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A wall fit for seabirds to breed in

[ May 18, 2021   //   ]

It may not look much, but the Port of Lowestoft’s Kittiwake Wall is a haven for the local seabird population. Associated British Ports (ABP) is carrying out vital works to the Wall to maintain an important breeding site. 

Dating from the late 1980s, ABP’s bespoke kittiwake wall on the North Pier was built to replicate the cliff-like conditions that kittiwakes favour for nesting. While it was a successful breeding site, with hundreds of nests and fledglings recorded in previous years, it had fallen out of favour, seemingly because of a build-up of old nests.

ABP will be upgrading the Wall as part of the preparations for Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility (LEEF, removing abandoned nests and installing safe wire mesh protection above the wall ledges to protect the kittiwakes from marauding gulls.

Lowestoft is home to one of two established breeding colonies in Suffolk, and the Harbour Kittiwake Wall is recognised as a County Wildlife site.

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