Traditionally our Auks (Guillemots, Razorbills and Puffins) disperse from their breeding grounds in late July and early August each year. Some stay fairly inshore but many travel into the North Sea to find food which is generally plentiful. Not so this year. Many have been washed up and other "wrecked" to inland waterways and rivers. This is not at all usual Here is a Guillemot which was photographed recently in the upper Forth. It was one of many. Many others have been washed up dead on our coast. Preliminary analysis shows that that have not been diseased. Worrying times. |