Kittiwakes & Doughnuts

Meet our Urban Seafarers

Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the worlds most inland seabird colony on Wild Intrigue’s popular Kittiwakes & Doughnuts experience.

After spending half of the year out at sea, the Tyne Kittiwakes return to nest on the buildings and bridges of Newcastle and Gateshead Quayside, their calls a wild backdrop to a lively hub of restaurants, galleries, hotels and pubs.

Wild Intrigue have teamed up with ornithologist Daniel Turner from the Tyne Kittiwake Partnership to provide a fascinating talk, and a local bakery to treat us with some delicious doughnuts.

Your Wild Intrigue guides will take you on a leisurely Quayside Kittiwake Safari, first taking in the spectacular Kittiwake colony on BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, where the Kittiwakes are welcomed back to nest on the iconic building. From there you will explore the quayside, where you will discover the fascinating story of the Tyne Kittiwakes, along with more of this urban colony’s incredible nesting spots. With a picture perfect, world-famous backdrop of the River Tyne, you will have the opportunity to observe these beautiful birds raising their families on their ‘urban cliffs’.

Afterwards, local ornithologist Dan Turner from the Tyne Kittiwake Partnership will share the intriguing ecology of the lives of the Tyne Kittiwakes in a fascinating illustrated talk.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to Proven Goods Co.’s exciting refurbishment coinciding with these events, we will unfortunately be unable to supply their doughnuts this year. But dough’nut worry! We’ll be bringing along some sweet treats from another legendary North East bakery…

NEW for 2023! This year we are delighted to launch a brand new Family Kittiwakes & Doughnuts experience. Join us for a fun Quayside Kittiwake safari, complete with storytelling to the soundtrack of Kittiwakes along the Tyne and scrumptious doughnuts. Suitable for families with children aged 12 and under.

The Tyne Kittiwakes are an intriguing and important part of our urban heritage. All profits from Wild Intrigue’s 2023 Kittiwakes & Doughnuts experiences will contribute to supporting the Tyne Kittiwakes.

This experience is part of Wild Intrigue’s programme of events for Tyne Kittiwake Week, a celebration of our urban seafarers.

Hosted in Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 29th June – 4th July 2023. View the full programme here