Kittiwakes, what's not to like about them

   
Photos from along the cliffs at Arbroath, a test event to see if my back was fit enough to do a longer trip later. Below are a lot of Kittiwakes, Fulmars, Butterflies, Hoverflies, Flies and Bees.

Unfortunately included is a photo of a dead Kittiwake which had become snagged on some barbed wire which looks to have been part of a fence which had land-slipped from the top of the cliff.

Some videos, click to play in my Flickr page.

Kittiwake with chick        Herring Gulls fighting        Great Black-backed Gull eating a Lumpsucker        Fulmar brooding   

Kittiwake

Gentle mating

Not so gentle

Not many nests with chicks yet

Kittiwake snagged in some barbed wire

Fulmar

2nd calendar year Kittiwake

Common Blue Butterfly

Painted Lady Butterfly

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Not good enough angle to ID this Hoverfly

Perhaps a Dagger Fly

No ID yet

I think this is a Bulb Fly

A worn Buff-tailed Bumblebee

One of two young Reed Buntings quickly led away from the path by their father

I'm assuming some kind of Wasp attacking the Bumblebee. At first I thought the Bumblebee was upside down but it has raised one pair of legs as a defence

Various Shags appeared and disappeared on this preening spot

Razorbills in one of the darker parts of Mariners Grave, also Guillemots but further out at sea