Evening Times - Sep 19, 2006
Dead seabirds found in city
STARVING seabirds have been found in Glasgow city centre.
RSPB Scotland said hundreds of young seabirds had been discovered dead or starving to death across the country.
They include seabirds found miles inland from the coast and their usual feeding grounds.
A major seabird "wreck" - mostly common guillemots - is concerning staff at RSPB Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, who have received reports of hundreds of the dead or dying seabirds from sites across the west coast.
Many of the birds have been found on Loch Fyne and Loch Gilp, where 120 guillemots and several razorbills were found within just a few miles on the shoreline.
Several guillemots have also been reported from highly unusual inland locations, including the centre of Glasgow, Crianlarich and Loch Awe, and some birds have also been seen trying to swim upstream of small burns.
Common guillemots, which lay just one egg a year, have suffered dramatic losses due to lack of food in recent years.