Petrels, Gannet and Cormorants

Fulmar (Northern Fulmar) Fulmarus glacialis

Since the late 1800s the Fulmar has expanded from its only British breeding outpost on St Kilda to nest on virtually every coastal cliff in the country. Some birds even nest on inland crags up to 15 miles from the sea, although the nearest breeding birds to Hull are at Flamborough. A few also nest on the taller cliffs of Holderness. The spread of the Fulmar during the 20^th Century no doubt led to an increase in records on the Humber. Birds are now fairly regular between mid March and mid September as far upstream as the Humber Bridge, though day totals are invariably in single figures. The first record from the Hull area concerns two birds over the Humber at a place called Grimston Cliffs, west of Hull, on 3^rd April 1944. In April 1958 and December 1959 Fulmars were found on returning trawlers in St. Andrew's Dock but where they came aboard can only be guessed at. Another was seen flying over Hessle Road around the same time. Two were on the Humber off Saltend on 19^th April 1985 before leaving to the east, with four passing upstream on 19^th August and one going the opposite way on 19^th September. Singles passed Saltend again on 30^th March and 26^th April 1986, with one again on 27^th. Two passed by on 7^th June and day counts of five and two birds were logged in early August. In February 1997 a dead Fulmar was found in a field of winter wheat near North Bransholme, well inland, and it must have been blown in by gales before being killed.

August therefore appears to be the prime month for Fulmars on the Humber, with sightings possible from any waterfront in the Hull area. Spring passage often brings birds our way in April and occasionally as late as June, but I really wouldn't be too surprised to see one gliding over the murky waters at any time of year.

Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus

Like the Storm Petrel the Manx Shearwater is an ocean-going seabird that breeds in large colonies on Britain's west coast. In contrast to the Storm Petrel, however, Manx Shearwaters are frequently seen off the east coast on autumn passage though it is still a rather rare bird on the Humber. Manx Shearwaters have irregularly been seen heading upstream from watchpoints further down the Humber over the years but all were seen to return seawards a short while later. It looks like hardly any birds make it as far as Paull before turning back, with most of them probably being spooked by the estuary closing in on them way before then. 1986 produced two records from Saltend, however, with one flying downstream on 30^th June and another sat on the Humber on 1^st September. More recently a lone Manx Shearwater flew downstream past Alexandra Dock on 24^th June 1999. These are the only documented records from the Humber in the Hull area.

Manx Shearwaters are very occasionally seen way up the estuary beyond Hull. Birds were reported from Welton, Blacktoft and Whitton Sands in September 1978 and Welton again in July 2001, and they must have passed Paull, Hull and Hessle at some point.

A single record of a grounded Manx Shearwater in Hull concerns a bird picked up alive in the city on 11^th November 1959 and taken to the RSPCA, though where it was found and its eventual fate were not recorded.

Storm Petrel (European Storm-Petrel) Hydrobates pelagicus

Small, oceanic and largely nocturnal, Storm Petrels are rarely seen on the east coast despite the enormous colonies on the islands of western and northern Britain. They hardly ever come to shore on migration and have been seen over the Humber on only a couple of occasions. Members of the Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' Club recorded three Storm Petrels during their investigation into the birds of Hull up to 1967. No details were given, however, but the record of one found alive on St Andrew's Dock on 17^th October 1958 was probably included. This bird was taken to the RSPCA for treatment but died the next day. The other records were likely to have been along similar lines, with the most probable scenario being birds found either as tideline corpses or on returning fishing vessels.

Leach's Petrel (Leach's Storm-Petrel) Oceanodroma leucorhoa

Leach's Petrels breed in rock crevices on remote coasts and islands in the north Atlantic, including the British Northern Isles, and winter in the southern oceans. A truly oceanic seabird, it usually takes gales and bad weather to bring Leach's Petrels into the North Sea and close to land in any numbers. Even so, local sightings of Leach's Petrels easily outnumber those of the Storm Petrel, a bird that breeds in huge numbers on Britain's west coast. All of the dated records of Leach’s Petrels have occurred in September or October and all have been on or near the Humber.

The first record comes via Nelson (1907) who reported that one or two had been found near Hull up to 1907. One found alive in Hull on 29^th October 1952, a late date, was taken to G.H. Ainsworth, a well-known local ornithologist. Ainsworth sent the bird down to Ralph Chislett at Spurn for release but it was very weak and died soon after arrival. On 21^st September 1985 S. L. James, S. Brebner and S. Bryan saw a Leach's Petrel flying north over Saltend Marsh towards Hedon Road and Marfleet. It was speculated that this may have been the same bird that had been touring South and West Yorkshire since the 17^th, having since found the Humber and a path to the sea. It seemed to be heading in the wrong direction when James and co. saw it, though! Another was seen at Saltend, this time over the Humber, on 30^th September 1989. One flying downstream at North Ferriby on 8^th October 1989 would have surely passed Hessle, Hull and Paull soon afterwards. Another was at the Humber Bridge on 23^rd September 1992, with one more there after easterly gales on 13^th September the following year.

