Kittiwake colony celebrates 30th

The kittiwake returned to Sussex 30 years ago after 200 years

The 30th anniversary of the kittiwake's return to Sussex is being celebrated by giving bird watchers the chance to get a closer look at a thriving colony.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) will be at Splash Point in Seaford for a month with telescopes for members of the public to use.

Volunteers will also be on hand to give information about the colony.

This year's Aren't Birds Brilliant! scheme, which runs from Friday, is two weeks longer than in previous years.

"Over the past four years we have run a short scheme showing hundreds of people the kittiwakes and their chicks," said spokesman Dan Parkinson.

"Interest has been so high that this year we decided to give more people the opportunity to come and enjoy the spectacle."

Kittiwakes spend the winter in the Atlantic and their only contact with land is when they visit nesting sites on steep cliffs.

Splash Point in Seaford is one of two thriving colonies in Sussex

The colonies in Seaford and Newhaven, the only ones in Sussex, are summer home to 700-800 pairs.

Kittiwakes first bred in Sussex in 1976 after an absence of 200 years and the Seaford colony supports about one quarter of all the birds breeding between Lincolnshire and Dorset.

"This must be one of the most watchable colonies anywhere," said Mr Parkinson.

"This is Seaford's special bird and it is nice to see so many local people returning each year."

The scheme, at the eastern end of the seafront, runs daily from 1000 to 1700 BST, except in very bad weather.