CHAPTER XII 



THE NESTING OF THE KITTIWAKE 



OF all our sea birds the kittiwake is — ^with the exception 

 of the storm petrel — the last to commence nesting 

 operations. On May i6, the date of my first visit to 

 a kittiwakes' island, the birds had commenced to repair their 

 old nests, or build new ones, but there was not an egg to be 

 seen anywhere, though the razorbills and guillemots had 

 already started to lay. By the 28th none of the kittiwakes 

 nesting on the east-facing rocks had laid, whereas those birds 

 inhabiting the north-east cliffs had, in almost every case, 

 commenced to brood, although one would have thought the 

 birds would have been later on this sunless nesting ground. 

 By June 15 almost all the kittiwakes on the island had eggs, 

 but I saw at least one nest not yet finished. 



In their behaviour on their nests the kittiwakes varied 

 greatly. Some birds were very nervous, not venturing to 

 settle down on their eggs while I was near, whereas others 

 brooded so close that I could approach them to within a few 

 yards. I have never known kittiwakes to nest in such easily 

 accessible rocks as on this island of the Irish Sea. In some 

 cases a child could have taken the eggs without difficulty, 

 and with care many of the sitting birds could be approached 

 within easy photographing distance. 



On July 16 all the kittiwakes had hatched off their young, 

 with the exception of one bird, which was brooding a solitary 

 egg, and continued this thankless task — the egg was addled 

 — until into August, and the bird whose nest was not com- 

 pleted on June 15. This latter nest, on July 20, contained 

 one egg and one young bird, but shortly afterwards some 



48 



