Urban Kittiwakes in Bridlington Yorkshire June 2024.

 

I'm sure the presence of nesting Kittiwakes in a town centre like Bridlington isn't seen as a favourable asset by many people. But for us who had come up to Yorkshire from Cornwall to photograph seabirds it was all part of the wildlife experience. We are used to Herring Gulls nesting in our Cornish towns and are familiar with the downside of their mess, constant noise and the antics they get up to securing food and protecting their young.

I'd come across Kittiwakes nesting on buildings before up in Norway but aren't really aware of them doing so in Cornwall. I've also seen images of them on the Tyne and in the Newcastle area but it was the first time I'd photographed them in a truly urban situation.

Here are a few photos I took one evening around the town .....

In case you're forgetting what Kittiwakes look like when nesting in the truly wild environment here are a few images from both Yorkshire, Northumberland and back home in Cornwall.

Kittiwake on a Bempton ledge

Kittiwake colony on Bawden rocks, St.Agnes Cornwall

Kittiwake colony on Bawden rocks, St.Agnes Cornwall

Kittiwake pair on the Farne islands.

Kittiwake with 2 chicks on Inner Farne

Some North Pacific seabirds.

Tufted Puffin

A few photos from my recent trip to Alaska.

We saw both species of puffin, the 'Tufted' and the 'Horned' from a boat out of Seward toward the Kenai glaciers but it was difficult to photograph them as we were a lot higher than them and it was also blowing a gale!

Here is a shot of the 'Horned' puffin from the boat....... sorry about the quality!

Horned Puffin

The other shots of the Tufted Puffin were taken at the Alaska Sealife Centre in Seward where they have several seabirds undergoing rehabilitation or where they can no longer be returned to the wild for one reason or another. To visit their website click here.....

Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin

 

Another of the seabirds familiar to us but with a North Pacific variant is the Red-Legged Kittiwake, similar to our Black-Legged Kittiwake but for the obvious plus a few other differences.

Red-Legged Kittiwake