Page 36 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

INTRODUCTION

ROCKY COASTS, ISLANDS,
AND THE OPEN SEA
ost of the European coastline is a “hard” coast of some kind, with HIGH TIDE REFUGE
M rocks or cliffs and stony beaches.The majority of these shores are Even though they feed on muddy
less attractive to birds than soft estuaries and marshes, but seabirds must estuaries, waders may move to
nearby higher rocks when the tide
still come to land on cliffs and islands in order to breed. covers the mudflats. The Dunlins
shown here may be joined by
ROCKY AND STONY SHORES Redshanks, Knots, Bar-tailed
Stony beaches and wave-washed rocks do see some waders from Godwits, and Curlews.
autumn to spring.Typical rocky shore waders are short-billed
species such as Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers, which feed
on invertebrate food found among weedy, barnacle-encrusted
rocks right at the edge of the waves. Knots, Dunlins,
Curlews, even migrant Common Sandpipers,
however, often feed around flatter rocks by the
shoreline. Nearby higher rocks and
isolated islets out of reach of
predators offer solid sites for
nesting gulls and terns.

SHELLFISH
EATER
Oystercatchers
hammer open
mussels on
seaweedy rocks.

ROCKY ISLANDS, OFFSHORE STACKS, AND CLIFFS
Within western Europe, some of the rocky islands, island areas see particular seabirds coming in to
offshore stacks, and mainland coasts that have sheer nest in burrows created in crevices in rocks or cliffs,
cliffs see birds in huge numbers. Most seabirds nest old rabbit burrows in soil, or burrows they dig out
in colonies and so choose the best of these sites, themselves. Mediterranean and Cory’s Shearwaters,
at which Gannets, Fulmars, Herring Gulls, for example, prefer the Mediterranean, while Manx
Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Razorbills, Shearwaters nest around Britain and Ireland; Black
and Puffins create some of Guillemots and Arctic Terns prefer to nest on low,
Europe’s finest bird rocky islets, while Shags and Cormorants like broad
spectacles. Different ledges on larger cliffs.

CLIFF NEST
Cliff ledges are out of reach
of predators, so attract
seabirds. They are difficult
places though: seabirds’
chicks would fall to their
deaths if they didn’t have
the natural instinct to keep
still on a tiny ledge. Shags
build big nests of sticks NOCTURNAL VISITOR
and weed, Kittiwakes Storm Petrels spend most of
create a nest on the their time at sea but must
tiniest outcrop, while come to land to nest. As they
Guillemots do not are easily captured by gulls,
make nests at all. they will only land after dark.

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