Welsh communities rescue over 1,000 seabirds so far this year

Published: 29 October 2025

Wales is home to over 50% of the entire global species of Manx Shearwaters. They are medium sized seabirds with straight slim wings, which are black above and white below. They fly with a series of rapid stiff-winged flaps followed by long glides over the surface of the sea, occasionally banking or 'shearing' (tilting in flight, with one wing held higher than the other).

Manx Shearwaters only come to shore at night, under the cover of darkness, in a bid to avoid predators such as gulls. However, human activities can affect their nocturnal routine. Unfortunately, artificial lighting along the coast of Pembrokeshire disorientates young Manx Shearwaters and they can end up stranded inland, unable to take off again. If left, they either starve or become easy prey for mainland predators.

Taking phone calls from the public, Manx Shearwater Rescue Pembrokeshire (a local volunteer group), collect stranded birds to release back to sea in suitable conditions. Storms can exacerbate the problem, leading to mass strandings. In such conditions, volunteers can gather up to 200 birds in a day off beaches such as Newgale. This season, over 1,100 birds were rescued and released. Such events are only going to be made worse by climate change. In 2025 there have been two mass stranding events, compared with two in the 10 years prior.

Volunteers are not only active in Pembrokeshire. Once forced inland, disorientated birds can end up far from the sea. There were four records of strandings in the Midlands this year, all rescued by volunteers who read about the campaign on social media. They took the birds to RSPB South Stack on Anglesey for safe release back out into the Irish Sea to continue their southward migration.

The number of stranded Manx Shearwater has been creeping up in recent years. Combined with the multitude of threats this species already faces, the impact that artificial lighting and increased stormy weather is having is yet another hurdle our birds need protection from.

The Pembrokeshire islands are home to over 1 million Manx Shearwaters during the breeding season. There is no other species that Wales has more global responsibility for but having all our eggs in so few baskets makes them extremely vulnerable.

The biggest single threat however is at site level. If invasive predators, such as Brown Rats or Stoats, were to reach our islands, the impact would be devastating. Ensuring good levels of biosecurity is paramount, but in addition we must ensure seabirds are also protected from the threat of bird flu, climate change, overfishing, pollution and poorly sited floating offshore wind. The upcoming Welsh Seabird Conservation Strategy and the actions it’ll provide, will be essential to achieve this, alongside a focus on sustainable marine planning to ensure development is in the most appropriate locations, and at sustainable levels.

Manx Shearwaters have, so far, been spared from the bird flu outbreak in Wales. The same is not true of the Northern Gannet population on RSPB Grassholm island, also in Pembrokeshire. Once proudly the 3^rd largest colony in the world for this species, the island saw a decrease of 54% in its population in the space of one season. From 36,000 pairs in 2022 to just 16,500 in 2023. Although bird flu has not been recorded on the island since 2023, the population remains low with a count of just 17,000 in 2025. Recovery is proving slow which exacerbates the impact a further outbreak, or declines from other threats, would have on the population.

Without adequate protection both our globally important Manx Shearwater and now struggling Gannet populations in Wales are at serious risk. Careful planning of activities in the marine environment and investment in the management of protected sites is more vital than ever.