12 year old Joe Fryer loves going birdwatching with his grandparents at the weekend. But when they brought him to Bempton Cliffs, little did he expect to cause a stir right across the birdwatching world.
As Joe scanned the horizon from one of the cliff-top viewpoints with his binoculars he spotted something he hadn’t seen before – a bird he didn’t immediately recognise. He snapped a photo of it and was convinced that what he could see on the camera’s screen was an albatross.
The reaction from staff inside the Seabird Centre was surprise. And it was initially believed Joe had seen a Lesser Black-Backed Gull, a far more common sight. But after examining Joe’s photo closely, it was confirmed as a Black-Browed Albatross.
‘Things just went crazy after that’, Joe said. ‘Everyone was congratulating me and wanted to see the albatross for themselves’.
And once the news was released on social media, Joe found instant fame online. People from far and wide responded on Facebook and Twitter with a mixture of congratulations and envy. Word of Joe’s sighting even spread across the Atlantic:
‘My Twitter followers have almost tripled in 4 days, with over 400 likes. I even have a follower from San Diego, California.’
Subsequent sightings of the bird have been recorded on the cliff tops. However, by this time, Joe was back home in Ripon, North Yorkshire telling his best friend Ollie about his adventure and looking forward to his next birdwatching outing.
Proud Grandad, Robert, who organised the trip to Bempton Cliffs, encouraged Joe’s love of wildlife and nature from the moment his grandson could walk. He remembers Joe being able to name every bird on the bird table in his garden by the time he was three. But he never dreamed he’d have the opportunity to identify an albatross on the Yorkshire coast.
The Black-Browed Albatross is an almost mythical creature. It looks spectacular in flight with a wingspan of 210-250 cm and a graceful gliding movement. However, it is usually seen in the southern hemisphere. It is listed as an endangered species and numbers have been in decline due, it’s thought, to deaths from long-line and trawl fisheries.
RSPB Bempton Cliffs warden, David Aitken, said:
‘This is a seabird that everyone wants to see – it’s a real find in this area. All credit to Joe for being able to identify this amazing seabird and alert us to it. I’m sure he’s got a great future ahead of him’.
So is this the ultimate sighting for Joe?
‘My favourite bird is the Hen Harrier – I haven’t seen one yet but I can’t wait for the moment I do’.