First gannet chick for Scotland’s Berneray Island

SUCCESS STORY: Gannets are now breeding on another Scottish island

Conservation efforts finally pay off

August 2011: The National Trust for Scotland is caring for both the largest and now, quite possibly, the smallest colonies of northern gannets in the world.

The famous archipelago of St Kilda, world-renowned for its enormous seabird colonies, is now joined by Berneray, the smallest of the Barra Head Islands, in providing a home for the gannets. Although there have been reports of gannets attempting to nest on Berneray since 2009, this summer a chick has successfully hatched on the island for the first time.

'At last we have our first confirmed chick' Jonathan Grant, the National Trust for Scotland's ranger for the Barra Head Islands, said: ‘This is great news. We have been monitoring the gannets since they began visiting this nesting site three years ago.

‘With four nests constructed this summer, we were really hoping that this would be the year when chicks would finally hatch - and at last we have our first confirmed chick.'

Dr Richard Luxmoore, the trust's senior nature conservation adviser, added: ‘While many of our seabirds have been in decline for several years, gannets have been bucking the trend and colonies continue to expand. This is not surprising as seabirds have different diets and are affected in different ways by changes in the marine environment.

‘Climate change is probably having the greatest impact through disrupting marine foodwebs.'