Publication - Research and analysis

Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Volume 5 Number 9: Strategic Surveys of Seabirds off the West Coast of Lewis to Determine Use of Seaspace in Areas of Potential Marine Renewable Energy Developments

Published: 23 July 2014
Part of: Marine and fisheries
ISBN: 9781784126414

By 2020 the percentage of Scotland‟s energy coming from renewable sources will increase. Studies have identified that there is a need to research how offshore renewable developments affect wildlife populations. The surveys presented here will help to find

Supporting documents

Appendix II. Tables

Table 2 - Summary of shore point counts undertaken to compliment aerial surveys along the NW coast (Butt of Lewis southwest to Great Berneray). A tick symbol indicates that a count was undertaken. The Shader shore point was counted from grid ref NB37912/55211 on the April survey (*). The SHA and MEL shore points were counted on the day before that shown for May and September. 'dis' indicates that surveys were discontinued due to the poor view of the sea from that shore point. 'n.c.' indicates that no count was made, either due to unsuitable sea conditions (summer) or time constraints due to day length (winter). Note the June aerial survey was cancelled. Map IDs relate to locations on Figure 1

Map ID	Shore Point Name	Code	Grid reference	19 Apr 2012	02 May 2012	18 Jun 2012	26 Jul 2012	22 Sep 2012	16 Dec 2012	02 Feb 2013
1	Dalbeg	DAL	22508 45887		dis.	dis.	dis.	dis.	dis.	dis.
2	South Shawbost	SSH	23991 47372				n.c.		n.c.	n.c.
3	North Shawbost	NSH	25797 48282				n.c.
4	Bragar	BRA	28971 49230
5	Brue	BRU	33311 50751		dis.	dis.	dis.	dis.	dis.	dis.
6*&7	Shader	SHA	38748 55663*	n.c.					n.c.	n.c.
8	Melbost	MEL	40974 57811
9	South Galston	SGA	43631 59411						n.c.	n.c.
10	Aird Dell	AIR	47192 61950
11	Swainbost	SWA	50973 64320
12	Butt of Lewis West	BLW	51367 66366	n.c.					n.c.
13	Butt of Lewis East	BLE	52195 66265
14	Port of Ness	PON	54198 64050

Shore points with restricted views or poor elevation were given lower priority; counts were completed at these only if there was sufficient time on the survey day. Note the June aerial survey was cancelled. The Upper Shader shore point used on the April survey was subsequently dropped in favour of the nearby LWA vantage point. On most occasions the LWA VPs were counted either the day before or day after the date shown.

Table 3 - Names and grid references of Loch Roag vantage point locations. Map IDs relate to locations on Figure 1

Map ID	Shore Vantage Point Name	VP easting	VP northing
LR01	Cliobh	108673	936531
LR02	Bhaltos	109956	936597
LR03	Miabhaig	109319	934039
LR04	Geisiadar	111922	932395
LR05	Einacleit	112177	928337
LR06	Giosla	113418	925038
LR07	Bernera bridge	116496	934249
LR08	Sruth Iarsiadair	116055	934265
LR09	Tobson	113491	938215
LR10	Crothair	115922	939402
LR11	Circebost/Totarol	118941	934339
LR12	Lundal	118601	932677
LR13	Linsiadar	121169	931135
LR14	Beinn Hulabhig	122586	929821
LR15	Tolsta Chaolais	118944	938238
LR16	Breasecleit /Pier	120692	935973
LR17	Callinish Pier	121300	932600
LR18	Garynahire Bridge	123400	931400
LR19	Carishader	109800	933400
LR20	Bosta E	114500	940250
LR21	Bosta W	113800	940400
LR22	Borrowston	119000	942400
LR23	Valasay	114800	936100
LR24	Barraglom	117700	934500
LR25	Hacklete	114500	934800
LR26	Breaclete	116100	937700
LR27	Dubh Thob	118300	935900

