We often get letters from our visitors telling us how much they enjoyed their trip - and in this case, getting up close and personal with our spectacular gannets. Thanks to Chrissy Gwilliam for sharing her and her husband Phil's experience with us.
"Living in the heart of Somerset we often travel to the coasts of Devon and Cornwall and sit looking out to sea in awe at the Gannets flying and feeding off shore. We would often look at each other and say 'wouldn't it be nice to see these magnificent birds close-up?'.
In Spring 2016 we took early retirement and having the chains of work broken, we booked a holiday in East Yorkshire with a view to visiting the breeding Gannet colony at Bempton Cliffs.
On 24th June we left Somerset at 5.45 am arriving at our holiday cottage at 1200 hours. The weather was 20 degrees C and sunny. This was not a time to stop and savour our holiday cottage - the Gannets were calling us! We drove straight to Bempton Cliffs (approx 2.5 miles away from our holiday cottage). The excitement was mounting but also a fear that we may not get close to the Gannets - we so desperately wanted to stand and observe these wonderful birds at close quarters. How wrong was our fear!
It is now Friday (our last day) and we have been at Bempton Cliffs at 0730 every day (except for the wet Wednesday) staying most of the day observing the habits of these truly remarkable birds. We have been priviledged to watch the bonding between pairs of Gannets, the tenderness of the parents feeding and preening their chicks, but most of all to watch within feet (and I do not exaggerate when I say feet) the Gannets gathering material for nest building/repairs.
Without a shadow of a doubt this has been one of the most memorable experiences of our life. We have had many special moments, for example, puffins running around our feet at Skomer, seeing Short Eared Owls and Barn Owls flying around us at Titchwell and seeing Bitterns and Great White Egrets in numbers at Ham Wall, and now we have shared some of the life of a Gannet. It has been a truly amazing experience and one that we will cherish forever.
Thank you RSPB for sharing your cliffs with us.
PS: I have to mention the other delight - the humble Tree Sparrow! In south west England we only see House Sparrows, so this was also a treat for us."