Meet Mark Pearson, birder and naturalist!

Mark is an obsessive Yorkshire coast birder and naturalist whose roles include wildlife guide, ecologist, speaker, writer and educator. He is well known as a passionate communicator, whether in the field, in the classroom, in lecture theatres, on television screens, on radio airwaves or via the written word. He grew up on Flamborough Head, where the seeds were quickly sown – the family home became a bird hospital, complete with Puffins taking over the bathtub! - and he's been studying and advocating the wildlife of the area ever since. He is regularly asked to share his knowledge and enthusiasm on TV and radio, and this has included co-presenting features on the BBC's Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Springwatch at Easter and as a lead presenter of an episode of the BBC's flagship Natural World series. His appearances on radio, nationally and internationally, are numerous. As a dedicated field ornithologist, Mark has been fortunate to study bird life throughout the UK and further afield, with many memorable adventures across the globe in his notebooks; he is particularly fond of South and East Asia, Scandinavia and North America. He has managed various conservation and engagement projects in many different settings, from urban London (including the award-winning Cockney Sparrow Project) to rural Yorkshire, and his ecological fieldwork has taken him across the country from the Outer Hebrides to Kentish coast. He delights in spreading the gospel by any means necessary, whether through outreach, education and community engagement or campaigning on local, national and international stages for conservation. He is equally happy leading a wildlife tour, giving talks to natural history societies, surveying in far-flung forests at 4 a.m., being surrounded by a class of 30 urban schoolkids or seawatching for eight hours in a gale force northerly.

You can contact Mark via Email: Markthebirder-at-gmail.com, his website: http://northernrustic.blogspot.com/ and Twitter: @MarktheBirder.

I have the privilege of watching, studying and showing off Yorkshire's seabirds on a regular basis, whether I'm guiding groups (on dry land or at sea), monitoring populations and productivity, seawatching or just strolling the clifftops on my doorstep – and while there's a lot of competition, I've only ever had one clear favourite: the Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis.

I've loved them since I was a little kid, growing up within a fish-oil squirt (we'll come on to that later) of their breeding sites, on the rugged chalk cliffs of the mighty Flamborough Head. In amongst the swirling masses of nesting seabirds – Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Puffins, Shags, Herring Gulls and (at Bempton) Gannets being their high-rise neighbours throughout this vibrant, thriving avian metropolis – Fulmars are the elegant, classy Deitrichs of the seabird stage.

Which is a comparison easily extended to their appearance and movements – including their graceful mastery of movement, shearing effortlessly over the North Sea's waves, their undeniable charisma whether on land or over the ocean, and their film star good looks, right down to those mesmeric, big black doe eyes, complete with perfectly smudged mascara (perhaps more Bardot than Marlene, but you get the idea).

Fulmars are, thankfully, a familar feature of the Yorkshire coast, especially where our coastline provides suitable breeding habitat, from Flamborough northwards, intermittently all the way to Teeside; indeed, on stretches of cliffs further north in the county which are otherwise pretty much bereft of breeding seabirds, you can usually find a pair or two of Fulmars exploiting their (biological and physical) niche of small, often isolated 'platforms' in the cliff face.

People are often taken aback when I describe Fulmars as our albatrosses, but that's essentially what they are – compact, travel size versions of their cousins in the Southern Hemisphere, which belong to the same family, known as 'tubenoses' on account of their multi-plated bills. Which brings us back to the oil-squirting – not only are they the most beautiful and charismatic species in the colony, they also have a superpower...

That strangely-crafted bill is specially adapted to process salt-walter and the more toxic elements of their seafood diet, which are then stored as a stomach oil – which can be squirted at any unsuspecting predator or threat! So if you're a slightly over-cocky Peregrine who gets taken out by a Fulmar's toxic jet, well, good luck getting it out of your plumage…

Which also explains how they got their name. 'Fulmar' is actually (and fittingly) from Old Norse – full meaning foul, and mar meaning gull – 'foul gull', which is arguably harsh but fair, if you're on the wrong end of a protective squirt…

In contrast to various other species alongside them on coastal cliffs and islands, Fulmars have been increasing over the long term; however, recent decreases along the Yorkshire coast may be a cause for concern. Threats to these enigmatic seafarers are unfortunately multiple, with climate chaos (directly and indirectly), overfishing, pollution and plastics among major factors – regarding the latter, a shocking 92% of North Sea Fulmars have been found to have ingested plastic waste.

Fulmars are long-lived – up to and beyond thirty years old is far from unusual – and also have a long breeding season: the incubation period alone can take up to two months, with another two and a half months before the chick fledges. Hence, if you're hoping to find masses of seabirds on the cliffs later in the summer, forget about it (all the others, bar Gannets, will be long gone) – but how can you be disappointed when the Fulmars are still there, demanding all your attention?

Outside of the breeding season, Fulmars are strictly pelagic – true seabirds of the open oceans – and can be seen in larger numbers migrating in and out of the North Sea from watchpoints along the Yorkshire coast. 'Blue Fulmars' – the darker, smokier colour morph indicative of a far northern origin – occur in small numbers every year, and are a real treat during a seawatch – the more extreme examples (such as the one pictured) scarcely look like the same species, and sure make the heart skip faster when they cruise past!

Recording and monitoring

Fulmar are one of the species included in BTO & JNCC’s Seabird Monitoring Programme. Records of Fulmar and other seabird species can also be submitted to your local Environmental Records Centre.

Further information and acknowledgements

NEYEDC would like to thank Mark for his time and expertise in helping to create this blog. N.B The style of this instalment differs from those previous as per the author’s request.

The Natural History of Yorkshire in 100 Species

#49 Fulmar by Mark Pearson

Recording and monitoring

Further information and acknowledgements