How to identify

Kittiwakes are gentle-looking, medium-sized gulls with a small yellow bill and a dark eye. They have a grey back with white underneath. Their legs are long and black. In flight, the black wing-tips show no white, unlike other gulls, and look as if they have been 'dipped in ink'. The population is declining in some areas, perhaps due to a shortage of Sandeels. After breeding, birds move out into the Atlantic where they spend the winter.

Call

Kittiwake

Patrik Ã…berg / xeno-canto

Key

  1. Resident
  2. Passage
  3. Summer
  4. Winter
* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Where best to see them

Key facts