Manx Shearwater

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Manx Shearwater, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	Bern(II)

Most of the world population of this species breeds in the UK or Republic of Ireland. The first full survey was carried out during the 1998–2002 Census (Seabird 2000). Recent surveys of the main colonies in the UK suggest that the UK population has increased substantially since Seabird 2000, possibly by as much as 50% (JNCC 2022).

Manx Shearwaters breed in roughly 50 colonies, these tending to be located on steep grassy slopes on offshore islands, mainly along the western coastlines of both Britain and Ireland. However, they are wide-ranging during the summer with foraging individuals seen throughout the coastlines of Britain and Ireland.

Manx Shearwater is a breeding season visitor, arriving in late winter/early spring and then widely reported in early autumn as birds depart for the southern hemisphere.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	50 years 11 months 21 days (set in 2008)
Typical Lifespan	15 years with breeding typically at 5 year
Adult Survival	0.905
Juvenile Survival	0.25 (to age 5)

Ring size	F or E*
Field Codes	2-letter: MX | 5-letter code: MANSH | Euring: 460

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

The long-term trend of Manx Sherwater is unclear due to the absence of Census data prior to 2000. The introduction of rats is believed to have caused the extermination of some colonies, although some colonies have continued to survive despite the presence of rats at low abundance (Lambert et al. 2015). Data suggest that the Manx Shearwater has recently prospered on islands where it continues to be present. The reasons for the recent apparent success of the species is unclear, particularly as these increases (should they be confirmed when the results of Seabirds Count 2015–2021 are available) are occurring at a time when other seabird species appear to be suffering declines which have been attributed to recent reductions in fisheries discards (Bicknell et al. 2013).