Newcastle in a flap over urban kittiwake colony

Councillors consider erecting tower for ‘nightmare’ gulls to move 150 nests from Tyne Bridge The only urban colony of kittiwake gulls in the UK faces a potential siege at Tyne Bridge. More than 150 nests have been wedged into granite carvings on the four towers that support Newcastle upon Tyne’s river crossing since the first two pairs arrived in 1997. Initially hailed as a tourist attraction, with visitor signs and temporary telescopes to watch their antics, the seabirds have now been condemned as an obstacle to the riverside’s award-winning regeneration. Newcastle, which has won Forum for the Future’s greenest city award two years running, is sensitive to any move that could forfeit its chances of a hat-trick. So councillors are considering a possible new landmark in an area already famous for Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North – a kittiwake tower to ensure the birds stay locally but not directly above bars, restaurants and shops. Traders in the warren of streets below the bridge, which forms a 15-storey artificial alternative to famous natural nesting sites such as Bempton cliffs on the North Sea coast, describe the level of noise and mess as a “nightmare” and “horrendous”. Debris from the colony includes mummified birds, and shopkeepers such as florist Vivienne Brown say tourists take refuge in shops to avoid being divebombed. The mass keening of the kittiwakes, whose name is inspired by their raucous cry, can also be heard in the tall, narrow streets huddled beside the Tyne. The birds spend winter at sea but return inland to breed between April and August, building larger nests than other gulls. “It’s a cause for concern because the quaysides are such an attraction now,” said a spokesman for Newcastle city council, which has joined Gateshead in two decades of investment along the waterfront. Projects such as the Millennium bridge, Sage concert hall and Baltic gallery have encouraged the opening of dozens of thriving small businesses, restaurants and bars. The kittiwakes were identified as a problem in a report last winter from the two cities’ joint development agency, 1NG. The report has also roused defenders of the colony, led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. “They are one of the great features of this city and much loved by many people,” said Martin Kerby, the RSPB’s regional conservation officer. “Tyneside is the only really urban location in the world that you can find them and it is a great shame that this report seems to think they are not an asset but a problem to be removed. “TV crews have often been here to film them, the council itself put up signs to promote them and lots of visitors come to see them on the coast to coast tours. It’s a real shame that biodiversity such as this should be looked on as a problem.” Kittiwakes are causing concern internationally after several poor breeding years in their North Atlantic strongholds. A shortage of their staple prey, sand eels, has coincided with an increase in their main predator, the great skua. Breeding pairs in northern Scotland, home to the main UK population, fell by more than half to 23,000 in the past two decades and recovery has been patchy. The Newcastle council spokesman said there were no plans for immediate action, but the concept of a kittiwake tower had obvious appeal. He said: “They don’t seem to have found the Angel yet, but there could be a lot of interest in designing something appropriate for them just a bit further away.” The strategy has had some success in Gateshead, where a slender metal structure rehoused kittiwakes expelled when the Baltic flour mills were converted into a gallery in 1997. But 30 pairs of the resourceful birds have found their way back, and CCTV footage of their nests and fledglings is being used as a gallery attraction. Newcastle Birds Wildlife RSPB Conservation Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 17, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.