Page 37 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

ROCKY COASTS, ISLANDS,AND THE OPEN SEA

OPEN SEA SEA RESIDENT
Many birds live at sea outside the breeding season. The Kittiwake spends
Gannets, Fulmars, Puffins, petrels, and shearwaters months in the middle
stay way out in the middle of the Atlantic. Migrants of the ocean. It is
from much farther south pass European coasts on attracted to fishing
boats, where it feeds
their ocean wanderings, including shearwaters from on discarded,
the southern hemisphere that appear west of Europe undersized fish.
in late summer and autumn.All of these birds
occasionally come close inshore during gales but
prefer life on the open sea, where there is an
abundance of food such as fish, jellyfish, and plankton.
But this food source is not uniformly distributed: GUILLEMOTS
Guillemots dive from the
ocean currents and seasonal changes mean the birds water’s surface for fish
have to travel great distances in order to locate food, such as sandeels; they
often far from the cliffs that offer them nest sites. rarely feed close to land.
ADAPTATIONS Narrow wings form stiff “paddles”
A cushioned skull and air sacs that Razorbills and Puffins use to “fly”
on the head and neck help the Gannet acrobatically deep underwater when
to survive its spectacular 30m (100ft) they are in pursuit of fish.
plunges into the sea for fish. A special bill with
Tubular nostrils on shearwaters and a fleshy “rosette” at the base helps the
petrels – known as “tubenoses” – help Puffin to keep the edges of its
them to excrete excess salt. (necessary GANNETS mandibles parallel
because they mainly drink salt water from the sea). as it opens them, so that it can carry a line of fish
The pyramidal shape of Guillemots’ eggs helps neatly held tight with its tongue.
them to incubate one egg under a wing and also
stops the eggs from rolling off a narrow ledge. PUFFIN

WHERE TO WATCH
1 ROST,NORWAY 4 BEMPTON CLIFFS,UK 7 MAJORCA,SPAIN
This island group houses These cliffs house an unusual The Balearic Islands in general
many seabird colonies, including mainland Gannet colony (most are rocky and have many cliffs
hundreds of thousands of are found on islands), and one of where seabirds can nest. They are
Puffins as well as guillemots, the easiest large seabird colonies good places to view Cory’s and
Razorbills, Storm Petrels, and to see in the UK, with safe viewing Mediterranean Shearwaters, often
Leach’s Petrels. platforms above sheer cliffs. There close inshore, as well as Yellow-
are many Kittiwakes and guillemots, legged Gulls. In late summer
2 ORKNEY ISLANDS, Razorbills, Puffins, Herring Gulls, Eleonora’s Falcons nest locally, CORY’S SHEARWATERS
UK Fulmars, and some Shags and preying on migrant
Cormorants. It is a good place to songbirds. Some islets
A spectacular archipelago with view offshore seabird migration. and headlands have the
Fulmars, Guillemots, Razorbills, rare and local
Kittiwakes, Arctic Terns, Arctic 5 BERLENGO, Audouin’s Gull. 1
Skuas, and Great Skuas.
PORTUGAL
3 BASS ROCK,UK This island attracts thousands Rocky coasts 2
of Yellow-legged Gulls, Cory’s
This has a stunning Gannet colony 3
that reaches more than 40,000 Shearwaters, Shags, and guillemots.
pairs. Also sees guillemots, Puffins, 4
Kittiwakes, and other gulls and is 6 GREEK ISLANDS
easily reached by boat. Many Greek islands have
Yellow-legged Gulls, Cory’s
Shearwaters, and Mediterranean
Shearwaters. Some have breeding 5
Eleonora’s Falcons and Audouin’s
and Mediterranean Gulls, as well
as an excellent selection of land 7
birds such as shrikes and warblers,
BASS ROCK including migrants in autumn. 6
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