Short abstract from the book: The kittiwake breeds only at a few localities in north Jutland.
The biggest colony at Bulbjerg contained 428 nests in 2000.
In Denmark the first kittiwake was ringed in 1942, with
the majority ringed in the second half of the 1950s. Most of
the recovered kittiwakes were ringed in the colonies at Nordre
Rønner (41 %), Hirsholmene (28 %) and Bulbjerg (27 %).
Danish kittiwakes start to leave the colonies in July, and in
early August some birds have been recovered in Norway and
in the North Sea close to Britain. In the autumn, kittiwakes
have been recovered along the west coast of continental Europe
and in Morocco. Two birds were found far from the coast in
Poland and in Austria. Some kittiwakes have migrated in a
completely different direction to be recovered in Greenland
and Canada. The recoveries indicate that birds in their
first and second year migrate further than older birds. Six
ringed kittiwakes from Danish colonies have been recovered
in Denmark during winter, all in Kattegat. Danish birds
have also been recovered in the German Wadden Sea, in the
Netherlands and in the North Sea during winter.
Some immature birds have been recovered in Greenland
and Canada during summer. Mature birds have been recorded in the colonies in early April. Although most kittiwakes
return to their hatching/breeding colony, there are several
examples of exchange between the different Danish colonies or
with the colony at Nidigen in Sweden. Four kittiwakes born
in Britain have been recorded in the colony at Bulbjerg.
Outside the breeding season kittiwakes from the Kola
Peninsula, the Norwegian west coast, the British Isles and
northwest France have been recovered in Denmark.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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