The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Range & Status
Holarctic; in Britain and Ireland 53,000 winter.
Regional Distribution
Cornwall: winter visitor and passage migrant to coastal rocks and lower reaches of
estuaries throughout Cornwall. Winter total 5-700 in recent years, with a marked decrease since 1960s. A few oversummer. There are no large concentrations, with few sites holding 75-100: Camel estuary, Mount' s Bay, Looe and Tamar estuary. Isles of Scilly: present in good numbers throughout the year although not breeding, with a winter population estimated at 600-700, possibly up to 1000 \endash a figure of International Importance.
Habitat & Ecology
Feeds in small parties along rocky shores and estuary mouths.
Threats
Few, except perhaps a major inshore oil spill.
Conservation
The main sites are SSSI. Listed (long list) as a globally threatened/declining species
00 (BSGR, 1995).
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.