Last month, following the completion of three new artificial nesting structures (ANS) in the Port of Lowestoft, offshore wind farm developer Vattenfall pledged £50,000 a year for up to five years to help support the Lowestoft Kittiwake Partnership to work with local people and businesses in the town to enable kittiwakes to nest safely in suitable locations while minimizing the impact of the mess the birds make where they nest.

The ANS, which have been dubbed ‘kittiwake hotels’, have been designed and built for kittiwakes to offset impacts from the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone on these globally vulnerable seabirds, and could house as many as 430 nesting pairs. By increasing the productivity (the number of young reared) of nests the aim is to mitigate any losses to new wind turbines in locations where kittiwakes migrate and feed.

Two days after Vattenfall announced the funding, on the 5^th of March, the first kittiwakes were spotted in Lowestoft having returned from a winter spent at sea in the North Atlantic. By May, kittiwakes have returned to their established nesting sites in Lowestoft, which include Claremont Pier, Our Lady Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church, and The Marina Theatre.

One of the reasons for the formation of the Lowestoft Kittiwake Partnership was the increasing incidence of poorly installed and maintained netting on buildings to prevent kittiwakes nesting, posing a threat to the birds, which can become entangled in the netting.

The Partnership seeks to engage with businesses and building-owners to ensure that deterrents are appropriately used and safely installed to prevent harm to the birds, and at the same time is encouraging the installation of artificial nesting ledges in locations where nesting kittiwakes will not cause problems by making a mess of buildings that can be expensive to clean.

Sadly, the use of netting and spikes to prevent kittiwakes from nesting has increased again this year, displacing many pairs from locations where they had been nesting without providing alternative artificial nesting ledges. While the new ‘kittiwake hotels’, and a planned offshore nesting structure will hopefully provide suitable nesting sites for kittiwakes in the future, kittiwakes are highly site faithful and birds that have been successfully nesting on buildings in the town for years are unlikely to relocate to these structures, which are designed to attract ‘new recruits’ – young birds reaching breeding age for the first time.

We hope the kittiwake partnership can help to implement a more strategic approach to managing the issues associated with kittiwakes nesting in the town that enables the birds to thrive alongside people and business without having negative impacts and while providing the town and the people who live there with an urban wildlife asset they can celebrate and be proud of.

Kittiwake event at The Marina Theatre, Lowestoft. Saturday 3^rd June, 10am-2pm.

On Saturday 3^rd June, the Lowestoft Kittiwake Partnership will be at The Marina Theatre in Lowestoft, where people will be able to come and find out more about these fantastic birds, learn about their history in Lowestoft and what makes them different from other urban gulls, and enjoy a guided walks to some of their nesting sites around the town, including on The Marina Theatre itself. The event will include activities for kids, with The Marina Theatre café open for refreshments, so please come a visit if you’re in town.