9 May 2025

Black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) are small members of the gull family that nest communally on sea cliffs.

They are also happy to nest near humans as they do Lowestoft Telephone Exchange building in the UK.

At Kiberg, Norway a building’s exterior was refurbished to house kittiwake nests. As of 25 March this year, the Kittiwake Hotel was fully booked.

The Kittiwake Hotel is fully booked!
So cool to see the new hotel being appreciated ?? Built by the local fishermen in Kiberg. We designed and helped to give the project wings, with $ help from a seabird science project. Good conservation with a solid local component… pic.twitter.com/8qw4nJqXKS

— Biotope / Tormod Amundsen (@Biotope_Tormod) March 25, 2025

Kiberg has a human population of about 200 people.

It seems there are more kittiwakes in Kiberg than there are humans. 🙂

*A NOTE ON NAMES: In Europe these birds are simply called “kittiwakes” but North America there are two species: black-legged and red-legged kittiwakes.