GPS tracking is used to reveal the travel of Gannets. Photo with the kind permission of Steve Race
GPS technology, which is directed into the spotlight one of the popular seabirds of the country.
Gannets, the largest seabirds of Great Britain, are back at RSPB Bempton Cliffs after leaving.
Breeding birds have already returned on the cliffs and the younger (non-breeding) birds are on the way back from West Africa and the bay of the biscay.
The Gannets were influenced by Vogel -Influenza in 2022, and since the disease in Great Britain was reported regularly, wild birds have the opportunity to break out in sea birds this year. However, the hope is that if enough Gannets in the colony have a certain immunity compared to previous exposure, they may be able to protect them from major outbreaks.
Scientists have already discovered that Gannets have survived an infection with birds with black iris.
This is important because not all birds that caught the virus died.
This is not the only Seabird research that takes place in Bemton.
GPS tracking is used to understand conservationists where the birds go and what they do if they are not in the Bemton colony.
The results of this work show that some breeding birds return to their chicks on a single trip to the Netherlands – this was the longest flight that was previously recorded in Bempton.
Dave O'Hara, Senior Reserve Manager at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, said: “Every year when we see the Gannets back, we feel emotionally to see them. It is encouraging to see a good number of couples in the colony. However, we are not yet out of the forest, and the bird flu remains a threat.
“Our visitors travel from the right in Great Britain and overseas to see these amazing birds, and we shouldn't have what we have here on the east coast of Yorkshire.
“We are also happy to see what the results of GPS tracking will bring in the coming years and learn more about the life of our Gannets at sea.”
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