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Following the recent wreck of auks along the east coast, it is perhaps worth recalling the huge wreck of 1983 which may be of interest to members who were not birding locally thirty years ago. Although all auk wrecks are dismaying, it should be noted that adverse winter weather conditions wreak havoc on these birds and their vulnerable food supplies with a certain regularity. Oiling incidents which may also have devastating consequences are fortunately less prevalent on this coast nowadays. I remember dead auks being washed ashore fairly regularly at Cleethorpes when I lived on the sea-front in the post-war years. One such wreck that I clearly recall involved several Razorbills and Guillemots immediately after the savage northerly storm and surge tide responsible for the 1953 east coast floods. On another occasion, in 1947, a live Guillemot picked up from the council flower-beds by the promenade was brought home and actually laid an egg in its temporary pen in our kitchen, but this hardly constitutes the first breeding record for the county! Fortunately, most wrecks involve relatively limited numbers of birds, but the wreck of 1983 was of exceptional significance and I made extensive notes on it and the complex weather situations prior to its occurrence.
In late January and early February 1983, violent west and SW storms were active across much of the north Atlantic. Deep lows and fronts passed the north coast of Scotland with alarming regularity before they were replaced by a high pressure system which became established over the North Sea from 11th February onwards. This system remained largely stationary for some time and produced prolonged SE and easterly winds which caused large numbers of dead auks to be washed ashore.
From these conditions, it would seem likely that most of the auks had been driven from the Atlantic and into the North Sea where many were unable to feed and ultimately died of starvation. During the 1982/83 winter, the water temperatures of the North Sea were well above average and it is thought that shoals of small fish were unable to feed on the nutrients which habitually occur in upwelling cold currents. Prolonged winter storms also disturb the upper layers of the sea to a greater depth than is generally appreciated.
Initially, early reports by the press, television and radio were chiefly confined to the offshore flights and a number of inland occurrences of Little Auks. Before long, however, it became evident that considerable numbers of other auks had also been affected by the gales. Along the eastern seaboard of Scotland and England, over 17,000 corpses were reported and two-thirds of these were concentrated in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and East Anglia. Large numbers washed ashore at Donna Nook prompted a full survey of the littoral zone during the period 13th-18th February. The area undertaken in the survey was extensive both in length and breadth. From the mouth of Grainthorpe Haven in the north to the mouth of Saltfleet Haven in the south is a distance of about eight miles, and included the full extent of the Donna Nook reserve. The sand and mudflats are very wide, varying between ¾ and 1 ½ miles, while in some parts, such as at Saltfleet, broad areas of saltmarsh made survey work of this nature tedious and difficult. Great care was taken not to duplicate any counts, though fortunately the highest tides occurred at the start of the census period so that new birds were cast ashore along the subsequent lower strand-lines. I was grateful for the help I received from my wife Val, C. R. Morrison and R. Lorand in examining every corpse and for the collection of 200 specimens for more detailed analysis.
Very few live birds were seen. Odd Little Auks and Puffins were caught a short distance inland and were cared for and fed whitebait at home, but only one individual of each species survived long enough to be returned to the sea when conditions improved. Few of the auks bore any traces of oil. Less than 3% of the corpses were seen to be contaminated and though none of these was seriously oiled, most of these were Guillemots and Little Auks,
It was surprising that such a comprehensive census did not produce more corpses of other species at this time of year. 51 Kittiwakes were found dead in addition to 2 Fulmars, one Black-headed, 3 Great Black-backed and 3 Herring Gulls. Good numbers of Red-throated Divers and sea-ducks present offshore were presumably the local wintering stock and, not having been forced to fly any great distance, were apparently unaffected by the conditions which had beset the auks. The totals of the auks found dead in the area covered were 261 Guillemots, 974 Razorbills, 133 Puffins and 79 Little Auks, thus a grand total of 1,447 auks.
Some birds were collected for closer analysis at home. Detailed measurements were taken from 100 Razorbills. Wing and bill lengths and bill depths were recorded and, apart from a couple of possible exceptions, measurements confirmed that all the birds belonged to the race Alca torda islandica which breeds in the British Isles, Iceland, the Faeroes and Heligoland. Two long-winged birds, each with a large bill, may have been extreme examples of this race or small individuals of the northern race A. t. torda which breeds in Norway and the Baltic. Another long-winged bird possessed just a shallow bill.
All the Guillemots were black-backed birds typical of the northern race Uria aalge aalge which breeds in Greenland, Iceland, the Faeroes, Scotland and Norway north to 69’ and on islands in the Baltic. Measurements were within the range of this race which averages slightly larger than the southern form U. a. albionis, though wing-lengths of the biggest birds just exceeded the upper limit given by Vaurie. Birds in summer or partial summer plumage outnumbered winter-plumaged birds in the ratio of 3 : 2.
Geographical variation in the Puffin is clinal, affecting only size which increases with latitude. There were several large individuals in the sample of 39 birds, but since the outer sheath of the bill is shed in winter, bill measurements at this time of year are of limited value for subspecific identification However, bill measurements were still taken for a number of specimens and the longer-winged birds also possessed comparatively large bills. It would seem that two specimens belonged to the Arctic race Fratercula arctica arctica, while two others could also have belonged to this race. The remainder clearly belonged to the southern race F. a. grabae which, apart from Britain, also breeds in the Faeroes and southern Norway.
All the Little Auks examined could be assigned to the nominate race Alle alle alle which breeds throughout the range of the species with the exception of Franz Josef Land where it is replaced by the larger A, a. polaris.
Five ringed birds were found, these being:-
Razorbill 1+ yr 7. 7. 68. Handa, Sutherland.
SS90409 x 15. 2. 83 Donna Nook 639 km
Puffin Pullus 19. 6. 82 Farne Islands
EJ88751 x 20. 2. 83 Donna Nook 265 km
Puffin 3+ yrs 31. 3. 78 Isle of May
EB94910 x 19. 2. 83 Donna Nook 348 km
Puffin 1+ yr 26. 6. 76 Craigleith, North Berwick
EB69889 x 12. 2. 83 Donna Nook 344 km
Puffin 1+ yr 26. 7. 79 Sule Skerry, Orkney
EJ29476 x 12. 2. 83 Donna Nook 682 km
References:-
Bannerman D. A. 1963. The Birds of the British Isles, Vol X11. Edinburgh and London.
Fisher J. and Lockley R. M. 1954. Sea-birds. London.
Hume R. A. and Allsopp K. 1983. British Birds, Vol 76. Biggleswade.
Vaurie C. 1965. The birds of the Palearctic Fauna. London.
Witherby H. F. et al. 1941. The Handbook of British Birds, Vol V. London.
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