of breeding pairs or individuals at a site) and productivity data (nesting success). Dave Allen (Allen & Mellon Environmental) Additional monitoring of survival is undertaken through the Retrapping Adults for Survival (RAS) scheme. Abundance data are the more frequently collected data, requiring a minimum of one visit at the recommended Katherine Booth Jones (BTO) time of year for each species. Abundance data monitor how populations of seabirds are faring over time. For Kendrew Colhoun (KRC Ecological) example, they help to show which species are increasing and which are decreasing in number, and how this differs Gillian Gilbert (RSPB) between areas (see the species accounts in this report, page 12–60). Productivity data require volunteers to visit Kerry Leonard (Sterna Environmental) a colony several times (a minimum of twice) to record nests and their progress as eggs hatch and chicks grow. Neil McCulloch (NIEA) Productivity data are especially valuable, as they are less frequently collected in Northern Ireland and provide Andrew Upton (National Trust) context to changes in abundance. For example, for many seabird species reduced breeding success is a factor in their decline. Therefore, information on how different colonies around the UK are performing in their breeding Report editor seasons can offer insight into what issues may be affecting overall numbers and inform conservation action. Katherine Booth Jones Get involved in 2021 While the SMP is an annual scheme, 2021 is a particularly important year for seabird monitoring as it is the This report is the published outcome of the work of the Northern Ireland Seabird Network final year of the JNCC Seabirds Count census, a periodic stock-take of all seabirds in Britain and Ireland that is – a network of volunteers, researchers and organisations – coordinated by the BTO Seabird essential for assessing the health of our seabird populations. We still have sites that require survey effort, so if you Coordinator, and funded by NIEA. have time to spare to make a one-off visit part of Northern Ireland’s beautiful coastline to count seabirds, please get in touch with the NI Seabird Coordinator ([email protected]) to be added to the Northern Ireland Seabird Network. Simple introductions to the monitoring methods for common species in Northern British Trust for Ornithology The Nunnery Ireland can be found here: https://bit.ly/NI_Seabird_Guidance, and maps of vacant sites can be viewed online Thetford here: https://bit.ly/NI_Seabird_Sites (see page 11 of the report for more details). Norfolk IP24 2PU www.bto.org [email protected] +44 (0) 1842 750050 Registered Charity No.216652 (England & Wales) No.SC039193 (Scotland). Company Limited by Guarantee No. 357284 (England & Wales) February 2021 © British Trust for Ornithology & Northern Ireland Environment Agency ISBN 978-1-912642-23-6 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. Northern Ireland Seabird Report 2020 Contents Editorial ...............................................................................................................................................3 Seabird monitoring overview ................................................................................................................4 Breeding seabirds in Northern Ireland in 2020 .....................................................................................7 Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) .................................................................................................12 Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) ...................................................................................................14 European Storm Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus)......................................................................................16 Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) ..............................................................................................17 European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) ............................................................................................20 Great Skua (Stercorarius skua) .............................................................................................................23 Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) .............................................................................................24 Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) .................................................................................27 Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus) ........................................................................................30 Common Gull (Larus canus) ..............................................................................................................32 Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) ..............................................................................................35 Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) ..........................................................................................................37 Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) ...........................................................................................39 Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) ............................................................................................................41 Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) ..............................................................................................42 Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)..........................................................................................................44 Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) ............................................................................................................46 Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) ............................................................................................................48 Common Guillemot (Uria aalge) .......................................................................................................50 Razorbill (Alca torda) ..........................................................................................................................52 Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle) ........................................................................................................54 Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica).......................................................................................................56 Tracking tysties: planning Black Guillemot tagging as part of the MarPAMM project ........................61 In lockdown with Black Guillemots ...................................................................................................63 Declines in Belfast Lough’s dominant winter gull species ....................................................................66 Update on monitoring gulls and terns on the Lough Neagh islands ....................................................71 2020 Seabird nesting report for Strangford Lough ..............................................................................75 Irish marine protected areas management and m-onitoring work in 2020 ..........................................79 Appendix: Species counts ...................................................................................................................80 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................84 2 Northern Ireland Seabird Report 2020 Editorial Katherine Booth Jones BTO NI Senior Research Ecologist and Seabird Coordinator NEAL WARNOCK This is the eighth edition of the Northern Ireland Seabird