Scotland: Climate change is threatening the seabirds of St Kilda

Warming seas to the west of the Hebrides are believed to have driven the marine life the birds rely on further north

Naturalists have discovered that the kittiwake, a small migratory gull with ink-black wing tips, is on the brink of disappearing from St Kilda. The remote cluster of Scottish islands in the eastern Atlantic is the UK’s only place with two Unesco world heritage site listings – for its culture and natural history – and one of only 24 sites with a dual listing worldwide.

The kittiwake did not breed in St Kilda this season, with just one chick born there this year after a 99% decrease in occupied nests since the 1990s. Its adult population has since halved. The number of fulmar chicks has plunged by 33% since 2005, while St Kilda’s puffin population is in persistent decline.

More than a quarter of UK birds are fighting for survival

Warming seas to the west of the Hebrides are believed to have driven the marine life the birds rely on further north into colder seas or deeper into the water, starving the birds of food.

The findings from the annual bird survey by the National Trust for Scotland, the charity which owns St Kilda, have alarmed conservationists.

“This data from St Kilda is really extremely worrying,” said Dr Paul Walton, head of habitats and species in Scotland for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. “We are losing whole colonies of these birds now and it’s a very serious issue. Frankly, it breaks my heart, it really does.”

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