In various parts of coastal UK there are what amount to seabird cities. Islands and coastal cliffs are the habitat of species that congregate in large numbers, usually nesting in close proximity. It is these birds that have been of great fascination to me on countless trips to some of the more remote parts of our coastal waters. Each species is deserving of a project on its own, but in this project I want to convey the variety of birds that make up these vast “urban” seabird strongholds. While we can refer to Gannet and puffin colonies, typically many of these birds occupy different niches within the same location. For example at Bempton Cliffs, which is known for its Gannet colony, you will find guillemots and fulmars. On the Isle of May you will find puffins in large numbers but also arctic terns, eiders and shags. In the Shetland islands great skuas coexist with gannets and gulls. On Skomer, huge numbers of manx shearwaters live side by side with puffins. Moreover,In all these locations and many others, there is a true diversity of species despite the apparent predominance of one or two iconic species. Many of these seabirds are threatened by loss of food supplies due to climate change and other factors so their fortunes are very much part of our fortunes too.
