Scientific data gathered by the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater project in Malta over the last month has highlighted the importance of the Aegean Sea for young Maltese Yelkouan Shearwater, a globally threatened migratory seabird which appears to spend a significant amount of time in Greek waters in the months immediately after fledging at the Rdum tal-Madonna cliffs.

The information transmitted from satellite tags attached to eight Yelkouan Shearwaters, which hatched this year in Malta, will be used by the BirdLife International partner in Greece, the Hellenic Ornithological Society, to help in the designation of Marine Special Protection Areas in the Aegean Sea. Malta holds around 10% of the breeding population of these species.

EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project researchers attached eight satellite tags to Yelkouan chicks at the project site at Rdum tal-Madonna last June and July. Last year the project tried this technology on the newly fledged Yelkouan chicks for the first time. This technology had never been used on newly fledged Yelkouan Shearwaters before the Maltese project.

“This research is clearly increasing the importance of Malta in the international seabird conservation arena. It also shows the importance of international conservation as the birds that fledge in Malta travel very long distances, as far as Greece and possibly on into the Black Sea,” said Nicholas Barbara, LIFE Project Manager in Malta.

Over the last couple of months the satellite tags attached to the birds have transmitted a combined total of 109 locations to date, allowing researchers to plot the flight patterns of the newly fledged birds. The data shows that after only a few days, these seabirds leave Maltese waters and head east. The majority of the birds headed to waters off the west coast of Greece, before moving into the Aegean Sea where they have spent up to a month fishing. Two birds later transmitted from the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, near the mouth of the Bosporus, indicating that they may be moving into the Black Sea.

Executive Director of BirdLife in Greece, Mr. Xenophon Kappas said, “The data gathered by the Maltese researchers show that these seabirds not only need protection at their breeding grounds in Malta, but also at key stop-over sites such as the Aegean Sea and wintering grounds. The time, effort and money put in by the Maltese, combined with data gathered from our own LIFE project on seabirds, will help us establish important protection areas in Greek coastal waters for these birds and other sea life.”

The Hellenic Ornithological Society is running an EU funded project (1) researching five seabird species, amongst them Yelkouan Shearwater, to discover marine areas which meet the criteria for designation as Marine Special Protected Areas under the Birds Directive.

The EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater project is a partnership of four governmental bodies in Malta and three conservation NGOs. The project is 50% sponsored by the EU Life Unit with additional support from MEPA and HSBC.

1) The Life project run by the HOS is a partnership between five organisations namely: the Hellenic Ornithological Society, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal (MOM), the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, the Technological Educational Institution of Ionian Islands and the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA).

Photos show Locations of a Yelkouan chick tagged on the 22nd of June at Rdum Tal-Madonna, with tag number 80875, which was still transmitting as of the 16th August 2009. This bird has spent over a month in the Aegean Sea. Image – Google Earth. EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project researchers attached eight satellite tags to Yelkouan chicks this year. This technology had never been used on newly fledged Yelkouan Shearwaters before the Maltese project. Photo by BirdLife Malta.

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