World Seabird Union

🐦✨ WSC4 Keynote Nominations Open!

Share your vision for seabird conservation. Early-career & international voices encouraged!
📍WSC4 In-person & Hybrid: 7–11 Sept 2026, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

🔗 bit.ly/3Jv71c9
#WSC4 #SeabirdScience

🎉 LIFE PanPuffinus! celebrates 5 years of saving seabirds across the Mediterranean!
From Malta to France, Spain, Portugal & Greece, partners joined forces for the Yelkouan & Balearic Shearwaters. 🐦💙

bit.ly/43KCz4q
#SeabirdConservation

Can't make it to Hobart? Participate in the WSC4 Hybrid Day online! 🌍 Connect with global seabird experts and contribute to conservation's future. 🐧

📅 11 Sept 2026 (AEST) | 10 Sept 2026 (UTC)
🔗 bit.ly/4opYfet

#WSC4 #HybridConference #MarineScience

✈️ WSC4 Travel Awards are here!
Supporting students, early-career researchers & conservation practitioners to attend the 4th World Seabird Conference.

📅 Apply 1 Oct 2025 – 15 Jan 2026
More info on the Registration page.

🔗https://bit.ly/4nAYG4j

#WSC4 #Seabirds #Research

🐦 Got questions about the 4th World Seabird Conference?

Dive into the FAQ page for all the details — from abstracts to travel tips!

worldseabirdunion.org/world-seabir...

#WSC4 #Seabirds #Conservation

NIU-led global study reveals hidden power of seabirds | NIU Newsroom Restoring seabird populations could help safeguard biodiversity and climate resilience across vast scales, a new study shows. Published this week in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, the...

A study in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, led by NIU biologist Holly Jones with contributions from NIU students and global experts, shows that restoring seabird populations can significantly protect biodiversity and enhance climate resilience. bit.ly/43M2SHt

Welsh communities rescue over 1,000 seabirds so far this year Find out how local communities are helping our stranded seabirds.

Artificial lighting along the Pembrokeshire coast disorients young Manx Shearwaters, leading them to crash inland and become stranded. Manx Shearwater Rescue Pembrokeshire, a local volunteer group, helps collect and safely return these vulnerable seabirds to the sea. bit.ly/4oqW8qQ

A new study uses stable isotopes from feathers to explore the Black-faced Cormorant's diet and foraging strategies during the non-breeding season, enhancing knowledge of their trophic niche. bit.ly/48Utv0l

Seabirds are vital indicators of ocean health, yet monitoring their breeding in remote colonies is challenging. A study in Endangered Species Research utilised automated cameras to observe double-crested cormorants in British Columbia. 🔗 Read more: doi.org/10.3354/esr0...

If the frigate bird stops returning to the Pacific, what could we lose with its flight? - ABC Pacific The silhouette of the Great Frigate Bird is hard to miss — glossy black feathers, deeply forked tail, and long, slender wings that slice through the sky. But it's more than just a sea bird, its…

The Great Frigatebird — glossy black feathers, forked tail, long wings — is a symbol of strength, freedom & endurance across Pacific island cultures.

But rising seas & climate change threaten their habitats.

Produced by Deadset Studios for ABC News tinyurl.com/4p3w6nxd

Big boost for Antipodean Albatross – thanks to US$140,000 Global Birdfair funding This record-breaking funding will support the Safeguarding Ocean Species project in Suva, Fiji.

Antipodean Albatrosses roam oceans for 10+ years before returning to breed at 16. Raising 1 chick every 2 years, they travel huge distances for food. Bycatch is a threat.

@birdlife.int and partners formed the Albatross Task Force to implement mitigation measures at-sea. tinyurl.com/3pktyeaz

World’s deadliest windfarm? Help save our seabirds from Berwick Bank The go-ahead for Berwick Bank is a death knell for thousands of seabirds. With many already in crisis, it must be stopped.

Five leading nature charities are urging Scotland’s First Minister to stop the Berwick Bank offshore wind farm, warning it could become the world’s deadliest for birds. Read more via the RSPB and take action on the Scottish Seabird Centre website. bit.ly/3JdJcFw

Canada: marine refuge a milestone for Indigenous-led conservation - Oceanographic The two marine refuges off Canada's Haida Gwaii will safeguard key habitats for all salmon species, herring, seabirds, and harbour seals.

In a significant step for Indigenous-led marine conservation, the Council of the Haida Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada have established two new marine refuges—G̱aw Ḵáahlii and X̲aana K̲aahlii—off Haida Gwaii to protect vital ecosystems and support Haida food security and culture. bit.ly/4o3gnKR

Conservation win for Spain as six marine protected areas declared - Oceanographic The international ocean NGO, Oceana is celebrated a hard fought victory as Spain announces six new marine protected areas

Spain has designated five new Marine Protected Areas and one special seabird zone, adding 17,000 km² to its protected waters. This move brings the country closer to its goal of safeguarding 25% of its marine territory by 2025. Read more in Oceanographic Magazine. bit.ly/4hpOgTL

This weekend, SANCCOB released 11 African Penguins at Seaforth Beach, Simon’s Town, to mark African Penguin Awareness Day. 🐧

A hopeful step for this critically endangered species and a reminder of the importance of conservation.