Each autumn a few Leach's Petrels are seen elsewhere on the Humber, such as Blacktoft or Sunk Island, and many of these must pass the waterfront between Paull and the Humber Bridge on their travels. John Ward, a regular 'river watcher' at Sunk Island during the 1980s and 1990s, speculated that not all of these Leach's Petrels had been blown up the Humber by strong winds. Others, Ward speculated, had probably unintentionally flown inland over low-lying Holderness during the night and were regaining access to the sea via the Humber. It's an interesting and plausible idea, but in the absence of many inland records over Holderness it is difficult to know for sure.

Gannet (Northern Gannet) Morus bassanus

The Gannet is a regular passage migrant on the Humber during spring and autumn, with most occurring during the latter period. It is noticeable that immature birds account for the vast majority of those seen. A Gannet was picked up alive near Hull on 15^th October 1958 and was taken to the RSPCA, but where it was found and whether it lived aren’t on record. This is the only pre-1980s record but the establishment of a colony at Bempton Cliffs in the 1960s may have been the cause of the increased numbers seen today. Gannets are frequently seen from Saltend and Paull, particularly in May and September. In 1985 watchers logged 46 on 12^th May and 88 on 18^th September, though birds usually number less than 10 on any one day. Significant movements of Gannets can occasionally be seen from any vantage point overlooking the estuary, however, with three flocks passing Victoria Dock on 19^th September 1997 totalling 95 birds.

The building of the Humber Bridge in the late 1970s came as a nasty surprise to Gannets flying upstream and they seem very reluctant to pass under or over the obstacle. On seeing the Bridge they often fly up and down at the bend of the estuary, off Saltend, as if confused and unsure of exactly what to do. Groups of two and nine Gannets approaching the Bridge on 19^th and 20^th September 1997 all turned back and flew off downstream, as did a trio of immatures on 20^th September 1999. On 1^st October 1998 E. Clubley watched three immature birds flying upstream towards the Bridge. On reaching it, they circled around for a while before deciding to go back the way they had come. Shortly afterwards Clubley saw two more Gannets approaching from the west; these birds also circled at the Bridge for a while before biting the bullet and flying underneath it, this being the first such instance witnessed by Clubley in 17 years. It is possible that these two Gannets had just crossed Britain from the Irish Sea and were therefore much more desperate to carry on and reach open water than westbound birds are to fly up an ever-narrowing estuary.

Cormorant (Great Cormorant) Phalacrocorax carbo

Two races of Cormorant occur in the Hull area, the native British race (Phalacrocorax carbo carbo) and the Continental race (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis), which has begun to breed in Britain in recent decades. In general adult Continental birds tend to have whiter heads in spring, though distinguishing the two races in the field with absolute certainty is probably impossible.

In the 1960s the Cormorant was a rare winter visitor to Hull and mainly on the Humber around the eastern docks. In the 1980s birds were seen at the docks and along the Humber in every month, with up to 40 in winter and a peak of 49 reported in January 1985, while up to 10 were regularly seen roosting and loafing on the cranes around the eastern docks. Cormorants can still be found at Saltend and on the Humber, particularly in winter, though numbers seem to have decreased a little. Cormorants are occasionally encountered on inland waters in the Hull area and the Holderness Drain at North Bransholme was a favoured spot in the early 1990s. From September until March up to four birds could be seen resting on the wooden pylons near Carlam Hill Farm or fishing in the drain at this site, though they were much scarcer towards the end of the decade. A small bird showing characteristics of the Continental race was sat alongside a darker British bird on 23^rd February 1990. The Bransholme Sewage Works also attracts a Cormorant or two in late autumn, invariably in first-winter plumage, and they occasionally fish on the River Hull. On 21^st November 2000 a first-winter Cormorant was nervously fishing in East Park Lake but soon departed as human visitors arrived. During the very cold spell around Christmas 2000 I regularly saw a Cormorant in flight over Stoneferry, no doubt after fishing in the ice-free River Hull.

Any moderately sized water that holds fish may tempt down a passing Cormorant, probably in late autumn or winter, though they are still persecuted by anglers in the belief that they can empty whole waters of their fish. While this is nonsense there's no denying that a well-stocked fishpond is nothing less than a bird table for a fish-eating bird, so there is little surprise that they occasionally take advantage.

Shag (European Shag) Phalacrocorax aristotelis

Much rarer in the Hull area than its close cousin the Cormorant, Shags are most likely to be found on the Humber in very small numbers from autumn to spring. The Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' Club recorded three off Hull between 1960 and 1966, with another found walking along a city street on 3^rd March 1965. Regular watching from the eastern docks in the mid 1980s revealed the presence of one or two birds in autumn and winter, with three together on 6th November 1985. An immature bird passed downstream at Paull on the unusually late date of 18^th May in 1986 and one was back as early as August in 1986. Documented sightings dried up after that time as regular watching and reporting decreased, though a first-winter bird off King George Dock on the 16^th November 1998 indicates that it is still possible to find Shags on the Humber.