Table 4 - Species included in species groups

Species group	Species included	Comments
Auk species	Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin, Little Auk, Black Guillemot	Used when features are not available to allow further identification to a smaller class or species
Large Auk	Guillemot, Razorbill	Used when Puffin/Little Auk can be excluded on size and Black Guillemot on plumage
Small Auk	Puffin, Little Auk	Used when the bird is definitely an auk smaller than Guillemot or Razorbill but further features are not clearly defined
Auk / small gull	Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin, Little Auk, Black Guillemot, Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Little Gull	Usually used when poor contrast makes apparently white objects unreliable
Gull species	Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Little Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, plus rarer gulls, such as Glaucous Gull and Iceland Gull	Used for gulls when size and other features do not allow identification to a smaller class or species. In some cases some species falling into this category could be excluded, however, it would be impractical to create species groups for all eventualities
Small gull species	Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Little Gull	Usually used for small gulls sitting on the water when other identification features are not obvious
Small Gull (excluding Little)	Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull	Introduced because Little Gull can frequently be excluded on size alone
Large gull species	Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull	Often used for sitting immature birds where plumage is less diagnostic, or for images where contrast makes colour unreliable
Pale Gull	Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull	Used when mantle colour but not size can be distinguished in adult birds, most often loafing on sand or rocks where size is less obvious due to the oblique angle
Large Gull Including Common	Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull	Primarily used for immature birds, where aspect or contrast prevents further identification
Kittiwake / Common Gull	Kittiwake, Common Gull
Grey gull species (Herring or Common)	Herring Gull, Common Gull
Black-backed gull species	Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull
Fulmar / gull species	Fulmar, Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Little Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull	Used almost exclusively for sat birds, often when contrast obscures darker plumage
Fulmar / Small Gull (excluding Little Gull)	Fulmar, Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull	Little Gull can be excluded on size alone in cases where Fulmar cannot be excluded
Big Bird	All bird species larger than 48cm in length (minimum length in range provided for Lesser Black-backed Gull in Collins Bird Guide 2nd edition)	Predominately used as the species group category where Gannet has been identified at the species level. Very rarely used when extreme conditions obscure most or all identifying features apart from size. For example direct sunlight can very occasionally cause sat Eider and Gannet to be indistinguishable. In most cases many species falling into this category could be excluded however it would be impractical to create species groups for all eventualities.
Small Bird	All bird species smaller than 48cm in length (minimum length in range provided for Lesser Black-backed Gull in Collins Bird Guide 2nd edition)	Occasionally groups of terrestrial birds will cross over survey areas and it may not be possible to discern whether these are, for example, a migratory passerine species or a small wader species. Although many other species falling into this category could be excluded it would be impractical to create species groups for all eventualities given their very rare occurrence and, arguably, irrelevance to these surveys
Diver species	Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, White-billed Diver
Large Auk / Throated Diver	Razorbill, Guillemot, Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver	During winter months when both divers and the larger auk species have white faces, it can occasionally be difficult to distinguish them
Duck species	Common Scoter, Surf Scoter, Velvet Scoter, Eider, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Scaup, Shelduck, Long-tailed Duck, Goldeneye, Smew, Red-breasted Merganser, Goosander	Used as the species group where a duck species has been identified and when a lack of features makes further identification impossible. Often in large flocks. Although species falling into this category could often be excluded it would be impractical to create species groups for all eventualities when a species cannot be identified
Grebe species	Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe	The smaller or larger grebe species can almost always be excluded, however, they are usually identified to species anyway and encountered so rarely that more specific species groups have so far been unnecessary
Shearwater species	Manx Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater, Great Shearwater
Large Shearwater	Sooty Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater, Great Shearwater	Used when plumage details are indiscernible but size is apparent
Small Shearwater	Manx Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater	Used when larger species can be excluded but survey area and visible plumage mean that Balearic Shearwater cannot be ruled out
Shearwater species / auk species	Manx Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin, Black Guillemot, Little Auk	Generally assumed to apply only to Manx Shearwater and Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin
Tern species	Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Roseate Tern, Black Tern
Arctic / Common Tern	Arctic Tern, Common Tern	The two species are very similar and extremely difficult to separate
Tern (Excluding Little)	Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Roseate Tern, Black Tern	Used when the tern is larger than a small tern however can't be identified further
Tern / small gull	Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Roseate Tern, Black Tern, Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Little Gull	Used in certain conditions or angles where small gulls (especially little gulls) can look similar
Skua species	Great Skua , Arctic Skua, Pomarine Skua, Long-tailed Skua
Skua (Excluding Great)	Arctic Skua, Pomarine Skua, Long-tailed Skua	Used for the smaller skua species that are clearly not Great Skua
Cormorant / Shag	Cormorant, Shag	Can be very difficult to separate. Usually easier in flight
Unidentified storm-petrel	British Storm-Petrel, Leach's Storm Petrel	Used as the two species are very small and superficially similar
Large wader species	Curlew, Whimbrel, Black & Bar-tailed Godwit	Waders godwit sized in length or larger
Medium wader species	Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Woodcock, Snipe, Lapwing etc.	Waders between a Redshank and a godwit in length
Small wader species	Dunlin, Knot, Sanderling, Turnstone, sandpipers, stints, phalaropes, smaller plovers etc	Anything smaller than a Redshank
Wader species		If size is difficult to establish
Passerine species		Mainly used for small passerines. Clearly identified as not a small seabird or wader. Usually small often brown migrating passerines.
Swan species	Mute Swan, Bewick's Swan, Whooper Swan
Goose species	Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Bean Goose, Pink-footed Goose, White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Barnacle Goose
Dabbling ducks	Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveler, Pochard, Shelduck	Only used on Inshore areas such as lakes, ponds and rivers
Seal species	Grey Seal, Harbour Seal
Dolphin species	Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin, White-beaked Dolphin, White-sided Dolphin, Risso's Dolphin	Although Orca (Killer Whales) are dolphins they would come under Large Cetacean species
Small cetacean species	Harbour Porpoise, dolphin Sp.	Includes Harbour Porpoise and all the dolphin species not including Orca (Killer Whale)
Large cetacean species	Long-finned Pilot whale, Minke Whale, etc, Orca	Any whale species and Orca.
Cetacean species		Sometimes used when size is difficult to judge e.g. Submerged animals, but cetacean features can be identified
Shark species	Basking Shark, Blue Shark, Porbeagle, etc.	Used for any shark sighting
Small cetacean / seal species	Harbour Porpoise, dolphin Sp, Harbour Seal, Grey Seal	Used when features to define either a seal or a small cetacean ( e.g. Fluke or flippers) are not visible. This may occur in submerged animals
Cetacean species / seal species / shark species	Cetacean sp., seal sp., shark species	Used when the object is not clear e.g. Adverse weather conditions or submerged or turbid underwater conditions
Jellyfish		Species not usually recorded
Turtle species	Leatherback turtle	Mainly the leatherback turtle occurs in the UK during the summer however odd sightings and standings of other species have been recorded, so these will be recorded where identified
No ID		Used very rarely in adverse weather conditions when features cannot be used to identify objects to any one animal class

