As autumn takes hold, and September gales arrive in Britain from the south-west, birdwatchers head to coastal headlands in the hope of seeing pelagic birds, which rarely venture close to shore.
In strong winds, often accompanied by rain, they scan the sea in search of true ocean wanderers such as the great shearwater from the south Atlantic, Sabine’s gull from the Arctic, and the aptly named storm petrel. Weakened by their efforts to head back out to sea, these tiny birds – barely larger than a house martin – often fall victim to predatory gulls if they have been blown towards the coast.
When winds are strong enough to give the storm an official name, seabirds can be blown far inland, in what is termed a “wreck”. These often occur in the winter, when the birds are in a weaker state than usual.
The good news is that after feeding on inland waterbodies such as lakes and reservoirs, some wrecked seabirds do manage to find their way back to sea.
This year, however, the spectre of avian flu suggests many of the birds blown onshore will either be dead or too sick to make it back to their oceanic winter home. Only next season, when Britain’s seabirds return to their colonies to breed, will we know the true extent of the devastation caused by this terrible disease.
