Gannet on the Red List, but Anglesey chicks bring hope

Gannet chicks on Ynys Badrig with an adult (right) showing 'black eye' synonymous with bird flu survival (Steve Culley)

Our largest breeding seabird was added to the Welsh Red-list of birds this week following a dramatic halving of the breeding population between 2022 and 2023. Gannet numbers had been increasing progressively on the sole breeding site of Grassholm, Pembrokeshire, until a decade ago, but Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (‘bird flu’) caused a loss of 52% in just one year. It means that 20 of 22 breeding seabird species are now Red or Amber-listed.

The other change on the list, updated in light of new data on seabird populations, was more positive, as Black Guillemot moved onto the Green List of lower concern. The small Welsh population breeds in rocky clefts at the base of cliffs on the Great Orme and around Anglesey, although a few now summer in Cardigan Bay. Since they do not breed or roost colonially, they were probably hit less badly by HPAI.

There was no sign of bird flu in any UK seabird colonies this year, good news for the pioneering Gannet colony on Ynys Badrig off the north Anglesey coast. Last year, there were concerns that the virus could extinguish establishment of a second Welsh breeding site. Photos show several well-grown chicks and at least one adult with a black iris, rather than the usual pale blue. This individual has survived the flu, based on a study led by the RSPB in Scotland that found 78% of black-eyed Gannets had antibodies for the H5N1 strain of the virus.

Elsewhere in North Wales, the Hudsonian Godwit continues to show at Flint Castle on high tides, a young Honey-buzzard flew over Holyhead Mountain on Saturday and a Wood Sandpiper was at Foryd Bay. A Grey Phalarope and all four skua species passed Bardsey during strong winds, five Black Terns passed Point of Ayr, and Curlew Sandpipers and Spotted Redshanks were at RSPB Conwy and Malltraeth Cob pool. .