Table 5 Species recorded from digital aerial surveys from April to July 2012

Species	April	May	June	July	Sept	Dec	Feb
Arctic / Common Tern		3	3	2
Auk / Small Gull	15					9	5
auk species	65	40	78	30	24	82	156
Basking Shark			1	1	5
Big Bird			1		1
Black Guillemot				2
black-backed gull species	1					33	1
Black-headed Gull			4			1	1
Cetacean/Seal/Shark species					1
Common Dolphin				2
Common Gull		16	2	1	3
Common Scoter			2				2
Cormorant		2			1
Cormorant/Shag species					1
diver species	6		1		2	26	3
duck species		2	3	1		16
Eider	2	25	12				13
Fulmar	318	84	105	114	28	133	186
Fulmar / gull species	80	5	25	6	2	11	27
Fulmar / Small Gull (excluding Little Gull)	46		1		1	1
Gannet	44	91	69	199	247	2	5
Great Black-backed Gull		1	1	1	1	2	11
Great Northern Diver	1
Great Skua	4			1
grey gull species (Herring or Common)			1
Grey Seal			2	1	2
Greylag Goose	2	10	3	16	122	1	5
Guillemot	35	1	3	13	11	2	1
gull species	3	1	1	1	1	27	8
Harbour Porpoise	6		15	5	2	2	1
Herring Gull	2	3	7	2	2	6	14
Iceland Gull	1
Kittiwake	30	2	9	8	4	22	121
Large Auk	88	12	81	63	28	6	13
Large Auk / Throated Diver			2		1
large gull (including Common)					1
large gull species				1	3	17	5
Lesser black-backed Gull	1		1	3	2	9	1
Minke Whale			1
Oystercatcher			1
Puffin	10	22	32	15	1	2	5
Razorbill	6			4	3
Red-throated Diver			2	1	3	1
Risso's Dolphin				4
seal species	1		5	2	3
Shag		1		1	1
shearwater species				1
shearwater species / auk species			1
skua species				1
Small Auk	7	1	2	3			2
Small Bird	17	3	6	14			1
Small Cetecean / Seal Species			1
Small Gull (Excluding Little)	2					1
small gull species	1	1	3				3
small wader species	1			1
Tern (excluding little)			7
Tern / Small Gull		1	1
tern species		15	6	3
Unidentified storm-petrel	3			15
wader species		5	4
White-beaked Dolphin	4			3
Total	803	347	516	541	507	412	590

Table 6 - Estimates of bird species abundance in the study area. Values with coefficients of variation (% CVs) and lower and upper confidence intervals were estimated through design based analysis of encounter rate corrected for survey effort. ¹Where only one observation was recorded this was just multiplied by 10 to correct for 10% survey coverage. Individual diver and auk species abundances were also estimated using proportions of records that were identified to species in each survey ²

Species/ Group	April			May			June			July
Species/ Group	N(% CV)	LCI	UCI	N(% CV)	LCI	UCI	N(% CV)	LCI	UCI	N(% CV)	LCI	UCI
Eider	20(106)	3	117	244(70)	68	879	117(101)	21	642	0	-	-
Common Scoter	0	-	-	0	-	-	20(106)	3	116	0	-	-
diver species	69(48)	28	174	0	-	-	29(79)	7	121	10 ¹	-	-
Red-throated Diver ²	0	-	-	0	-	-	29	-	-	10	-	-
Great Northern Diver ²	69	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Fulmar	3161(26)	1887	5294	819(35)	408	1645	1024(35)	513	2046	1108(14)	836	1469
Gannet	426(32)	225	805	888(18)	620	1271	673(17)	481	941	1935(10)	1588	2358
Cormorant	0	-	-	20(78)	5	84	0	-	-	0	-	-
Shag	0	-	-	10 ¹	-	-	0	-	-	10 ¹	-	-
Great Skua	40(66)	12	134	0	-	-	0	-	-	10 ¹	-	-
Kittiwake	297(35)	148	596	20(105)	3	115	88(49)	34	225	78(44)	33	181
Black-headed Gull	0	-	-	0	-	-	39(83)	9	169	0	-	-
Common Gull	0	-	-	156(49)	61	399	20(78)	5	84	10 ¹	-	-
Lesser Black-backed Gull	10 ¹	-	-	0	-	-	10 ¹	-	-	29(63)	9	96
Herring Gull	20(106)	3	117	29(63)	9	96	68(44)	29	159	19(78)	5	83
Great Black-backed Gull	0	-	-	10 ¹	-	-	10 ¹	-	-	10 ¹	-	-
all auks	2051(22)	1312	3205	741(25)	446	1234	1912(19)	1314	2783	1264(15)	934	1711
auk sp	674(22)	431	1054	390(28)	222	684	1073(20)	712	1618	418(21)	272	643
large auk sp	1258(24)	777	2039	127(36)	63	256	819(20)	543	1236	778(17)	548	1105
small auk sp	119(71)	32	435	224(38)	106	473	20(106)	3	116	68(56)	24	197
Guillemot ²	1536	-	-	144	-	-	911	-	-	755	-	-
Razorbill ²	263	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-	232	-	-
Black Guillemot ²	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-	25	-	-
Puffin ²	251	-	-	597	-	-	1001	-	-	244	-	-

