Tyne Kittiwake Safari

The Tyne Kittiwake colony is renowned as the world’s most inland breeding colony of Black-legged Kittiwakes. Each spring these gulls return from wintering on the open ocean to nest on our urban cliff-faces of buildings, bridges and lampposts, and for a few months of the year, the Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside transforms into a wild seabird Mecca. 

Just as the tidal River Tyne has ebbed and flowed for generations, the Kittiwake – a truly pelagic (sea) gull by nature – is a natural link to our coastal heritage in the North East. 

Unlike their cousins, such as Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, which have adapted to urban life and human food sources, our Tyne Kittiwakes follow the Tyne out to the North Sea to feed each day on fish such as Sand Eels. 

So why, for the past 60 years, have the Tyne Kittiwakes ventured further inland – away from the oceanic food upon which they still feed? And how is the local community responding to sharing the Quayside with Kittiwakes each year?

Join Wild Intrigue, members of the Tyne Kittiwake Partnership, for a Tyne Kittiwake Safari around the Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of this urban seabird spectacle, and to discuss the history and precarious future of this fascinating Red Listed species.

The profits from all of Wild Intrigue’s Kittiwake experiences go directly back to supporting the conservation of the colony, helping to protect and celebrate our Geordie Kittiwakes into the future.

There are plenty of wild encounters to enjoy in northern England, explore