Bempton Cliffs

An awful lot of work goes on behind the scenes at Bempton Cliffs. Between staff and volunteers, we conduct a whole host of seabird research here. From colony counts, to productivity monitoring and even tagging and tracking. Through research like this we can find out things like how many birds we have here, how successful they are with rearing chicks and even where they’re finding food!

In 2017 we did the largest…

There was an incredible start to the last week in March at RSPB Bempton Cliffs as visitors, volunteers and staff were treated to an amazing display from a pod of travelling bottlenose dolphins.

 Image: Ian Crossley

Estimates suggest there were around 25 adults moving southerly towards Flamborough, just 50 metres from the cliff. The dolphins were seen ‘breaching’ the waves and a young calf was clearly visible.…

Tuesday 30 March wasn’t just another day at the office for the team at RSPB Bempton Cliffs nature reserve..

Volunteers on the nature reserve’s viewing platforms were amazed to see not one but two white-tailed eagles, the UK’s largest birds of prey, soaring over the sea.

 Bempton Cliffs' sighting - Image: Ian Crossley

These giants of the sky have a massive wingspan of around 2.4metres (approx 8 feet…

As we’ve all recently learnt, sometimes the worst of times lead to the best of things. 

So when Jean Armstrong’s son, Paul, passed away in 2019, she wanted to find something special to do with the money raised from the collection at his funeral.

Jean and her late husband James, have been long-time supporters of the RSPB and through this link to the charity she learnt of a piece of sculpture being created at…

Hot off the press from our Warden, Dave Aitken, the lowdown on how our tree sparrows have fared this season.  Get ready, here come the numbers:

• 274 chicks successfully fledged from 40 active (contained eggs/chicks) nest boxes.
• A total of 91 separate nesting attempts were made from those 40 boxes of which 79 fledged chicks (102 nesting attempts from 44 boxes in 2019 of which 83 fledged chicks).
• 10 boxes had 1 nesting attempt…

I must be one of the few people who still use CDs for what they were intended and not turned them into coasters or wind chimes.  

During lockdown, I’ve dug out a few discs that haven’t seen the light of day for years and played them on an ancient portable CD player that’s provided the background music to many a picnic.   

One disc that came out of hibernation is Michael Nyman’s soundtrack to the 1993 Oscar…

Following the latest clear instructions from the Government for us all to remain at home apart from a limited number of allowed activities, we are closing our reserve to visitors until further notice.

These measures are on top of the existing closure of our visitor centres, cafes and shops.  It is with great sadness that we ask people to refrain from visiting the RSPB, to help us restrict the spread of coronavirus.

Following the latest government advice we have made the difficult decision to close the Seabird Centre to visitors from Thurs 19 March. This is to prioritise the health and welfare of our staff, volunteers and visitors.

These are difficult and unsettling times for all of us but we hope that nature can provide a welcome respite in whichever form and wherever you may encounter it. We want to do everything we can to help…

Plus Short-eared Owl

Year 1 and Year 2 pupils at Bempton Primary School helped give nature a home at their local nature reserve.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs invited the children to lend a hand planting 100 aspen and 100 hawthorn saplings to help create and maintain boundary lines, along with a number of gorse and honeysuckle shrubs to enhance existing areas of greenery.

17 local school children braved the elements on a cold but sunny day to help…

One of the RSPB’s best loved nature reserves has just received another accolade.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs picked up a Bronze at last week’s Welcome to Yorkshire’s White Rose Awards – which meant some of the team swapping their fleeces for their finery for the evening.

The glittering ceremony, the largest celebration of tourism in the UK, took place at Leeds Arena with around 800 guests from the cream…

Will Scott, a volunteer at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, can usually be found spotting rare migrant birds on the East Yorkshire reserve.

But last week, it was his turn to be spotted – and given with an award from the National Biodiversity Network. 

19 year old Will from Hunmanby, who’s in his second year at Lincoln University studying Ecology and Conservation, received his award as runner-up in the Young Person’s category…