Footage captures the rare moment a kittiwake comes to a nervous guillemot chick’s aid and AIRLIFTS it off a cliff edge to the ground where its parents are waiting for it to jump
- After breeding on the cliffs of the Farne islands guillemots glide off out to sea
- But this chick seemed afraid to jump and strayed too close to a kittiwake nest
- A grumpy kittiwake and its mate initially tried to scare off the young guillemot
- Losing patience, the seabird carries the chick off the cliff by the scruff of its neck
Amazing footage shows the unbelievable moment a nesting kittiwake picks up a guillemot chick by the scruff of the neck and airlifts it off a cliff edge.
The nervous chick had been trying to muster the courage to jump off the sheer cliff, after its waiting parent, when it got too close to the larger seabird’s nest.
The incredible footage of this rare behaviour was captured by a wildlife ranger on the remote and windswept Farne islands, which lie off of the English coastline.
The two seabirds usually live in harmony, but kittiwakes do not normally play taxi to the other species’ young as they keep to themselves.
Amazing footage shows the gripping moment a nesting kittiwake picks up a guillemot chick by the scruff of the neck and airlifts it off a cliff edge
Each year from late April onward, tens of thousands of guillemots make the windswept group of islands their temporary home as they breed and rear their young.
The guillemots are joined here by kittiwakes, a type of gull known for the distinctive call from which it got its name.
The kittiwake and guillemot populations on the Farnes island live harmoniously side-by-side for the most part, the rangers report.
However, the kittiwakes do not like it when the guillemots get too close to their nests, as the chick does in the footage.
It is rare to see a kittiwake forcefully picking up a young guillemot and fly it away.
The adult bird carried the chick to the foot of the cliff, away from the former’s nest.
Here, the guillemot’s father would likely have been waiting, trying to coax its chick down from the cliff-face having already jumped off itself.
Reunited, the family would have head off to sea together.
The nervous chick had been trying to muster the courage to jump off the cliff, after its waiting parents, when it got too close to the larger seabird’s nest
‘This was a remarkable moment in nature to witness, made even more amazing by the fact I managed to capture it on camera,’ National Trust ranger Chris Cachia Zammit told MailOnline.
‘I could see the guillemot chick nervously padding around the ledge, readying itself for the jump.
‘It was getting closer and closer to the kittiwakes, which were clearly a little agitated by the chick being so close.
‘I started to film, ready for the moment the guillemot chick fledges the nest. It’s incredible to watch these brave birds leap into the air, ready to begin a life at sea.
‘But I had never expected to see one hitch a lift with a neighbouring kittiwake!’
The remarkable footage was shot by a National Trust ranger on the Farne Islands, off of England’s Northumberland coast. Each year from late April onward, tens of thousands of guillemots call the small group of islands their temporary home
