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A count of apparently occupied nests of Black-legged Kittiwakes was carried out between 13 and 25 June 2004. It showed that they had decreased by 6% to 6,239 nests compared to 6,642 in 2003. This is the lowest count for over 40 years and continues the downward trend of recent years.
Northern Fulmars also had poor success in 2004, with only 153 nests compared with 262 the previous year
The declines appeared to be caused by a food shortage made worse by poor weather conditions at crucial times in the nesting period. In fact, population declines and low breeding success were widely reported from many colonies in the northern North Sea suggesting a widespread ecological event. One possibility is that an increase in sea surface temperature led to a change in plankton and sandeel distribution with the overall effect of reducing sandeel abundance within the seabird’s normal foraging range.
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