Here is the recent sighting from our resindent volunteer seabirds researcher, Tom Hibbert.
"We’re approaching the end of the breeding season here at Bempton and the crowd of seabirds clinging to the cliffs is starting to thin. Almost all of the Razorbills have gone and the Guillemots aren’t far behind, leading their young chicks out onto the open ocean where they will spend the winter months. The Puffins will soon be gone too, but for now they are easy to spot as they form rafts on the water beneath the cliffs.
However, there is still plenty to see: the Kittiwake chicks are airborne and the Gannets are doing well, with some chicks having lost all of their down. But the real stars of the show at the moment are the skuas. Over the last week there have been regular sightings of both Arctic and Great Skuas (picture), not just passing by but hunting and even feeding within sight of the viewpoints. It’s an amazing experience to watch an Arctic Skua climb high into the sky before plunging Peregrine-style in pursuit of an auk.
(digi-scoping shot of a Great Skua by Tom Hibbert)
Other notable sightings include a Hobby and a female Marsh Harrier around Jubilee Corner, a pair of Whimbrel passing Grandstand and flocks of Common Scoter moving South past Staple Newk and Grandstand.
Away from the birds, last week’s National Whale and Dolphin Watch was a great success. Harbour Porpoises were recorded daily, often appearing to feed within a few hundred metres of the cliffs, and a Minke Whale was seen offshore on Saturday the 27th of July.
The breeding season may be winding down, but there is still plenty of action to see here at Bempton Cliffs, both above and below the waves!”