Rare Bird Sighting on Alcatraz

Black-legged kittiwake spotted on Alcatraz on March 9, 2020. This is only the second time this species has been recorded on the Island.

NPS / Tori Seher

March 2020 - On March 9th, Alcatraz Biologist Tori Seher captured a photo of a black-legged kittiwake on the northwestern side of Alcatraz Island. This bird species was observed one other time on the Island more than 20 years ago, in 2000. Black-legged kittiwakes are pelagic seabirds, meaning they spend almost all of their lives out on the open ocean. So even though non-breeding birds feed offshore up and down the West Coast from Alaska to Baja California, they rarely touch their feet to the ground. The exception is when breeding individuals come ashore to nest. They do this in dense, cliff-side colonies in the northernmost parts of their range.

For more information

• Contact Alcatraz Biologist Tori Seher

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