Species/ Group	September			December			February (2013)
Species/ Group	N(% CV)	LCI	UCI	N(% CV)	LCI	UCI	N(% CV)	LCI	UCI
Eider	0	-	-	0	-	-	130(97)	25	672
Common Scoter	0	-	-	0	-	-	20(123)	2	181
diver species	50(79)	12	209	269(91)	56	1299	30(94)	5	169
Red-throated Diver	30(0.8)	6	158	0	-	-	0	-	-
Red-throated Diver ²	50	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Great Northern Diver ²	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Fulmar	279(42)	123	634	1324(33)	688	2548	1853(43)	799	4296
Gannet	2464(13)	1886	3219	20(99)	2	210	50(68)	14	182
Cormorant	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Shag	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Great Skua	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Kittiwake	40(78)	9	173	219(38)	105	456	1206(24)	744	1953
Black-headed Gull	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Common Gull	30(94)	5	169	0	-	-	0	-	-
Lesser Black-backed Gull	20(99)	2	212	90(85)	20	399	0	-	-
Herring Gull	20(99)	2	211	60(60)	19	191	139(46)	57	339
Great Black-backed Gull	0	-	-	20(99)	2	211	110(44)	47	256
all auks	668(23)	428	1043	916(21)	603	1391	1763(19)	1197	2597
auk sp	249(43)	109	570	816(22)	522	1275	1614(19)	1094	2380
large auk sp	419(25)	256	686	80(54)	28	223	130(57)	45	375
small auk sp	0	-	-	20(99)	2	211	20(122)	2	181
Guillemot	110(43)	47	254	20(99)	2	211	0	-	-
Razorbill	30(81)	6	158	0	-	-	0	-	-
Black Guillemot	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Puffin	0	-	-	20(99)	2	211	50(109)	8	3002
Guillemot ²	513	-	-	733	-	-	1175	-	-
Razorbill ²	140	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Black Guillemot ²	0	-	-	0	-	-	0	-	-
Puffin ²	16	-	-	183	-	-	588	-	-

Table 7 - Summary of number of birds counted from shore points. Birds flying through the count area were not counted except where indicated by an asterisk (*). Counts include birds seen on rocks and cliffs. The SIA and MEL shore points were counted on the day before that shown in June and September. 'n.c.' indicates that no count was made on that date (see Table 1). Shore point names are given in Table 1.

Species/Survey month	DAL	SSH	NSH	BRA	BRU	SHA	MEL	SGA	AIR	SWA	BLW	BLE	PON	Total
Red-throated diver
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	n.c.	0	0	1
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	3
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	1	n.c.	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	4
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	1	n.c.	0	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	7
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	1	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	1	1	n.c.	0	0	3
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	1	0	1
Black-throated diver
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Great northern diver
April 2012	0	2	1	0	0	2	2	1	1	1	n.c.	0	0	10
May 2012	n.c.	3	4	4	n.c.	2	6	1	1	2	1	0	0	24
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	4
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	2	n.c.	0	3	1	0	0	0	1*	0	7
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	2	1	n.c.	n.c.	3	n.c.	2	1	n.c.	1	0	10
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	2	n.c.	n.c.	2	n.c.	0	1	0	0	0	5
Slavonian grebe
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	2	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fulmar
April 2012	4	2	11	0	3	0	0	0	4	7	n.c.	3	15	49
May 2012	n.c.	1	8	0	n.c.	0	0	1	2	0	14	7	18	51
June 2012	n.c.	3	0	1	n.c.	2	2	1	0	0	20	19	39	87
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	20	0	25	45
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	21	n.c.	40	22	83
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	1	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	6	112	69	242	430
Storm petrel
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gannet
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	n.c.	1	0	6
May 2012	n.c.	4	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5
June 2012	n.c.	4	0	2	n.c.	0	0	1	3	5	2	3	6	26
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	5
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	56	25	29	14	37	161
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	1	0	0	0	0	1
Cormorant
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	1	0	1
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	2	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	2	n.c.	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	6
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shag
April 2012	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	n.c.	6	4	15
May 2012	n.c.	1	1	1	n.c.	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	9	18
June 2012	n.c.	0	2	1	n.c.	0	0	0	2	1	4	6	4	20
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	5	n.c.	0	2	0	6	27	4	11	11	66
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	3	3	n.c.	1	0	0	1	53	28	4	6	99
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	3	3	n.c.	n.c.	1	n.c.	1	6	n.c.	10	2	26
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	2	4	n.c.	n.c.	5	n.c.	4	7	2	20	1	45
Eider
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	62	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	62
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	1	0	0	0	1
Red-breasted merganser
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	10	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Arctic skua
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	1*	0	1
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Great skua
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	n.c.	0	0	1
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Black-headed gull
April 2012	0	0	24	36	0	0	3	0	0	2	n.c.	0	4	69
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2
June 2012	n.c.	0	2	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Common gull
April 2012	0	2	57	46	2	0	88	0	0	1	n.c.	3	15	214
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	1	2	n.c.	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	8
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	2	6
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	1	0	n.c.	0	6	0	0	1	0	1	0	9
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	1	2	n.c.	1	0	4
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lesser black-backed gull
April 2012	0	2	0	11	0	0	3	0	0	0	n.c.	3	0	19
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0	9
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Herring gull
April 2012	0	22	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	5	3	38
May 2012	n.c.	0	1	0	n.c.	3	0	0	0	0	0	37	0	41
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	1	0	8	0	28	0	37
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	2	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	2	16
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	1	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	13	3	0	0	17
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	10	0	n.c.	n.c.	6	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	17	0	33
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	2	31	70	103
Iceland gull
April 2012	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	1
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Great black-backed gull
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	n.c.	2	0	4
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	1	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	4
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	4
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	5	0	8	0	13
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	4	0	n.c.	n.c.	2	n.c.	2	1	n.c.	8	1	18
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	2	n.c.	2	1	1	3	1	10
Kittiwake
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	12	15
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	5
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	2	n.c.	0	2	4
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	1	n.c.	6	1	2	1	0	11
Common tern
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	1	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Arctic tern
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	4	1	n.c.	0	0	0	0	18	0	0	1	24
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	2	n.c.	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	4
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Guillemot
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	n.c.	0	4	10
May 2012	n.c.	1	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	1	0	1	7	36	46
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	5	0	0	4	4	5	49	68	135
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	4	2	1	2	6	15
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	1	0	n.c.	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	4
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	1	n.c.	0	0	1
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	45	45
Razorbill
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	n.c.	0	1	6
May 2012	n.c.	7	8	0	n.c.	2	2	0	0	5	4	3	1	32
June 2012	n.c.	0	2	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	1	8
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	1	n.c.	0	0	0	4	5	0	0	0	10
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	2	0	0	2
Unidentified guillemot/razorbill
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	n.c.	0	1	6
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	8	11
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Black guillemot
April 2012	0	2	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	n.c.	0	3	8
May 2012	n.c.	6	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	1	7	0	2	16
June 2012	n.c.	1	0	0	n.c.	0	3	0	4	0	12	5	2	27
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	2	n.c.	3	1	1	1	5	10	1	5	29
Sep. 2012	n.c.	1	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	1	n.c.	1	1	n.c.	0	0	3
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	1	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	1
Puffin
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	4	0	0	n.c.	4	0	0	0	0	11	0	0	19
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0

