This dark brown, large powerful seabird with obvious white wing flashes can be seen around our coasts throughout the year.
Great Skuas breed on our northern islands during the summer months but outside of the breeding season they can be seen in coastal waters anywhere in the UK. The Great Skua is a predatory seabird that will hunt small birds, rodents and Rabbits; it can also be seen chasing other seabirds in an attempt to relieve them of any food that they might have caught.
Whilst Great Skuas can be seen throughout the year most are migratory, heading to offshore West Africa. In 2022, many skuas died on their British breeding grounds in a severe outbreak of avian influenza.
Select a topic for more facts and statistics about the Great Skua
Identifying skuas passing offshore in late summer is one of the great challenges of bird ID. There are clues to help us, however, and - with practice - most individuals can be identified. This workshop will point you in the right direction and help you to focus on the features and markings that will be most helpful when seawatching.
Develop your bird ID skills with our training courses
Our interactive online courses are a great way to develop your bird identification skills, whether you're new to the hobby or a competent birder looking to hone your abilities.
The population and breeding range of the Great Skua have both been increasing since 1900 (JNCC 2022). Data from Censuses suggest that numbers more than trebled between 1969–70 and Seabird 2000 (1998–2002). The subsequent trend is variable across different colonies and will not be clear until the results of the recent Seabirds Count (2015–2021) are available (JNCC 2022). An avian influenza virus affected large numbers of Great Skuas across different Scottish islands in summer 2021 (Banyard et al. 2022): the population level impacts of this outbreak are as yet unclear.
More than half the world population of Great Skuas is found in the UK, along the northwest seaboard of Scotland and Ireland, with highest concentrations on Shetland and Orkney, Handa, Sutherland and St Kilda.
Britain and Ireland Breeding Distribution 2008-2011. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Britain and Ireland Winter Distribution 2008-2011. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Great Skua breeding range expanded by 111% since the 1968–72 Breeding Atlas, mostly involving colonisation of new sites in the west of Scotland and in northwest Ireland since 2000.
Britain and Ireland Breeding Distribution Change 1968–72 to 2008–11. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Britain and Ireland Winter Distribution Change 1981–84 to 2007–11 More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Change in occupied 10-km squares in the UK
% change in range in breeding season (1968–72 to 2008–11)
Great Skuas are summer visitors, arriving in March. Autumn migration of northern breeders extends into late autumn and early winter.
Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells) and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.
Movement
Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.
Strong increases which occurred during the 1970s are believed to be associated with increases in fisheries discards; whilst the population increases have continued subsequently the rate of increase has been lower, possibly due to a reduction in discards and a reduction in sandeel abundance, though great skuas have managed to switch their diet to maintain population levels despite the changes to prey availability (Church et al. 2018). Following the population increases, density-dependent effects may now be limiting population growth in some parts of the breeding range (Meek et al. 2011). An avian influenza outbreak was detected in Great Skua colonies across different Scottish islands in summer 2021, with large numbers of birds observed with apparent symptoms of the disease and dying. The virus was confirmed in seven of the eight dead skuas which were examined (Banyard et al. 2022). It is not yet clear whether this outbreak has had population level effects.
New research led by the BTO has used a combination of GPS-tracking and advanced statistics to provide new insights into seabird flight heights by night and day. This study gives important information on the risk of seabirds colliding with offshore wind turbines and at a time when governments worldwide are investing in offshore wind farms.
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