HPAI Surveys
Project Overview
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Surveys
Status: Complete
Start Date: April 2023
Lead Organisation: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
RSPB led this UK-wide programme to quantify the impacts of the 2021/22 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak on UK seabird populations by conducting counts of priority species in 2023.
The programme collated data across hundreds of sites, focussing on counting Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Gannet, Guillemot, Kittiwake, large gulls, and terns. This data was combined with population counts done by other organisations and volunteers in 2023, to help deliver on the programme’s aim to provide good geographic coverage for the key species expected to be most impacted by HPAI. This knowledge is essential to our understanding of the virus and provides a solid evidence base for future decisions at an operational level in the development of offshore wind.
Objectives
Intended Impacts
Outputs
Outcomes
Project Funders:
- The Crown Estate
- Scottish Government
- ScotWind
- Natural England
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland
- Natural Resources Wales
Associated Organisations:
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) (Lead Organisation)
- The Crown Estate
- Scottish Government
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland
- ScotWind
- British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)
- NatureScot
- Natural Resources Wales
- Natural England
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
- National Trust for Scotland
- National Trust
- Scottish Wildlife Trust
- Sea Mammal Research Unit
- Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group (SOTEAG)
- The Seabird Group
Related Documents
To find out more about the HPAI Surveys, read the report here.