Avian influenza wreaks havoc on wild seabird colonies at six National Trust sites

Avian influenza wreaks havoc on wild seabird colonies at six National Trust sites - National Trust

2 adult arctic terns, flapping wings feeding a fluffy chick — Arctic tern chick feeding at Long Nanny (Mandy Fall)

With the breeding season coming to a close for many bird species, we look back on the devastating effects avian influenza (bird flu) has had on our precious seabirds this year as the deadly disease hit six National Trust seabird colonies, compared to just one in 2022.

What happened last year?

In 2022, we saw the highly contageous avian influenza, also known as bird flu, rip through many species of seabird on the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland, and more than 6,000 birds perished.

Thankfully other sites remained largely unaffected by the virus.

The situation in 2023

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our rangers carrying out regular pick-ups of dead birds as well as an early decision to close the islands to visitors, the spread of the disease on the Farne Islands was nearly halved compared to last year.

Unfortunately, it’s a much bleaker picture for other sites, as many other notable seabird colonies were impacted this year. Hardest hit, besides the Farnes, were Long Nanny, also on the Northumberland Coast, and Cemlyn on Anglesey, north Wales.

Other bird flu-related fatalities were reported on the Pembrokeshire coast in south Wales, where more than 1,000 cases were recorded, while Brownsea Island off the Dorset coast had 650 cases, and 21 dead birds were recovered at Groomsport in Northern Ireland.