Seabird distribution and numbers in selected offshore parts of the Baltic Sea, winter 1992

Abstract

In the period from 27 January to 10 March, 1992, a seabird line-transect study was carried out in the Baltic Sea. The study focused on selected shallow waters and included previously largely unsurveyed areas of the former Soviet Block. The results of this study give a lot of new information on the distributions and numbers of several waterfowl species. Black- and Red-throated Divers Gavia arctica/stellata totalled 26,000 of which at least 18,500 were Red-throated Divers. Three areas (the Gulf of Pommern, the Gulf of Riga and the Irbe Strait) each housed more than 10% of the estimated populations of Black- and Red-throated Divers in NW Europe. Long-tailed Ducks Clangula hyemalis totalled 2,500,000 with ca 1 mill. in the Gulf of Pommern, 682,000 in and around the Gulf of Riga and 532,000 in the area off eastern Gotland, Hoburgs Bank and the Midsjo Banks. Velvet Scoters Melanitta fusca totalled 450,000 with 286,000 in the Gulf of Pommern and 137,000 in the Gulf of Riga. Red-necked Grebes Podiceps grisegena totalled ca 1,800, Slavonian Grebes Podiceps auritus ca 2,000 and Black Guillemots Cepphus grylle 26,000.