FAMOUS GANNET COLONY IS WIPED OUT BY BIRD FLU

Experts say action needed to prevent extinction

- DAN VEVERS

SCOTLAND'S famous gannet colony on the Bass Rock has plummeted by nearly a third since 2014 in the wake of deadly bird flu.

The landmark off the coast of North Berwick, East Lothian, hosts the world's largest northern gannet colony.

Using state-of-the-art drone imagery and other tools, researchers found numbers have dropped by 25 to 30 per cent in the last nine years.

It comes as avian influenza has ripped through the Scots seabird populations in recent years, with gannets particularly badly hit.