New study into tiny Summer Isles seabird

A major new research project near Ullapool will investigate one of the UK’s smallest - and most elusive - seabirds, weighing the equivalent of just three £1 coins.

The research, involving UHI North, West and Hebrides and led by Atlantic58, focuses on the Summer Isles and aims to improve understanding of the birds and how best to monitor and protect them, while testing techniques that could help seabird conservation across other island archipelagos.

European storm petrels spend almost their entire lives at sea, returning to hidden burrows on remote islands only under the cover of darkness to breed. Their secretive behaviour makes them exceptionally difficult to monitor.

The project – also involving The Tanera Project and local landowners - will also look at how the islands can be better protected from invasive predators, building on work already carried out by the volunteer-led Summer Isles Mink Control Initiative.

Dr Elizabeth Masden, Research Fellow at UHI North, West and Hebrides’ Environmental Research Institute, said:

"This project provides us with the opportunity to really think about how we monitor seabirds in these habitats, and how we can improve methods to provide more informative data to aid seabird conservation."

The project is led by Dr Ruth Jeavons, Senior Ecological Consultant at Atlantic58, with funding from the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF).

Dr Jeavons added:

"Conservation starts with having the right information, which the Taking Flight fund from SMEEF allows us to gather. The Summer Isles are a special place, with internationally important wildlife and a community committed to its conservation. Bringing those strengths together gives us a unique opportunity to develop approaches that could improve not only how we monitor European storm petrels, but also how biosecurity is delivered across island archipelagos, helping reduce the impact of invasive mammalian predators on vulnerable seabird populations.”