Table 8 - Summary of number of marine mammals and sharks counted from shore points. The SIA and MEL shore points were counted on the day before that shown in June and September. 'n.c.' indicates that no count was made on that date (see Table 1). Shore point names are given in Table 1

Species/Survey month	DAL	SSH	NSH	BRA	BRU	SHA	MEL	SGA	AIR	SWA	BLW	BLE	PON	Total
Grey seal
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	4
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	8	0	0	0	8
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	1	0	1
Unidentified dolphin sp.
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Harbour porpoise
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	4
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0
Basking shark
April 2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
May 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
June 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
July 2012	n.c.	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Sep. 2012	n.c.	0	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Dec. 2012	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	0	0	0
Feb. 2013	n.c.	n.c.	0	0	n.c.	n.c.	0	n.c.	0	0	0	0	0	0

Table 9 - Loch Roag survey dates, sea state and weather conditions

Date	Time	Weather	Comment
28 April 2012	07:50-20:00	Sea state 0-1 becoming 1-2 by 14:00. 0-1 swell. Fine, mostly overcast.	Excellent survey conditions
5 June 2012	07:25-16:30	Sea state 0-1 becoming 2-3 by 15:00. No swell. Fine, overcast.	Excellent survey conditions
7 July 2012	14:00-17:30	Sea state 1. No swell. Fine, overcast.	Excellent survey conditions
8 July 2012	08:00-1230	Sea state 2, 0-0.5m swell, fine, partly overcast. Slow deterioration and by end sea-state 2-3, overcast and continuous rain and low cloud.	Excellent at start becoming good then poor. Survey visit abandoned due to onset of continuous rain and low cloud, which lasted rest of day.
27 July 2012	11:00-17:40	Sea state 1-2, 0-0.5m swell, fine, overcast. Prolonged heavy showers after 14:00	Very good conditions most of the time, good-poor conditions during showers. Survey work temporarily halted during worst of showers. Survey abandoned at 17:40 when rain and low cloud set in for rest of day. Survey work on Great Berneray only.
2 October 2012	08:20-17:40	Sea state 1-2, occasionally 3, 0 swell, mostly fine, partly overcast. Occasional short showers.	Excellent conditions most of the time, conditions reducing to very good or good at times due to showers. Survey work temporarily halted during worst of showers.
10 January 2012	09:10-15:51	Sea state 1-2, occasionally 3, Wind SSE 0-2, 0 swell, fine, overcast.	Excellent survey conditions. Western parts of survey area counted.
11 January 2012	09:15-15:51	Sea state 1-3, occasionally 4, Wind SW 1-3, 0 swell, fine, partly overcast.	Mix of good and excellent survey conditions depending on sea state. Eastern parts of survey area counted.
08 February 2013	08:35-16:32	Sea state 1-3, occasionally 4, Wind variable direction 1-2. Occ. light shower, overcast.	Mostly excellent survey conditions, reducing to Good conditions in showers. Western parts of survey area counted.
09 February 2013	08:33-15:51	Sea state 1-2 before 14:30, sea state 3 afterwards. Wind SE 2-3, 0 swell, fine, overcast.	Excellent survey conditions most of the time, becoming Good later. Eastern parts of survey area counted.

