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Tagging and Tracking of Seabirds on the West Coast of Scotland

Report

Title: Tagging and Tracking of Seabirds on the West Coast of Scotland
Author:
Scottish Government
Publication Date:
Technology:
Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind
Receptor:
Birds, Seabirds
Language:
English

Document Access

Website:
External Link

Citation

Scottish Government (2026). Tagging and Tracking of Seabirds on the West Coast of Scotland.
TY - RPRT
TI - Tagging and Tracking of Seabirds on the West Coast of Scotland
AU - Scottish Government
AB - A rapid expansion of offshore renewable energy infrastructure is underway in the Atlantic waters off the west coast of Scotland. This expansion is driven by Scottish Government and UK Government clean energy targets as part of the transition to Net Zero by 2045 in Scotland (Scottish Government 2020) and 2050 for the whole of the UK (BEIS 2021). To meet these targets while protecting biodiversity, it is vital to gather information on the marine distribution and behaviour of seabirds. Such information will help inform measures to avoid, mitigate and compensate for any negative impacts on seabirds from marine renewables and other human activities.Little is currently known about the marine distribution and behaviour of two seabird species that occur in Scottish waters, Leach’s Storm-petrel Hydrobates leucorhous and European Storm-petrel H. pelagicus. Their small size, remote breeding locations and nocturnal colony attendance makes them challenging to study. However, recent advances in technology to reduce the size and weight of tracking tags now permit the tracking of even the smallest seabird species, such as Storm-petrels, to provide information on their marine distribution.This report provides results from fieldwork completed in 2021, 2023 and 2024 by RSPB staff to track, during the breeding and non-breeding seasons, Leach’s Storm-petrels from the largest UK colony, St Kilda, and European Storm-petrels from the Treshnish Isles, Inner Hebrides. No tracking was possible during 2022 due to restrictions on the capture and handling of seabirds in Scotland due to the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). We present GPS tracking data on breeding season foraging trip characteristics, utilisation distributions (UDs), overlap with proposed offshore wind farms (OWFs) and habitat associations. We also report attempts to deploy geolocator tags on both species and present the first information from Leach’s Storm-petrels tracked outside the breeding season from a UK colony.Whilst not an original aim of the project, we report results of blood sampling a small number of birds to assay for antibodies to HPAI.
DA - 2026/09//
PY - 2026
UR - https://www.gov.scot/publications/tagging-tracking-seabirds-west-coast-scotland/pages/1/
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Birds
KW - Seabirds
ER -
Export Citation to RIS

Abstract

A rapid expansion of offshore renewable energy infrastructure is underway in the Atlantic waters off the west coast of Scotland. This expansion is driven by Scottish Government and UK Government clean energy targets as part of the transition to Net Zero by 2045 in Scotland (Scottish Government 2020) and 2050 for the whole of the UK (BEIS 2021). To meet these targets while protecting biodiversity, it is vital to gather information on the marine distribution and behaviour of seabirds. Such information will help inform measures to avoid, mitigate and compensate for any negative impacts on seabirds from marine renewables and other human activities.

Little is currently known about the marine distribution and behaviour of two seabird species that occur in Scottish waters, Leach’s Storm-petrel Hydrobates leucorhous and European Storm-petrel H. pelagicus. Their small size, remote breeding locations and nocturnal colony attendance makes them challenging to study. However, recent advances in technology to reduce the size and weight of tracking tags now permit the tracking of even the smallest seabird species, such as Storm-petrels, to provide information on their marine distribution.

This report provides results from fieldwork completed in 2021, 2023 and 2024 by RSPB staff to track, during the breeding and non-breeding seasons, Leach’s Storm-petrels from the largest UK colony, St Kilda, and European Storm-petrels from the Treshnish Isles, Inner Hebrides. No tracking was possible during 2022 due to restrictions on the capture and handling of seabirds in Scotland due to the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). We present GPS tracking data on breeding season foraging trip characteristics, utilisation distributions (UDs), overlap with proposed offshore wind farms (OWFs) and habitat associations. We also report attempts to deploy geolocator tags on both species and present the first information from Leach’s Storm-petrels tracked outside the breeding season from a UK colony.

Whilst not an original aim of the project, we report results of blood sampling a small number of birds to assay for antibodies to HPAI.