Why Our Seabirds Need a Hand

There are few pleasures quite like a walk along the British coast – wind in your face, the smell of salt and seaweed, and the cries of gulls overhead. Our islands host some of the most important seabird colonies in the world, from puffins and guillemots on rocky cliffs to oystercatchers patrolling estuaries and herring gulls squabbling over chips. Yet these birds face real pressures, and one of the most persistent is plastic.

Herring gulls, great black-backed gulls, fulmars and gannets all spend much of their lives at sea, where floating debris is easily mistaken for food. Studies of northern fulmars in the North Sea have found plastic in the vast majority of birds examined. The good news is that the problem is largely within our gift to reduce – and it starts with simple choices at home, in the kitchen and on a day out at the seaside.

The Plastic That Ends Up on the Tideline

Most litter on British beaches once passed through someone's hands. Food wrappers, bottle caps, cotton bud sticks, wet wipes, cigarette butts (which contain plastic filters), plastic bags and fragments of polystyrene packaging all arrive via rivers, drains and the wind. On the beach they break down into ever-smaller pieces, but they never truly disappear. Seabirds swallow these fragments, which can block their guts, reduce their appetite and leave them undernourished before the breeding season.

Entanglement is the other danger. Loops of packing straps, fishing line and old netting snag on legs, wings and beaks, and a bird that cannot feed or fly will not survive long. Cutting loops before binning them takes seconds and can save a life.

Small Swaps at Home

You do not need to overhaul your life to make a difference. A few habits, repeated weekly, add up to a great deal less plastic reaching the coast.

• Carry a refillable bottle and a hot drink cup. Bottles and cups are among the most common items found in beach cleans.
• Buy loose fruit and vegetables rather than pre-packed trays, or choose the largest bag and decant into your own containers at home.
• Choose bars over bottles for soap and shampoo, and look for refill stations for washing-up liquid and laundry detergent.
• Check labels on cosmetics and cleaning products for polyethylene, polypropylene and nylon – these are plastic ingredients, not harmless additions.
• Skip glitter in cards and craft kits. Much of it is plastic film, and it is impossible to remove once it reaches water.
• Wash synthetic clothing less often and, where you can, use a fine-mesh laundry bag or a filter to catch microfibres before they head down the drain.
• Take your own bags, cutlery and containers when you head out, so you are not caught out buying single-use versions.

If your local council offers separate food waste collections, use them. Waste that is properly contained is waste that cannot blow away.

A Better Day at the Beach

Family trips to the coast are where habits matter most, because children copy what they see. A few ground rules make a real difference.

• Take everything home, including apple cores and orange peel. Food waste attracts gulls and rats, spreads litter further and changes the natural balance of the dunes.
• Feed the gulls nothing – not even a crust of bread. Chips and bread offer poor nutrition, encourage aggressive swooping and make birds dependent on handouts.
• If a bin is full, take your rubbish with you. Overflowing bins are the worst offenders on a windy day.
• Cut the loops on any plastic rings or packing straps before they go in the bin, and bag fishing line separately so it cannot tangle wildlife at the tip.
• Keep dogs on a lead on shingle beaches between April and August, when ringed plovers and terns are nesting on the stones.
• Leave young gulls alone. Fledglings on the sand in July are usually being watched by parents nearby, not abandoned.

Balloons, Fishing Line and Other Hidden Hazards

Releasing balloons or sky lanterns may feel celebratory, but what goes up comes down – often in the sea. Burst balloon fragments resemble squid and are swallowed by seabirds, and the attached ribbon causes entanglement. Bubbles, kites, flags or a well-planted tree are kinder alternatives. If you organise events near the coast, choose these by default.

Anglers can help enormously by taking line home, using a line bin where provided, and never leaving hooks or bait bags on the rocks. If you find a bird tangled in line, do not attempt to free it alone – a stressed gull can injure you and itself. Note the location and contact a local wildlife rescue or the coastguard, who can advise.

Habits That Add Up

No single person will clean up the North Sea, but thousands of small decisions – a refilled bottle, a cut plastic loop, a picnic taken home – have a cumulative effect. Join a beach clean if there is one near you, or simply pick up three pieces of litter on every walk. Seabirds are resilient when given half a chance, and the coast we hand on is shaped by the ordinary choices we make this weekend.