An uninhabited island that is so remote a permit is required to visit has been littered with thousands of elastic bands - by seabirds mistakenly thinking they are worms.
National Trust rangers who care for the colony on Mullion Island were initially left scratching their heads by the phenomenon, with coloured bands strewn across the island.
It is thought to be caused by great black-backed and herring gulls mistaking the bands for food while feeding in agricultural fields on the mainland, before returning to deposit them at roosting sites on the island.
Disintegrating elastic bands on the island. Image: National Trust/Seth Jackson
Experts monitoring the site found large numbers of tan, yellow and green bands among pellets regurgitated by the birds.
Small bundles of green fishing net and twine were also uncovered among the undigested food, likely mistaken by the gulls for tasty morsels floating on the surface of the sea.
Rachel Holder, area ranger for the National Trust, said: “Ingested plastic and rubber is another factor in a long list of challenges which our gulls and other seabirds must contend with just to survive.
“Despite being noisy and boisterous and seemingly common, gulls are on the decline. They’re already struggling with changes to fish populations and disturbance to nesting sites - and eating elastic bands and fishing waste does nothing to ease their plight.
“Places like Mullion Island should be sanctuaries for our seabirds, so it’s distressing to see them become victims of human activity.”
A pellet of undigested food containing a yellow elastic band. Image: National Trust/Seth Jackson
Mullion Island is a small, rocky outpost off Mullion Harbour on the Lizard Peninsula, cared for by the National Trust, that provides a sanctuary for nesting seabirds including great black-backed gulls - the largest species of gull in the world – herring gulls, cormorants and shags.
Despite public access to the isolated site being forbidden, the effects of human influence are increasingly evident.
The elastic bands are believed to have come from nearby horticultural fields, where they are used to tie together bunches of cut flowers.
Elastic bands and fishing waste collected from Mullion Island in September. Image: National Trust/Seth Jackson
One gull was found to have died after becoming caught in a 10cm fishing hook.
The Trust is calling on businesses to consider how they dispose of plastic, latex and other materials that could cause harm to wildlife.
Longline hook removed from the gullet of a great black-backed gull on Mullion Island. Image: National Trust/Seth Jackson
Lizzy Carlyle, head of environmental practices at the National Trust, said: “Single-use materials are having an alarming impact on our country’s most remote places. It’s up to all of us to take responsibility for how we use and dispose of these items – whether we’re producers or consumers.”
Numbers of great black-backed gull have fallen by 30 per cent in recent years, while the herring gull – the species notorious for stealing food from unsuspecting tourists – now appears on the UK Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.
Mullion Island from Mullion Cove. Image: National Trust/Seth Jackson
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