Seabird numbers at an Aberdeenshire nature reserve may have dropped by 90% since 2022 due to bird flu.
RSPB Scotland is now monitoring the remaining populations at Troup Head Nature Reserve, where some 8,000 Northern Gannets died last year.
Troup Head’s Northern Gannet population has been heavily impacted by bird flu (Peter Duncan).
“It’s a very significant concern. I mean, if you go back 40 years, there would have been twice as many birds on these cliffs as there are now, even without bird flu,” explained Richard Humpidge from the RSPB.
“So if 30% of them are dying from bird flu, that’s another significant hit to the population. It’s going to take decades for the population to come back to what it is now and then to increase further to what it was previously.”
The news comes amid growing concerns over the number of bird flu cases around Aberdeenshire coastline in recent weeks.
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