Seabirds starving as climate changes

5 April 2005The HeraldAlison Chiesa

An increasing number of shags are being found starved to death around Scotland be-cause of climate change.

The trend is being attributed to a change in currents which are stopping the flow of cold water into the North sea, according to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

About 40% of the world's shag population is found in the British Isles, with the majority breeding off the east and west coasts of Scotland.The BTO has estimated that 1000 birds could have died in the past two months.

The research provides additional evidence of the affect of climate change to bird life. Last year, conservationists reported an unprecedented breeding failure among seabirds. A shortage of plankton resulted in a scarcity of sand eels which, in turn, has led to a depletion in the number of seabirds.Mark Grantham, a bird recoveries officer for BTO, explained: "The problem started at the end of January when these coastal birds were being found dead very far inland."

So far, around 200 ringed birds have been found dead, 185 of which were found in Scotland. The trend was "worrying" because there has already been around a 32% drop in shag numbers since 1988 in Scotland.

He added: "There are now 40,000 pairs across the UK, 21,000 of which are breeding in Scotland.

"The current situation is serious because it is affecting both adult and young shags, and is taking a lot of breeding birds out of the population."