Beached bird surveys in The Netherlands : summer 2023 & winter 2023/24

This is the annual report on beached bird survey (BBS) combining results obtained in The Netherlands during summer 2023 (May-Oct) and the winter 2023/24. Summer 2023 was calm, but ended in a serious wreck affecting thousands of Common Guillemots Uria aalge and particularly Razorbills Alca torda. Many more birds than normal were adults (although chicks were found also) and a great proportion of these birds were flightless as part of their annual wing moult.

Winter 2023/24 was another mild season overall, without really turbulent weather affecting the entire North Sea Area, but the auk wrecks continued, or new wrecks occurred at a slightly lower level than in autumn, again mainly affecting adult individuals. The significant declines in (winter) oil rates of pelagic seabirds, as reported in recent decades and especially since ~2005, continued, and no oiled auks were found in winter 2023/24, which can only be seen as a stunning success, certainly given the more than adequate sample size for all species.