Seatrack: final survey of 2014

The final Seatrack survey weekend of the season takes place this Sat 1st/Sun 2nd November with a start time of 08:25am (preference given to Sat 1st if possible so as to link in with other coastal seabird surveys being conducted by BirdLife Europe partners in France, Spain and Portugal).

Yet another Atlantic low pressure system will produce winds veering from Southwest to West over the weekend, hopefully conjuring up some good seawatching for observers on the Celtic Sea coast as well as along the Atlantic seaboard.

Some rather excellent late autumn seawatching continued over the past week or so with four species of shearwater seen from coastal headlands and islands in Co. Cork where small numbers of Balearic, Great and Manx Shearwaters were found among triple figure counts of Sooty Shearwaters. Strong Westerly winds coupled with an aggregation of Sprat saw a hive of feeding seabird activity in Galway Bay where impressive numbers of Kittiwakes, Gannets and skuas (particularly Arctic and Pomarine) were noted along with sightings of Leach's Storm-petrel and Little Gull. For an excellent series of pics from Galway Bay see the following blog posts by Dermot Breen and Cathal Forkan.

With the forecast for decent seawatching conditions this weekend, perhaps some Little Auks may be on the cards, particularly for those in the West and Northwest? Seawatchers should also keep an eye out for migrating divers and wildfowl with counts of Great Northern Diver, Barnacle Goose, Greenland White-fronted Goose and Whooper Swan making it into recent sightings reports.

If you would like to take part in this weekends Seatrack survey or wish to send on any additional seawatching records you've collated so far this season then please get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Balearic Shearwater from the R.V. Celtic Explorer, south of Roche's Point Co. Cork, 23rd October 2014 © Niall T. Keogh

Seatrack: early October update

The fifth Seatrack survey weekend of the season takes place this Sat 4th/Sun 5th October with a start time of 08:30am (preference given to Sat 4th if possible so as to link in with other coastal seabird surveys being conducted by BirdLife Europe partners in France, Spain and Portugal). 

The current forecast for the weekend looks quite promising with a low pressure system originating off the southern end Greenland and stretching across the mid-Atlantic set to create moderate Westerly winds along the Atlantic seaboard on Saturday with increasing Southwest winds benefiting Southern watchpoints on Sunday.

Pomarine Skuas will hopefully be the order of the day for many Seatrackers on this next survey. When favourable seawatching conditions coincide with their late Autumn migration period it can be a real treat! An increase in the number of migrating Gannets, Kittiwakes and auks should also be apparent.

If you would like to take part in this weekends Seatrack survey or wish to send on any additional seawatching records you've collated so far this season then please get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Pomarine Skua © Jason McGuirk

Seatrack: early-September update

The third Seatrack survey weekend of the season takes place this Sat 6th/Sun 7th September with a start time of 07:45am (preference given to Sat 6th if possible so as to link in with other coastal seabird surveys being conducted by BirdLife Europe partners in France, Spain and Portugal). 

The forecast for the weekend is set to be calm with light East to Northeast winds across much of the country. True passage may be slow but we will be interested to know of any feeding flocks present inshore during the calm weather so please do keep an eye out for any 'milling' seabirds. Observers surveying in the East may be affected by strong morning sunshine so an alternative evening watch with a start time of 16:05pm is suggested if necessary.

Reports of the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater have been widespread so far this season but in typically low numbers with 1-3 birds at a time seen during seawatches from coastal headlands across eight different counties between Donegal and Wexford.

If you would like to take part in this weekends Seatrack survey or wish to send on any additional seawatching records you've collated so far this season then please get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

A new seabird blog featuring news updates and posts from BirdLife Europe partners in Ireland, UK, France, Spain and Portugal can be found here, or follow on Twitter by searching and posting using the hashtag #saveseabirds 

Balearic Shearwater off Baltimore, Co. Cork, 24th August 2014 © Robert Vaughan

Appeal to EU policy makers to stop needless seabird bycatch

Original article taken from the BirdLife International Community blog

BirdLife Europe launched exhibition at the European Parliament with stunning albatross images

On Tuesday 18 October, BirdLife Europe and LPO/BirdLife in France opened its remarkable photo exhibition “Albatrosses, legendary birds”, showing sixteen giant photos demonstrating the spectacular beauty and the unique adaptation of these birds to life in the harsh environment of the southern oceans, with a focus on the problem of their needless deaths through bycatch in the course of longline fishing operations. The exhibition also stresses the dire consequences of this impact on albatross populations. Indeed, 17 out of 22 species are already in danger of extinction. It is now urgent to take action to save them.

Jacques Perrin, French actor, filmmaker and the producer of beautiful wildlife documentaries, including the famous  “Microcosmos”, “Winged Migration” and “Ocean”s, opened the speeches and illustrated the extent of the problem “ Just one longline fishing boat can use a line of 130 km long, attached to which are 10-20 000 hooks. […] Each year, 100 000 albatross die this way.” Mr Perrin continued “Albatrosses are an ideal indicator of the health of our oceans, and we know they are being destroyed by short term fishing policies and exploitation practices by our nations”

(Photo Credit: Alison Duncan)

“Not only albatrosses are suffering from seabird bycatch, but also hundreds of thousands of birds in the EU seas” stressed Angelo Caserta, Regional Director of BirdLife Europe. On a positive note he added: “We have solutions for this problem. It’s not difficult and it’s not costly. We can create win-win situations for fishermen.”

For Estelle Grelier, the French socialist MEP who hosted the event, a data collection related to bycatch is a precondition to finding effective solutions, “Just as for the Common Fisheries Policy reform, fishermen will need to be associated to this process”

Lowri Evans, Director General of DG Mare confirmed that the Commission is planning to adopt the EU Seabird Action Plan by the end of the year, containing monitoring and mitigation measures that will reduce seabird bycatch in both European and international waters. She stressed, as advocated in the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, the need to move to a wider approach to fisheries management encompassing all elements of the ecosystem including seabirds. She called upon Members of the European Parliament, Member States, NGOs, the fishing industry and civil society to help bring about this change.

BirdLife Europe is encouraged by the positive news about the upcoming publication of the EU Seabird Action Plan, but at the same time highlights that this is just a first step in our efforts to save the birds. To be effective, the Action plan will need to be translated into the ongoing CFP reform and be accompanied by research, development of technical mitigation solutions, and awareness rising within the fisheries sector.