Table 10 - Summary of results for seabirds recorded in the Loch Roag survey area. These achieve close to complete coverage of Loch Roag, although some western part were not covered in July. Includes flying and sitting birds

Seabirds	April 2012	June 2012	July 2012	Oct. 2012	Jan 2013	Feb 2013	Total	Mean Ap. - July	Mean Oct. - Feb
Black-throated Diver	6	0	1	1	7	12	27	2.3	6.7
Great Northern Diver	44	9	1	1	80	95	230	18.0	58.7
Red-throated Diver	39	22	26	10	14	4	115	29.0	9.3
Slavonian Grebe	2	0	0	3	16	13	34	0.7	10.7
Little grebe	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	0.0	1.0
Black Guillemot	49	55	33	17	22	54	230	45.7	31.0
Guillemot	7	13	5	8	0	0	33	8.3	2.7
Razorbill	3	52	11	5	2	1	74	22.0	2.7
Guillemot/razorbill	0	8	0	0	0	0	8	2.7	0.0
Cormorant	2	4	32	18	29	29	114	12.7	25.3
Shag	38	36	25	118	139	181	537	33.0	146.0
Gannet	0	26	41	1	0	0	68	22.3	0.3
Fulmar	0	16	11	0	93	45	165	9.0	46.0
Manx Shearwater	0	0	3	0	0	0	3	1.0	0.0
Common Tern	0	33	6	0	0	0	39	13.0	0.0
Arctic Tern	0	9	47	0	0	0	56	18.7	0.0
'commic' Tern	0	0	9	0	0	0	9	3.0	0.0

Table 11 - Summary of results for gull and wildfowl species recorded in the Loch Roag survey area. The surveys achieve close to complete coverage of Loch Roag, although some western part were not covered in July. Includes flying and sitting birds

Gulls and wildfowl	April 2012	June 2012	July 2012	Oct. 2012	Jan 2013	Feb 2013
Black-headed Gull	2	0	7	5
Common Gull	17	5	16	22	21	2
Herring Gull	41	116	72	41	37	39
Lesser Black-backed Gull	0	0	2	0	0	0
Great Black-backed Gull	6	16	16	12	15	13
Kittiwake	0	1	5	0	0	0
Glaucous Gull	0	1	0	0	0	0
Red-breasted Merganser	23	2	0	14	39	36
Eider	275	92	219	145	136	141
Common Scoter	5	1	0	0	0	2
Shelduck	2	2	2	0	0	0
Long-tailed duck	0	0	0	0	1	3
Goldeneye	0	0	0	0	0	5
Teal	0	0	3	6	11	0
Greylag Goose	9	24	126	0	7	29
Mallard	2	0	6	2	8	0

Table 12 - Summary of results for waders, heron and eagle recorded in the Loch Roag survey area. The surveys achieve close to complete coverage of Loch Roag, although some western part were not covered in July. Includes flying and sitting birds

Waders, heron, eagles	April 2012	June 2012	July 2012	Oct. 2012	Jan 2013	Feb 2013
Common Sandpiper	no count	no count	3	no count	no count	no count
Curlew	no count	no count	4	no count	no count	no count
Greenshank	no count	no count	5	no count	no count	no count
Lapwing	no count	no count	10	no count	no count	no count
Ringed Plover	no count	no count	2	no count	no count	no count
Grey Heron	no count	no count	11	no count	no count	no count
White-tailed eagle	0	0	0	0	1	0

Table 13 - Summary of results for marine mammals recorded in the Loch Roag survey area. The surveys achieve close to complete coverage of Loch Roag, although some western part were not covered in July. Includes flying and sitting birds

Marine mammals	April 2012	June 2012	July 2012	Oct. 2012	Jan 2013	Feb 2013
Common Seal	12	1	12	8	9	5
Grey Seal	0	1	0	3	1	83
Seal sp.	0	0	1	0	0	0

Table 14 - Red-throated diver: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	16	1	8	8	6	39
Jun-2012	13	5	1	3	0	22
Jul-2012	0	9	15	2	0	26
Oct-2012	3	1	5	1	0	10
Jan-2013	9	0	3	2	0	14
Feb-2013	1	1	1	0	1	4

Table 15 - Black-throated diver: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	2	2	2	6
Jun-2012	0	0	0	0
Jul-2012	0	1	0	1
Oct-2012	0	1	0	1
Jan-2013	7	0	0	7
Feb-2013	12	0	0	12

Table 16 - Great northern diver: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	4	23	17	0	44
Jun-2012	1	2	5	1	9
Jul-2012	0	0	1	0	1
Oct-2012	0	0	1	0	1
Jan-2013	25	22	31	2	80
Feb-2013	27	27	35	6	95

Table 17 - Little grebe: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0
Jun-2012	0	0	0
Jul-2012	0	0	0
Oct-2012	0	0	0
Jan-2013	1	0	1
Feb-2013	1	1	2

Table 18 - Slavonian grebe: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	2	0	2
Jun-2012	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jul-2012	0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct-2012	2	0	1	0	0	3
Jan-2013	8	0	0	8	0	16
Feb-2013	5	1	0	6	1	13

Table 19 - Fulmar: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	0
Jun-2012	16	0	0	16
Jul-2012	0	10	1	11
Oct-2012	0	0	0	0
Jan-2013	93	0	0	93
Feb-2013	20	0	25	45

Table 20 - Manx shearwater: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	East Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0
Jun-2012	0	0
Jul-2012	3	3
Oct-2012	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0

Table 21 - Gannet: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	0
Jun-2012	25	0	1	26
Jul-2012	2	17	22	41
Oct-2012	1	0	0	1
Jan-2013	0	0	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0	0	0

