'Star Wars: Episode VII' filming on Irish island causes flap with bird conservation group

A bird conservation group is feeling a disturbance in the Force as "Star Wars: Episode VII" began filming Monday on a remote Irish island.

As director J.J. Abram's cast and crew hit Skellig Michael — a World Heritage site — bird watchers are crowing over the production timing of the shoot in the midst of mating season for the island's feathered population.

"They've gotten their permissions, but we're curious about what precautions they are taking to protect the nests," Dr. Steve Newton of BirdWatch Ireland told the News.

Newton is particularly concerned about two species of birds — manx shearwaters and storm petrels — that are nocturnal and nest underground in hidden burrows. "The question I would pose to the authorities is, 'How can you assess the impact on these species if you can't even see them?'" Newton said.

The island has been designated a Special Protection Area, although it does attract tourists — 13,221 last year, according to Ireland's Independent newspaper — between May and September.

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Mysterious Winter Wanderings of Puffins Traced

Photo: nnWikipedia

Braving pecks from sharp, colorful beaks, researchers placed tags on 25 Atlantic puffins in Ireland this summer to track the elusive birds during their winter migration.

It's unknown exactly where the birds go in the winter (other than "out to sea"), and they are difficult to track because they spend much of their time on the water.

The tags, which keep a record of the bird's location using satellites, will allow scientists to pinpoint areas that are important to the animals' survival.

Populations of puffins throughout the North Atlantic and on the island colony off the coast of southwest Ireland known as Skellig Michael have declined in recent years. The decline could be due to climate change or availability of fish prey, according to the Zoological Society of London, a conservation group involved in the project. The tags will be retrieved next summer when the birds return to their island home.


Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/23353-tags-track-puffins.html

More information on the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica):

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Atlantic_Puffin/id