Kittiwake numbers fluctuate from year to year. There were a number of nests hidden from view on the back side of this wall near the docks. This species is highly tolerant of human disturbance. Note lack of a rear toe, thus the name "tridactyla." The adult (top) is in breeding plumage, lacking the dark hind-neck they acquire in the winter. The bottom two are freshly fledged juveniles. Atlantic birds such as these are smaller and have a shorter bill than R. t. pollicaris of the North Pacific. Interestingly Atlantic birds are more successful at reproduction, but Pacific kittiwakes live longer. Canon PowerShot SX50 HS.
References:
Burger, J., Gochfeld, M., Kirwan, G.M., Christie, D.A. & Garcia, E.F.J. (2017). Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/54010 on 15 July 2017).
Hatch, Scott A., Gregory J. Robertson and Pat Herron Baird.(2009).Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/bklkit
Howell, S.N.G. & Dunn, J.L. (2007) Gulls of the Americas. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Malling Olsen, K. & Larsson, H. (2003) Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America. Christopher Helm, London.