Table 22 - Cormorant: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	1	0	0	0	1	2
Jun-2012	1	2	1	0	0	4
Jul-2012	0	4	7	4	0	15
Oct-2012	2	4	11	0	1	18
Jan-2013	12	5	12	0	0	29
Feb-2013	0	7	3	18	1	29

Table 23 - Shag: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	20	12	2	7	0	41
Jun-2012	21	13	2	0	0	36
Jul-2012	0	15	10	0	0	25
Oct-2012	75	16	20	6	1	118
Jan-2013	37	53	40	7	2	139
Feb-2013	64	31	36	45	5	181

Table 24 - Greylag Goose: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit. In addition, a total of 78 goslings were seen accompanying adults in July (*)

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	3	3	3	0	0	9
Jun-2012	4	0	3	17	0	24
Jul-2012	0	7*	14*	87*	19*	127
Oct-2012	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jan-2013	7	0	0	0	0	7
Feb-2013	4	25	0	0	0	29

Table 25 - Shelduck: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	2	2
Jun-2012	2	2
Jul-2012	2	2
Oct-2012	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0

Table 26 - Teal: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	0
Jun-2012	0	0	0	0
Jul-2012	3	0	0	3
Oct-2012	0	6	0	6
Jan-2013	0	0	11	11
Feb-2013	0	0	0	0

Table 27 - Mallard: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	West Great Bernera	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	2	0	2
Jun-2012	0	0	0	0
Jul-2012	2	4	0	6
Oct-2012	0	2	0	2
Jan-2013	0	0	8	8
Feb-2013	0	0	0	0

Table 28 - Eider: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit. In addition, a total of 12 ducklings were seen accompanying adults in July (*)

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	198	77	0	0	275
Jun-2012	59	33	0	0	92
Jul-2012	0	203*	16*	0	219
Oct-2012	137	4	1	3	145
Jan-2013	136	0	0	0	136
Feb-2013	140	1	0	0	141

Table 29 - Long-tailed duck: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	West Great Bernera	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0
Jun-2012	0	0	0
Jul-2012	0	0	0
Oct-2012	0	0	0
Jan-2013	0	1	1
Feb-2013	2	1	3

Table 30 - Common scoter: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	East Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	5	0	5
Jun-2012	0	1	1
Jul-2012	0	0	0
Oct-2012	0	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0	0
Feb-2013	2	0	2

Table 31 - Goldeneye: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	West Great Bernera	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0
Jun-2012	0	0	0
Jul-2012	0	0	0
Oct-2012	0	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0	0
Feb-2013	4	1	5

Table 32 - Red-breasted merganser: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	19	4	23
Jun-2012	0	0	0	1	1	2
Jul-2012	0	0	0	0	0	0
Oct-2012	0	0	0	12	2	14
Jan-2013	2	8	5	18	6	39
Feb-2013	0	18	7	5	6	36

Table 33 - Black-headed gull: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	1	1	2
Jun-2012	0	0	0
Jul-2012	0	7	7
Oct-2012	4	1	5
Jan-2013	0	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0	0

Table 34 - Common gull: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	3	1	13	0	0	17
Jun-2012	1	0	2	0	2	5
Jul-2012	0	0	4	7	2	13
Oct-2012	11	3	2	6	0	22
Jan-2013	2	3	1	15	0	21
Feb-2013	2	0	0	0	0	2

Table 35 - Lesser black-backed gull: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0
Jun-2012	0	0	0
Jul-2012	1	1	2
Oct-2012	0	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0	0

Table 36 - Herring gull: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	19	15	1	6	0	41
Jun-2012	74	37	0	0	5	116
Jul-2012	4	50	9	5	4	72
Oct-2012	11	7	13	7	3	41
Jan-2013	22	12	1	1	1	37
Feb-2013	8	1	28	2	0	39

Table 37 - Glaucous gull: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	West Great Bernera	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0
Jun-2012	1	1
Jul-2012	0	0
Oct-2012	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0

Table 38 - Great black-backed gull: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	4	0	1	1	6
Jun-2012	2	13	0	1	16
Jul-2012	2	1	5	4	12
Oct-2012	4	0	5	3	12
Jan-2013	8	1	4	2	15
Feb-2013	3	1	6	3	13

Table 39 - Kittiwake: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	0
Jun-2012	1	0	0	1
Jul-2012	0	3	2	5
Oct-2012	0	0	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0	0	0

Table 40 - Common tern: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit. In addition, nine unidentified 'commic' terns were recorded in July (*)

Month	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	0	0
Jun-2012	0	30	2	1	33
Jul-2012	0*	1*	5	0	6
Oct-2012	0	0	0	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0	0	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0	0	0	0

Table 41 - Arctic tern: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit. In addition, nine unidentified 'commic' terns were recorded in July (*)

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	0	0
Jun-2012	7	0	0	2	9
Jul-2012	2	16*	16*	13	47
Oct-2012	0	0	0	0	0
Jan-2013	0	0	0	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0	0	0	0

Table 42 - Common guillemot: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit. In addition, eight unidentified guillemot/razorbill were recorded in June (*)

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	2	3	2	7
Jun-2012	7*	4	2	0	13
Jul-2012	0	1	5	0	6
Oct-2012	2	0	5	1	8
Jan-2013	0	0	0	0	0
Feb-2013	0	0	0	0	0

Table 43 - Razorbill: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit. In addition, eight unidentified guillemot/razorbill were recorded in June (*), and a total of five chicks were seen accompanying adults in July (**)

