Seabird workshop in Wick

Seabird expert and regular seabird monitor, Bob Swann from Tain, led a workshop about the amazing seabird colonies of the East Caithness coast this weekend which was well attended by the Caithness Countryside Volunteers.

The workshop held on Sunday 11th June was organised by The Highland Council’s Planning and Development Service Countryside Rangers.

The morning session involved an interesting PowerPoint presentation on the East Caithness Special Protection Area seabird colonies. The talk discussed monitoring techniques, trends in population levels and possibly reasons for the causes.  Participants were relieved to learn that Guillemot, Razorbills and Kittiwakes are doing well along the East Caithness coast.  Some of the other species such as Gulls and Fulmar have slightly declining in numbers over recent years. This is not thought to be serious at this stage as the decline is reflected in changes in the fishing industry. The volunteers enjoyed a tasty light lunch at the Nethercliffe hotel before puttin their learning into practice by walking out to the inspirational seabird colony south of the Castle of Old Wick.

The volunteers took in the beautiful sights along the coast including the famous Brig O’Trams and Hemriggs stack before stumbling upon the hundreds of breeding seabirds on stacks south side.  Those who had never visited this area were most impressed by the dramatic coastal scenery along this section of cliff.

The event was organised as part of the Caithness Countryside Volunteers programme of events and attracted a dozen volunteers from around the county who undertake environmental projects in their free time. Funding was sought through the Moray Firth Partnership which supports a range of environmental projects throughout the Moray Firth area.

Marina Swanson, East Caithness Ranger and workshop organiser said: “Bob’s talk was very interesting and answered many of the questions surrounding the future of the seabird colonies.  The volunteers enjoyed the fabulous scenery on the walk out to the seabird colony and were blown away by the vast numbers of birds using the cliffs.

“We were lucky to see all the species discussed during the morning presentation including the all time favourite Puffin.  Many thanks to the Moray Firth for funding the events, to Bob for his most informative talk, to the Nethercliffe for the enjoyable food and to the volunteers who regularly dedicated their time to environmental projects.”

The Highland Council Planning and Development Service Countryside Rangers are supported by Scottish Natural Heritage.

For further information please contact: Marina Swanson, Caithness East Ranger, The Highland Council, Planning and Development Service tel: (01955) 607758