A livestream of the rescued kittiwake chicks!
- Delphin Ruché
- Aug 9
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 10
Welcome to Rissa’s first live broadcast!
On Friday, August 8th, we launched the broadcast we had been talking about for months. Just after 6 PM CET that day, the kittiwake “rescue shelter” went live for viewers around the world! You can now follow every moment of the chicks we’re raising until they’re ready to leave.
Day 1 of the stream, during the night feeding session.
Watch the live!
High risk of extinction in the wild
The black-legged kittiwake is listed as Endangered on Norway's Red List, and faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. Around 90% of the kittiwakes have disappeared in Norway in just a few decades. Some survivors find refuge in Tromsø, but they are not welcome by everyone and they face yet another challenge: coexisting in close proximity with humans. Rissa Citizen Science, the Kittiwalkers, and others in Tromsø help find solutions to live together.
Close up of a kittiwake's head.
Rescuing kittiwake chicks for the 2d year in a row
In 2024, we rescued 16 chicks and saved 12 of them, thanks to incredible community involvement. While Rissa Citizen Science has plenty of experience with studying and handling kittiwakes, raising their chicks demands a very specific kind of expertise, one we all had to learn on the go, and quickly!
For instance, kittiwake chicks prefer only lean fish like cod and pollock. Once, we fed them a fatty fish kindly donated by a supporter. Each chick took a single piece, then refused to eat for two days—almost as if they were disgusted, or had lost trust in a human hand!
The kittiwake chick rescue shelter in 2024.
But 2025 has been very different from 2024. To begin with, only a few young chicks were found grounded, and most of the rescued ones were already fairly old, though still unable to fly. The biggest difference, however, has been the alarming number of dead chicks found on the ground around the colonies.
The only chance to save them is to find them before predators do, but even with the Kittiwalkers making frequent rounds in the city and at Skattøra, we often arrive too late. That’s why closely monitoring the colonies at this time of year is so crucial!
Another kittiwake chick claimed by predators before we could claim it.
A livestream to raise empathy for kittiwakes
As members of the gull family, kittiwakes often suffer from a poor reputation. But, as with most prejudices, this stems from misunderstanding. We can’t stress enough: kittiwakes don’t eat our food (they feed exclusively at sea) and they would never attack someone simply for being near their nest.
Kittiwake chick at the rescue shelter in August 2025.
One way to promote coexistence is to address the nuisance rather than the mere presence: for example, reducing smells by cleaning regularly, and providing alternative nesting sites (such as kittiwake hotels) in locations where the disturbance is minimal. The other, equally important, approach is to counter the hostility that develops simply because they exist among us.
This livestream is a modest contribution toward that goal. It creates an opportunity for people to connect with kittiwakes. Watching a feeding, seeing a chick grow into a juvenile, or noticing the subtle differences in their personalities: these moments can hopefully help spark compassion for a species that is disappearing because of how our own species treats a planet that is theirs as much as ours.
François and Dumpling meeting for the first time in August 2025.
Watch the live!
Many thanks to Roel Melman (who previously wrote the mid'summer kittwake report) for setting up the livestream, figuring out the technicalities and trouble-shootong like a pro!
Sparebankstiftelsen SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge
is supporting our work with kittiwakes in Tromsø.
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