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	1	2	0	0	3
Jun-2012	10	39	3	0	52
Jul-2012	0	6**	5**	0	11
Oct-2012	1	0	4	0	5
Jan-2013	0	0	0	2	2
Feb-2013	0	1	0	0	1

Table 44 - Black guillemot: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	22	2	14	11	49
Jun-2012	32	3	7	13	55
Jul-2012	0	12	13	7	32
Oct-2012	9	1	6	1	17
Jan-2013	9	4	1	8	22
Feb-2013	22	16	9	7	54

Table 45 - Common seal: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit. In addition, a single unidentified seal was recorded in July (*)

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Little Loch Roag	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	8	4	12
Jun-2012	0	1	0	0	0	1
Jul-2012	0	0*	1	11	0	12
Oct-2012	0	0	1	7	0	8
Jan-2013	2	0	0	5	2	9
Feb-2013	0	1	0	3	1	5

Table 46 - Grey seal: the number of birds recorded in each sub-section of the Loch Roag survey area on each visit. In addition, a single unidentified seal was recorded in July (*)

Month	Kyles Pabay & Valtos	West Great Bernera	East Loch Roag	Lochs Barraglom & Hulavig	Whole survey area
Apr-2012	0	0	0	0	0
Jun-2012	0	1	0	0	1
Jul-2012	0	0*	0	0	0
Oct-2012	1	0	1	1	3
Jan-2013	0	0	1	0	1
Feb-2013	0	80	3	0	83

Table 47 - Abundance (N) and density estimates with % CV and 95% confidence levels obtained from density surface modelling of the most commonly recorded species and species groups from the digital aerial surveys. The GAM model used was N ~ s(x, y, k = 10) + offset, Family = Negative binomial, Theta = 0.166, gamma=1.4. with automatic smooth selection by REML. n is the number of segments in the survey. k was set to 10 and gamma 1.4 to reduce the likelihood of overfitting. Where the estimated degrees of freedom (edf) approached 9 (k-1) conventionally k might be increased to reduce residuals however, this was maximum k and was fixed. The adjusted r-squared (r-sq) is the proportion of variance explained as a goodness of fit, Chi squared (Chi.sq) the test statistic and the p-value the probability of the null hypothesis that the model parameter is zero being true. *** = significant at <0.001 level '*' significant at 0.05 level, '.' at the 0.1 level. The REML score is used in automatic smooth selection. Note that some models, such as gannets in May '12 had low significance and % deviance explained due to birds being more randomly distributed with only weak patterns in x and y

Survey	Species	n	edf	r-sq	Chi.sq	p-value	REML score	% Deviance explained	Density birds km ^-2	N	% CV	LCL	UCL
Apr '12	Fulmar	499	7.427	0.0403	85.15	<2e-16 ***	371.11	36.5	3.203	3197	23.50	1725	4669
	Gannet	499	4.436	0.0317	21.83	3.53e-05 ***	129.19	24.3	0.416	415	26.57	199	631
	auks	499	4.041	0.0577	29.09	1.79e-07 ***	377.01	15.4	2.081	2077	20.92	1225	2929
May '12	Fulmar	504	5.255	-0.295	56.48	1.47e-12 ***	162.8	39.1	1.161	1159	29.66	485	1833
	Gannet	504	0.0003054	0.00139	0	0.558	250.78	0.000208	0.934	932	16.11	638	1226
	auks	504	4.726	0.0584	39.27	6.1e-09 ***	183.37	32.7	0.761	760	25.31	383	1137
Jun '12	Fulmar	505	6.006	0.03	45.99	1.09e-09 ***	202.18	33	0.978	976	26.43	470	1482
	Gannet	505	6.968	0.0446	24.9	0.000316 ***	193.21	24.5	0.685	684	24.07	361	1007
	auks	505	5.307	0.074	22.09	0.000115 ***	359.3	12.7	1.817	1813	20.48	1085	2541
Jul '12	Fulmar	505	1.804	0.0311	10.17	<2e-16 ***	292.77	6.85	1.123	1121	17.52	736	1506
	Gannet	505	1.329	0.00964	5.018	0.0285 *	427.46	2.81	2.039	2035	26.89	963	3107
	auks	505	0.02529	-0.00229	0.025	0.362	297.44	0.0238	1.351	1348	20.25	813	1883
Sept '12	Fulmar	511	3.145	0.0209	17.93	0.000119 ***	94.137	22.4	0.303	302	29.85	125	479
	Gannet	511	0.5967	0.00222	1.216	0.142	474.1	0.811	2.576	2571	15.21	1805	3337
	auks	511	2.205	0.0112	5.226	0.0504.	199.19	4.97	0.677	676	29.62	284	1068
Dec '12	Fulmar	508	5.662	0.0211	24.23	5.94e-05 ***	259.42	13.4	1.298	1295	21.38	752	1838
	Gannet	508	2.665	0.12	2.816	0.363	9.9752	70.5	0.020	20	91.13	0	56
	auks	508	3.239	0.0383	16.85	0.000147 ***	234.19	11.9	0.889	887	29.32	377	1397
Feb '13	Fulmar	507	6.153	0.0685	60.03	1.42e-12 ***	221.36	38.3	1.693	1690	28.70	739	2641
	Gannet	507	1.334	0.0157	5.791	0.015 *	22.873	32.5	0.050	50	50.27	1	99
	auks	507	3.056	0.0441	16.6	0.000117 ***	368.29	8.92	1.768	1765	27.66	808	2722

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Appendix II. Tables

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