Learn more: bit.ly/4hsHvRn

#AfricanPenguin #SeabirdConservation

Marine Ornithologist Do you want to use your scientific and research expertise to play an important role in decisions made on the sustainable delivery of marine renewables and the marine environment?

The Scottish Government is hiring a Marine Ornithologist! 🐦 Provide scientific advice on marine birds & support marine renewable energy policy and research, including ScotMER, ORJIP & OWEC.

Apply now 👉 bit.ly/4ohpDuE

🌊 The High Seas Treaty has hit 60 ratifications & becomes international law in Jan — a huge win for marine biodiversity!

On 10 Oct, the UK backed the Treaty with a new bill to protect ⅔ of the world’s ocean. 🌍

More 👉 bit.ly/4nQMz4h

#BBNJ #OceanProtection #SeabirdConservation

In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Sönke Johnsen and Gabrielle Nevitt uncover how Antarctic seabirds use shared sensory cues and intricate foraging networks to hunt together — blending competition with cooperation.
bit.ly/4q9gpCo

Native forests & seabirds are recovering on Bikar Atoll and Jemo Islet following the 2024 rat removal by the PRISMSS / Predator Free Pacific program. Seabird guano is enhancing nutrient cycles, boosting soil health, reefs, fish stocks, and climate resilience for local communities.
bit.ly/4mDyjKB

Jane Goodall introduces the World Seabird Conference

On Oct 1, 2025, we lost a true icon. Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE & UN Messenger of Peace, passed away of natural causes.

Her life reshaped science & inspired generations to protect nature. In 2015, she opened the 2nd World Seabird Conference in Cape Town. 🌍💚

🎥 youtu.be/cmBTZA3kKzg?...

Atlantic puffins face an increasingly precarious foothold due in part to a loss of habitat and to troubles tied to warming ocean waters and climate change. But an effort off the coast of Maine… How researchers restored a thriving habitat for Atlantic puffins in Maine

In 1981, just 4 years after Project Puffin began, adult puffins returned to Eastern Egg Island—with fish in their beaks 🐟 A sign chicks had hatched!

Today, hundreds thrive there—thanks to Dr. Stephen Kress, their dedicated protector. 🐧

🎥 youtu.be/ELBvPTvA8NA?...

🚨 Europe’s waterbird & seabird populations have been declining for decades—but are we using the right baselines for restoration?

A study by @TourduValat & @UniTurku shows many species were already in decline before the 1970s, posing a shifting baseline risk for 28 species.

bit.ly/48aAvpB

New study finds river otters 🦦 prey on seabirds across 73 North American islands!

🔹 Otters prefer small burrow-nesting seabirds
🔹 They’ll swim up to 8 km across open water to reach colonies
🔹 Most attacks occur on nearshore islands

Full study: bit.ly/4mhJZCz

Fiesty Westland petrel defies the odds Defying the odds in a country where 90 per cent of seabirds are threatened with extinction, the feisty Westland petrel is hanging on in its colony near Punakaiki on the South Island’s West Coast.

The Westland petrel is defying the odds! Breeding only on NZ‘s mainland, these seabirds show resilience: ~70% breeding success, lifespan over 40 yrs, even with predators & food challenges. But numbers remain steady—not growing. bit.ly/4nFHco5

Pacific Missile Range Facility aids in protecting threatened seabirds on Kauaʻi | Maui Now The annual fledging of Newell's shearwaters (ʻAʻo) and Hawaiian petrels (ʻUaʻu) on Kauaʻi starts Sept. 15 and runs through Dec. 15, marking a critical period for two of Hawaiʻi's most threatened…

Newell’s shearwaters & Hawaiian petrels rely on moonlight to fledge (15 Sep–15 Dec), but bright lights disorient them. The Dark Skies programme helps protect them by shielding lights, banding birds & raising awareness. 🌙🐦
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The study “Tracking HPAIV H5 through a geographic survey of Antarctic seabird populations” surveyed 13 breeding sites in the Antarctic from Dec 2023–Jan 2024. Findings suggest the first suspected HPAI H5 cases on the continent, potentially in two new seabird species. bit.ly/4pkI4Aa

💩 How seabird poop fuels island lizards!

New research shows lizards on Gulf of California islands rely on marine nutrients from guano—especially on dry, small islands near seabird colonies.

bit.ly/3HRCOTJ

While filming seabird takeoffs, Dr. Leo Uesaka found something unexpected: 195 mid-air poops. 💩✈️

Turns out, streaked shearwaters prefer to defecate in flight—possibly to stay clean & avoid predators.

📄 Published in Current Biology bit.ly/4pb4CmQ
#Seabirds #MarineEcology #Ornithology

🪶 13 miles off Peru’s coast, the Chincha Islands were once at the heart of the 19th-century Guano Rush—where laborers died for fertilizer.

Today, they remain guarded, with guano still traded on the black market.

📸 Nick Ballon tells the story via @GemFletcher 👉 bit.ly/4e6wQdc

#Peru #Seabirds

📣 Call for Virtual Symposia & Workshops – due 15 Sept 2025!
Join us at #WSC4 in Hobart, Tasmania 🇦🇺 – featuring a Hybrid-Only Day on 11 Sept 2026 🌍

📧 Submit to: WSCScience@worldseabirdunion.org

🔗 bit.ly/4e6wQdc

#WorldSeabirdConference #SeabirdConservation