Wild Places, Wild Birds

“The best place to see, hear and smell seabirds!

Each year over 250,000 of them flock to the cliffs between Bempton and Flamborough, many to find a mate and raise their young. From April to August the cliffs are alive with nest-building adults or young chicks taking their first faltering steps.

Between mid-April and mid-July the much-loved puffin makes its home here. From February to October thousands of gannets nest on the cliffs of the only mainland gannetry in England. Bempton also has the largest kittiwake colony in mainland Britain.

You can get close to the action from six, safe cliff-edge viewing platforms. Inside the seabird centre there’s an exciting exhibition area, large TV screens screening live images from the cliffs along with a well-stocked shop, including the best selection of binoculars and scopes on the East Coast.”   from RSPB Bempton Cliffs.

We had an uneventful drive from York to here, except for the car mirror we hit, very narrow roads. 

I could have stayed here for a week.  Although I knew what to expect, I was totally in awe of this place.  The number and variety of birds on the cliffs was amazing.  In order to get close-up photos I would have had to stay a while, but what we experienced was wonderful. I hope the video and images help you, in some small measure, experience it as well.

Here is my bird list, short, but with a number of lifers.

Ring-necked Pheasant
Northern Fulmar
Northern Gannet
Great Cormorant
European Shag
Common Murre
Razorbill
Atlantic Puffin
Black-legged Kittiwake
Black-headed Gull
Mew Gull
Herring Gull

Not too shabby considering we huddled for shelter half the time we were there. It rains a bit in England.