It is not the first time birds have been affected by operations at Sellafield or other nuclear energy installations.

• Two years ago, seagull eggs were destroyed at the Sellafield site to control the bird population amid radiation fears
• More than 150 pigeons were found to be contaminated with Sellafield’s radioactivity in 1998, in 2008
• In 2008, 39 birds were poisoned on the site, following concerns that they had been swimming in open ponds containing radioactive waste
• More contaminated gulls were culled in 2010
• There have also been problems with radioactive fruit flies and gnats at the Hanford nuclear plant in the United States