Kittiwake
It’s always a joy to see an elegant Kittiwake, especially when it catches a fish. Their population has been under significant pressure, …
Life and death on the waves
Strange things happen in the natural world. Here’s a photograph from a sequence that I’m still mentally processing. From left to right: …
A head-scratching moment
I’m watching Kittiwakes fly past Noup Head, where cliffs keep a huge breeding seabird colony relatively safe from predators. One amuses me, …
The diving Kittiwake
I’ve not watched a Kittiwake feeding before. It’s fascinating to see their wings beating, their eyes on the sea, their false-starts and …
Kittiwake in the harbour
A Kittiwake over Brixham breakwater. Such beautiful, elegant birds with their dipped-in-ink wings and smokey winter heads. I’m looking forward to spending …
Arctic Skua attacking a Kittiwake
I’ve seen Great Skuas attacking juvenile Kittiwakes on Westray. They pluck them out of the air and peck them to death. It’s …
Kittisleeps
Fledgling Kittiwakes are littering the inlets and cliffs of Westray. They seem like they are playing, delighted with their wings, whirling around …
Kittiwake in winter
There’s a beautiful gull with a yellow beak in Brixham harbour. I can see it diving and fishing in the distance. I …
The first flight of the Kittiwake
Kittiwakes are one of my favourite birds. I love their delicate bills, their dipped-in-ink wings and their streamlined bodies. And their “Kittiwaaaak” …
2020 highlights of a wilder Orkney life
In 2020 I managed two trips to Orkney. I did it by self-isolating for two weeks before travelling and then taking all …
Kittiwake, Kittisleep
There’s a Kittiwake at the end of the pier where the Papa Westray ferry arrives. It’s stunning in the early morning light. …
Escape?
After seeing a couple of successful attacks by Great Skuas against juvenile Kittiwakes I feared the worst when this one strayed over …
I’m exhausted and exhilarated at being a witness to something so primeval
May I introduce you to the cast of characters of this eternal struggle? This is an adult Kittiwake, one of the most …
A rare case of Kittiwake triplets
Kittiwakes are beautiful, elegant gulls. Yes, those words really do go together. The UK has 8% of the world’s population. It’s one …
Kittee-wa-aaake
The Kittiwakes at Noup Head are mesmerising. This one is a juvenile, flying freely, far above the sparkling sea below: I love …
Bempton birds – Cousin Puffin and the Ancestral Auk
Non-scientists often think the mysteries of the living world have been solved. Nothing could be further from the truth. There’s plenty of …
Bempton birds – the miracle of flight
The power of flight still astonishes me. If only I could be up there with the birds at RSPB Bempton Cliffs. The …
Bempton birds – coming in to land
Landing makes flying seem easy: I love the way this Guillemot is dangling its feet, like two paddles, to provide enough drag: …
Bempton birds – violence and aggression
It’s not all mutual preening and sweetness and light at Bempton Cliffs. It’s a difficult life, perched on a ledge surrounded by …
Bempton birds – Gannets, Gannets, everywhere
Try going to Bempton and getting a photograph without a Gannet in it. Try it. Go on. Here’s a Puffin in flight; …
Bempton birds – eggs and chicks galore
There are hundreds of thousands of seabirds here at RSPB Bempton Cliffs. I particularly love the Kittiwakes. They’re such delicate, elegant gulls, …
Bempton birds – pecking and preening
It must be very frustrating to be a bird with an itch. Despite having extremely flexible necks and long-jointed feet and legs …
Declining Kittiwakes
The weather is dramatic and so are the Kittiwakes calling below: They are such refined and elegant birds. Their families are growing …
Kittiwakes are calling
Kittiwakes are the most beautiful and delicate of the gulls. Their yellow beaks, black legs, dark eyes and plaintive call are so …
Witness for the Extinction
There’s a new report out on the State of the World’s Birds. It reports the science that 1 in 8 bird species …
Here Kitty Kitty – the birds without thumbs on their feet
The mystery of Kittiwakes’ toes.