Razorbill
Alca torda
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Distribution Britain 233 (-3.3%) Ireland 63 (-23.2%)
Numbers breeding: Britain 148,000 Ireland 34,000 adults European status: 480,000 (19% in Britain and Ireland =2) British population trend: further increases expected How likely are you to record it? 3 squares (0.1%) Ranked 171= |
The distribution of the Razorbill is very like that of the Guillemot and their early history is much the same. However there seems to have been little change in numbers in many areas during the first half of this century. Since then there does seem to have been a general increase (but see below) but counting this species, which normally nests in concealed sites, is very difficult. Some
Scottish colonies may have increased by 10% per annum or more over periods of 10 years or more. In Ireland the situation is very different. At Rathlin, Antrim, numbers have increased very rapidly — possibly five fold in the last 30 years. At others the birds have been in decline for many years and this has been blamed, by some people, on deaths caused by illegal salmon drift netting. Just possibly this has been caused by global warming and not by direct deaths. Both the Razorbill and Guillemot are coming back to the colonies to claim their breeding sites much earlier (by several weeks) which is possibly an indication that the birds are doing very well. Again the prospects are very good.
The following Bird On! sketch is available:
Razorbill
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead