18 SEPTEMBER. DENMARK: SEABIRDS In the
North Atlantic breeding Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) gave
up breeding in the Faroe Islands around the 25 th of July this year. Almost
no young were produced. About 500.000 breeding birds moved away from the
islands. An extensive survey taking place in August documented that these
birds did no go to the sea around the Faroe Islands but disappeared altogether
from the sea between 60N-5E and 63N-10W. Observations from bird observatories
in Denmark indicate that Kittiwakes have been very few this year in the
eastern North Sea.--Bergur Olsen <berguro@frs.fo>
Satellite imagery suggest that the North Atlantic surface
water is 2 to 3 degrees Celsius warmer than in normal years. This could
well influence seabird food distribution, perhaps causing our observed
Kittiwake breeding failure.--Jan Durinck <oc-marin@inet.uni-c.dk>, http://inet.uni-c.dk/~ornis.
Back to The 1997
El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO 97-98)