I certainly hadn’t but it turns out that the Kittiwakes on Mumbles Pier have a very human way of dealing with the massive heat that we are experiencing at the moment; sit down, chill out and pant away.

22048 - Kittiwakes on Mumbles Pier

As I had yesterday off work it seemed like an ideal time to pop down to Mumbles Pier to get an update on how their breeding season is going. If you recall from last week only one nest had hatched with two very small chicks visible beneath the parent. If you can’t recall then look at the previous post as I am ashamed to say that I haven’t done any blogging since then due to boring life commitments. Things are much more lively now though with at least six nests having new hatchlings and I presume more on the nests that are out of sight from the main walkway.

22030 - Kittiwakes on Mumbles Pier
22045 - Kittiwakes on Mumbles Pier
22017 - Kittiwakes on Mumbles Pier

Many of the young seemed to be just as hot as the adults. Most were very fidgety causing their parents to constantly have to stand up and readjust, while others were happy to just loll around with their heads resting on the side of the nest. I am happy to say that the two chicks from last week are fighting fit and to my amazement seem to have grown to three times their previous size. There must be some decent fishing to be had in the bay!

22052 - Kittiwakes on Mumbles Pier

As you can probably imagine the pier was far from a quiet place with things reaching a crescendo when hunting birds returned to the colony from out across Swansea bay. At times the displays and territorial disputes were quite amusing to watch as I hope the next couple of shots show.

22054 - Kittiwakes on Mumbles Pier
22042 - Kittiwakes on Mumbles Pier

I will visit again in another week or so to see how things are progressing. This may be the last season that it is possible to get such good access to these birds as there are plans for the pier and its surroundings to be completely redeveloped. I just hope that the needs of the Kittiwake colony have been taken into consideration.


3 Comments

Richard King · June 27, 2010 at 1:21 am

Interesting shots. I see a lot of hot panting birds here in Australia! That sounds a bit dirty now I wrote it. 🙂

Caroline Gill · July 13, 2010 at 10:19 am

You must be thrilled with these shots…

Adam Tilt · July 13, 2010 at 1:33 pm

Certainly am.

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