CLOSE TO THE EDGE

Kirstin Jones sails to the Shiant Isles to witness the wonder of the seabird breeding season on Scotland's West Coast and examines the distressing effects of climate change

- Kirstin Jones

Braced against the rolling of the boat, I sipped scalding tea from the mug cradled in my cold hands and watched the misty blue hills of Scotland materialise ahead. Wandering Albatross, our 43ft steel cutter, raced ahead of a brisk west wind. Restless grey-green swells rose and tumbled all around, their crests shredded into white ribbons.

Close to starboard, a fulmar, one of my favourite seabirds, dipped across the waves, sweeping in effortless loops. Softly shaded in grey and white, the beautiful bird danced on the wind like an ethereal being from another world.

Late that afternoon, Gary and I made landfall in Oban. After an 11-day passage from the Azores, we revelled in the luxury of hot showers, unbroken sleep and easy access to fresh provisions, but we couldn’t linger. This summer, our goal was to visit some of Scotland’s far-flung seabird colonies, and the breeding season was already well underway.

Almost half of Europe’s breeding seabirds nest in the UK, with about 70% of those concentrated in Scotland. The impressive 18,000km coastline, sprinkled with hundreds of islands, attracts an estimated 5 million seabirds. Each spring, they stream over the horizon from distant wintering grounds in the Atlantic Ocean, returning year after year to the same nest sites.

Seabirds are an integral part of the marine ecosystem. One key function is the redistribution of nutrients from the open sea, where the birds feed, to the coast, where they breed. Seabird guano enriches inshore waters with nitrogen and phosphorus that support plant growth. From marine algae and invisible phytoplankton at the base of the marine food chain, to top predators such as seals and seabirds, coastal biodiversity is an intricate tapestry of life.