Photo 1 our FIRST kittiwake (magnifying glass out, can you spot it?) taking up residence on 24th February.
There will be hundreds on Dunbar Castle during spring and summer! The Kittiwake is a delicate and dainty seabird whose name resembles its calls. Can you hear them squawking “Ki-i-i-ti-wa-a-ke”?
- Food: Small fish, especially sandeels; the kittiwakes follow our fishing boats.
- Nest site: On our castle walls or over-hanging rock faces. Their nests are mud, grass or seaweed, on impossibly-small ledges.
- Breeding: Mid May to mid June, 2 eggs. The young birds depart in August to live off Greenland Coast then return to Dunbar after 2 years.
- Wintering: Adults spend winter over the North Atlantic, as far as Canada, however some fly south.
An old Dunbar saying: Kittiwakes should return by the 16th March for Dunbar's ‘happy and prosperous summer’.
Photo above by Quentin Dimmer
Click <<READ MORE>> for photo #2 (by Kenny Maule, during breeding, last summer)
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