How you can help keep Tyneside's beloved kittiwakes safe

Newcastle Gateshead Quayside's colony is of vital importance to the future of the kittiwakes, but netting on buildings can cause problems

By

Tony Henderson

11:00, 2 MAY 2019

Visitors to the Newcastle Gateshead Quayside are being asked to monitor the well being of nesting kittiwakes, after birds became trapped in netting on buildings last year.

As hundreds of pairs of kittiwake return to the area to breed in what is the most inland colony in the world, the RSPB and the RSPCA are calling on the public to watch for entangled birds.

The importance of the colony has been underlined by the fact that globally kittiwakes are thought to have declined by around 40% since the 1970s.

 “In the UK kittiwake numbers have plummeted therefore protecting this unique river nesting colony is an important part of the wider conservation effort for the this species,” said the RSPB’s Helen Quayle, who is chairperson of the Tyne Kittiwake Partnership.

“Last year saw these birds receive unprecedented media attention following a series of incidents where kittiwakes became accidentally caught, and in some instances perished as a result of unfit bird deterrent netting.”

Continued

Fury as kittiwake appears to get trapped and dies in controversial netting on Newcastle Quayside

The endangered birds nest around the Tyne Bridge but some people claim they are getting stuck in the netting

Hannah Graham

14:15, 20 APR 2018

Bird lovers have been tweeting their fury after an endangered seabird was apparently trapped in controversial nets on Newcastle’s Quayside.

Wildlife photographer Alan Hewitt claims he spotted a dead kittiwake stuck in netting designed to discourage the birds from nesting on the front of Quayside buildings.

The Quayside’s famous kittiwake flock is unique, as the gulls usually nest and breed on the coast.

The roughly 800 breeding pairs, which inhabit the Tyne Bridge during the summer, are thought to be the only ones in the world which set up home as far as 13km away from the sea, feeding as far away as the Farne Islands.

But while they’re popular with bird watchers, many of the Quayside’s businesses seek to discourage kittiwakes from nesting on their property because of the mess and disruption they can cause.

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Does climate change herald sad end of cliff top kittiwake colony in Seaford?

Rising sea temperatures could threaten the future of the popular kittiwake colony at Splash Point in Seaford, according to the RSPB.

There is evidence of a link between rising sea temperatures and a reduction in the numbers of the birds’ main food source, sand eels.

If the colony cannot adapt to find another supply of food it will struggle to survive, the conservation charity warned.

In other parts of the country the impact of rising sea temperatures is already being felt.

Seabird declines are particularly serious in the Northern Isles of Scotland and some colonies in the South East have also been badly affected.

In the early 1990s there was a colony of almost 3,000 pairs of kittiwakes at Langdon Cliffs near Dover in Kent, but this colony has declined alarmingly and in the last few years only a few tens of nests have been recorded.

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Climate change causes massive decline in Kittiwake numbers

March 2014:climate change is causing a massive decline in kittiwake numbers in northern Scotland believe scientists with the risk of some colonies disappearing completely.

The latest figures show an 87 per cent decline in kittiwakes on Orkney and Shetland since 2000. The islands were once home to thriving cliff colonies of thousands of birds – but today many of these cliffs are virtually empty in the breeding season. Research indicates that sea temperature changes are affecting the availability of their key food source – sandeels.

Paul Walton, Head of Habitats and Species for RSPB Scotland, said: “Ten years ago Marwick Head on Orkney was a thriving seabird city – but now it looks like a ghost town. And it’s not just kittiwakes, guillemots have also halved in number. A few abandoned nests remain in the breeding season on some cliffs, which are now silent and empty, instead of alive with noise and activity as they were just a few years ago.

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Scottish seabird losses ‘killing off tourism’

A leading conservationist has warned that the “catastrophic losses” of seabirds are crippling the tourism and fishing industry of the Scottish isles.

Uwe Stoneman of the RSPB claims birds such as the Kittiwake are now “practically extinct” on Orkney and that, as a result, the island’s culture has been changed dramatically.

Seabirds are a major tourist attraction for the islands, drawing bird watchers from all around the world. They also help fishermen, who use the birds to lead them to their catch.

Mr Stoneman has now set up the Orkney Seabird Heritage Project to discover how much the decline of seabirds is affecting the island’s economy and culture.

He said: “The project aims to document current and historic signs of people’s cultural and personal relationship with seabirds on Orkney and document their reaction to the current seabird decline.

“One such species is the Kittiwake which formerly had a population of tens of thousands in Orkney and now you’ll be lucky to see one or two. It has become practically extinct as a breeding species.”

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