Protective parents: Seabirds and their chicks

By Shannon Lane @shannonroselane

PARENTHOOD is never an easy task - especially with the added threat of predators, hunting for food and teaching the young to survive independently

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Most Black - Browed Albatross chicks take four days to break out of their shell, this one is just starting to hatch

Seabirds rear their chicks for three to four months, and even up to nine months for the Wandering Albatross.

This Swallow - Tailed Gull is regurgitating its meal to the expectant chick

Wildlife photographer David Tipling photographed seabirds and their offspring over the course of a few years for his book Seabirds of the World.

The English photographer said: “Seabirds are generally very accepting of humans.

The chicks of the Common Gull have speckles feathers to camouflage into the undergrowth

"As most live out in the ocean for much of their lives and only come ashore to breed, they do not feel the same threat from humans other bird species based on land might.

David Tipling said: "This fish seemed a little large for such a small chick, yet it managed to swallow it whole."

If this albatross chick fledges, its parents will take the following year off before nesting again

“Typically you are able to observe and photograph breeding behaviour relatively easily. The biggest challenge is often reaching the breeding colonies, which can be on remote islands or cliffs.”

Parent Steamer Ducks aggressively defend their broods as the chicks are vulnerable to predators

Due to the large threats to the young chicks, many species are well camouflaged to blend in with the foliage on the shore, sporting dark feathers and even spots.

In most seabird species, both parents care for the chick, sometimes with the father taking up the main parenting role.

This nine year old Wandering Albatross is almost ready to leave the nest and fly out to sea

David said: “Most species share incubation and feeding duties of their young but for larger birds, males and females may fast during parental duties for long periods.

Once this Arctic Tern chick has fledged, its parents will continue to feed it for at least another month

“The male Grey-headed Albatross incubates the egg laid by the female for the first 70 days of incubation. Remarkably when rearing the chick they have been recorded flying an amazing 13,000km in one journey to collect food for their chick.”

A European Herring Gull chick chips away from inside its egg. The whitish shiny area on top of the bill is the egg tooth, which is used to break a hole in the egg

The seabirds choose remote locations for their nests in order to protect them, which makes finding a good spot to photograph them from a challenge.

Tipling said: “To photograph the Grey-headed Albatross tending its chick I first had to cross a deep muddy swamp, then dodge feisty Antarctic Fur Seals that try and bite you before clambering through waist high tussock to reach the colony.”