Hundreds of seabirds die from bird flu at RSPB Bempton Cliffs

A bird flu outbreak at Yorkshire’s seabird colony is believed to have killed hundreds of its largest inhabitants.
Alexandra Wood
By Alexandra Wood
Published 12th Oct 2022, 06:00 BST
Updated 12th Oct 2022, 17:48 BST
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RSPB Bempton Cliffs - where half a million seabirds gather every year to raise a family - said it had been the worst breeding season ever for gannets.

Britain's largest seabird, northern gannets pair for life and return to the same nest site from West Africa every year.

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But there’s no evidence that bird flu has affected other seabirds at Bempton, including kittiwakes, guillemots and puffins.

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Gannets nest at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, as over 250,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. The nature reserve, run by the RSPB, is best known for its breeding seabirds, including northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, razorbill, common guillemot, black-legged kittiwake and fulmar. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA WireGannets nest at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, as over 250,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. The nature reserve, run by the RSPB, is best known for its breeding seabirds, including northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, razorbill, common guillemot, black-legged kittiwake and fulmar. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Gannets nest at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, as over 250,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. The nature reserve, run by the RSPB, is best known for its breeding seabirds, including northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, razorbill, common guillemot, black-legged kittiwake and fulmar. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Site manager David O 'Hara said they'd got off relatively lightly given the flu’s devastating impact in places like the Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast, where thousands died.

At Bempton, most of the losses took place in August, when hundreds of gannet chicks died in the densest area of the colony at Staple Newk, and some dead adult birds were recorded on the sea.

Around 80 per cent of the chicks in two of the plots they monitor on Staple Newk had died. Hundreds of adults are also thought to have died.

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Mr O’Hara said: "Although it wasn't proven, it was very typical of bird flu. One chick would die and others would die around it, as you'd expect from a virus.

Gannets nest at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire Picture: Danny Lawson/PA WireGannets nest at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Gannets nest at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

"If there is a positive it seems because of the way they nest on narrow ledges there wasn't much transmission.

"It didn't spread like we feared it might do. Maybe it came quite late and didn't get the chance to spread more."

For most of the 13,000 pairs of gannets nesting elsewhere the impact "has been thankfully very small".

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Meanwhile kittiwakes had the best breeding season for over ten years with 44,000 pairs producing around 30,000 chicks.

Two kittiwakes found at nearby Speeton in August tested positive for bird flu, but by then most of the chicks had fledged.

Most of the seabirds are now back out at sea, and attention will turn to how bird flu is affecting wildfowl and waders starting to congregate in sites, including on the Humber estuary.

They are working on plans with Natural England to extend monitoring of gannets using fixed set and time lapse cameras.

Mr O’Hara said: "We are not complacent for next year - it will be a worrying time."

Related topics:YorkshireRSPB