Kittiwakes 2025, Arbroath Cliffs

My yearly look at the Kittiwakes along Arbroath Cliffs, with a supporting act including Butterflies, Moths, Bees and Birds. I'd hazard an educated guess that the Kittiwake numbers are down by 40 - 50%, I didn't see any Auks at all, no Shags, only 4 Gannets and a brief glimpse of a Pomarine Skua north of the Mariners Grave. Later, around 1800hrs two Pomarine Skuas were seen at Whiting Ness, one photographed which looked to be very close in!

Kittiwake adult

1st summer Kittiwake

rudimentary nests

and no hygiene

Surely it was calling "Kittiwake"

preening

The only Fulmar I saw!

Herring Gull

Green-veined White Butterfly

Meadow Brown Butterfly

Pale Straw Pearl Moth Udea lutealis

Red-tailed Bumblebee

Six-spot Burnet Moth

Small Copper Butterfly

Collared Dove, it flew over my house as I stood on the street trying to get a better Swift photo, not helped by their very fast circuits and appearing from behind houses...

Swift, about the same quality as the previous ones

East Haven Webs Survey July

   
Birds from my Webs Survey at East Haven this month, still a bit early for returning small waders. Also a few seen at West Links Arbroath while looking for Mediterranean Gulls. including a regular visitor from Norway.

Curlew

Curlews

more Curlews, I recall the count was 117

Sandwich Tern adult

juvenile

Turnstones with two Redshanks

Lapwings

Stock Dove

Woodpigeon

Black-headed Gulls at West Links, Arbroath

A Norwegian Black-headed Gull which has spent the summer in Arbroath since at least 2019. It's ring "green J8C1" allows tracking and it's often seen by people looking for Mediterranean Gulls at West Links, Arbroath

Eider female

Pomarine Skua in dodgy/distant photos

   
A brief visit to Whiting Ness at the start of the cliff path while searching for Med Gulls, and I saw a skua sitting on the one of the large rocks offshore. It was distant and in gloomy light but I managed a couple of photos. My thoughts were Pomarine Skua, but two ID apps disagreed and said Arctic, and I foolishly accepted, only to be told by Dan that it looked to be Pomarine. Not a species I've seen more that 3-4 times and always in flight and good light.

I quickly moved on to West Links still hoping a Med Gull would be there or fly in, none did and I was left photographing Lesser black-backed Gulls and a "ring necked" Carrion Crow! Soon be become one species with Hooded Crow...

Pomarine Skua

and again

3rd calendar year Lesser black-backed Gull

a different 3rd calendar year Lesser black-backed Gull

sub adult Lesser black-backed Gull

adult Lesser black-backed Gull

Juvenile Black-headed Gull

Carrion Crow, soon to be amalgamated with Hooded Crow

Rock Pipit juvenile

Latest Swifts in somewhat better light, high count of seven together, mostly three or five