Sea bird wreck, Scotland © John MacPherson
A seabird ‘wreck’ is the term given to the mass deaths of the birds.
This one happened a year or so ago on the east coast of Scotland in the Moray Firth, but many have happened since around the UK, and more recently a serious event occurred in New Zealand.
Scientists speculate about the various factors involved, often it is severe storm conditions, but in other cases it is very difficult to pin down exactly what has caused the problem, although some observers speculate that climate shift and/or overfishing might be contributory factors.
However wrecks occur it is a very sobering experience to walk along a stretch of beach and find hundreds and hundreds of bodies, bones, feathers, bills. All destined to be ground down by the pounding sea and in time to become a part of that which has sustained each of them.
We may know a lot about many things, but we know very little about the ocean and it’s rhythms and moods. And the effect that man might have upon it.
But I know for certain the effect the ocean has on me.
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.