Seabird breeding at the Houtman Abrolhos archipelago, 60km off the mid-west coast of Western Australia, has been disrupted markedly during the austral summer. A previous bulletin to this site, posted in December, discussed the delayed breeding of several species and the low number of breeding attempts by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. I have just returned from my field sites at the Houtman Abrolhos on 26 January. The situation now is that inshore species such as Crested Terns, Caspian Terns, Fairy Terns Sterna nereis, Pacific Gulls and Silver Gulls are managing to fledge young. However, offshore foragers have been affected thus Lesser Noddies- are fledging young but breeding attempts were delayed and numbers are down. Brown Noddies-very few laying attempts and no young fledged at a time when runners and fledglings would be the norm. Sooty Terns-very few laying attempts, no runners. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters-no eggs or nestlings found but birds present on surface at night and in 5% of burrows by day. Roseate Terns-breeding commenced in December as usual but no signs of any fledglings around roosts, and some evidence of sites being abandoned during incubation.

Large numbers of adults continue to roost at their breeding sites and all would appear normal apart from the lack of eggs and young. Considering that in previous years terns would be fledging young and shearwater burrows would contain 20d young it seems unlikely that any successful attempts by shearwaters, Sooty Terns or Brown Noddies will be completed before adults begin to depart during March/April.--Christopher Surman <surman@possum.murdoch.edu.au>