Today was my lucky day.  Dave the Warden found me a pair of sparkly wellies that had been abandoned in his workshop (can't think why).  So on my flying visit to see how the seabird centre development is progressing, my feet stayed nice and dry - and I think the builders were impressed with my fancy footwear. 

Impressed is the word too for my reaction to the how the building looks.   It seems to have come on in leaps…

Once again,  Bridlington’s biggest secret, Bondville Model Village, will be opening for one day only during winter especially to welcome the Bempton Cliffs' crew. 

The team  will be returning to the popular tourist attraction this January to hold a Big Garden Birdwatch (BGBW) on Saturday 24 between 10am and 4pm.  

As you probably know by now, BGBW is an annual event in the RSPB’s calendar when we ask the public…

PLEASE NOTE THE VISITOR CENTRE, VIEWPOINTS AND TOILETS ARE CLOSED UNTIL 1 APRIL 2015 FOR MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT. PUBLIC FOOTPATHS WILL REMAIN ACCESSIBLE. TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH PROGRESS, FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK OR KEEP AN EYE ON OUR BLOG. THE NEAREST PUBLIC TOILETS ARE AT FLAMBOROUGH HEAD AND IN BRIDLINGTON.

Apologies for a big break from the last recent sightings update. If you are not aware it is an exciting time for us…

It seems our call for stories about Grandstand viewpoint has brought back some truly happy memories.   Visitors have contacted us from far and wide recollecting happy moments on our most accessible cliff edge platform overlooking the North Sea.

Caroline from Suffolk told us she was thrilled at the prospect of seeing puffins off the Yorkshire coast but she arrived to find a sea-fret shrouding the cliffs.   Fortunately this…

For anyone who missed this story in the press, here's how you can own a little bit of Bempton Cliffs.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs is offering a little piece of history to anyone who’s ever visited the nature reserve, near Bridlington, and has an interesting story to share.

In advance of the major redevelopment project, which started in September, the sign from Grandstand viewpoint – one of five viewing platforms perched…

The weather doesn't always do what you want it to do at Bempton Cliffs.  But recently it's been on its best behaviour which has allowed Kemp Developments, the building contractors working on the redevelopment programme, to really get stuck in.  And as you can see, the new seabird heritage centre has really started to take shape.

From the slope down past the bird feeding garden you get the best view of the overall picture…

Just in case you missed this story in the press, here's how one of our volunteers helped kick-start our building work. 

A Flamborough-based volunteer helped the RSPB start the redevelopment of its Bempton Cliffs nature reserve, when she joined newly appointed contractors, Kemp Developments Ltd, to break the first piece of ground.

Angela Belk, who has been volunteering at Bempton Cliffs, near Bridlington, for 24…

For those who missed this in the press, here's the media release that announced the arrival of our new Wildlife Experience Officer. 

A brand new role has been created at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, to engage people with the natural and cultural heritage of the site, thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery fund. 

 Joanne Allen, from Hull, has been appointed as Wildlife Experience Officer at the nature reserve near Bridlington…

You'll be pleased to know there is still some semblance of normality on the reserve while our redevelopment project picks up momentum.

Our volunteers are continuing to visit the site to make sure the bird feeders are topped up and check out which visiting migrants have stopped off in the Dell for some much needed R&R (see our recent sightings blog).

The vols are also keeping an eye on how the work is progressing…

PLEASE NOTE, RSPB BEMPTON CLIFFS VISITOR CENTRE FACILITIES WILL BE CLOSED FROM 1 SEPT 2014 TO 1 APRIL 2015 FOR MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT. PUBLIC FOOTPATHS WILL REMAIN ACCESSIBLE.

Well the Visitor Centre may be closed for renovations but that certainly has not put a damper on bird numbers at the reserve.

Over the last two weeks a plethora of species have been seen across the reserve, with one  locale in particular proving to…

So it finally arrived.  D-Day for the visitor centre team. The 'D' being digging out every last bit of stuff from the stock room and the store cupboards, in fact every nook and cranny of the building, and moving it somewhere else,   A mammoth task as anyone who's ever moved house will know.  

Starting first thing Monday morning,  hundreds of items were boxed, bagged or binned as the clock ticked towards the deadline…

Now I don't want you to think I don't have anything better to do than chase giant puffins.  I really do (honest, Boss.)

However, the question marks surrounding the latest addition to the Bempton team has had a few folk doing a bit of digging.    And one of our southern based colleagues has managed to shed some light on of our very own Big Bird's beginnings. 

The words 'giant puffin' rang a bell with Colin…

Hello readers, and guess who's back! For those who have been following the blogs, you might remember I was writing earlier this summer, but left to graduate. I have been able to return for a fortnight though, and am happy to be back! Firstly, I must give a huge thanks to Bill for doing such an excellent job keeping you all posted on what's been going on with our wildlife. Like many of our birds, he's left us now,…

We love surprises - the bigger the better.  And the don't come much bigger than this mysterious parcel that arrived the other day.   

Even when we found out what it was from Visitor Services Manager, Scott Smith, we couldn't quite believe it and demanded to see it unwrapped as soon as possible.    But we needed to find an air pump first. 

Minutes later, all was revealed.  And, obviously, the bin liner contained…

Most people go on holiday for a rest but not  cousins Joe and Daisy Lumley  and Tom and Jake Caston.   

They've been hard at work with Freddie Drewniak and  Tilly and Barney Clarke painting pictures then selling them to raise funds for Bempton Cliffs.  

The families stay in Flamborough each summer and the children have been wow-ed by the seabirds on the cliffs on previous visits.  Wanting to do something to help them…

And it's goodbye form him!

Hello, Bill here with his final blog. I hope that you have enjoyed the few that I have done.

I am on my way back to The Netherlands on Wednesday.

I would like to say a big Thank you to all the staff at Bempton Cliffs for all their help over the past few weeks.

I have enjoyed it a lot and take a lot away with me. As Arnie said, "I will be back."

Some recent sightings -

Go on, we dare you.  Can you hold a wriggly worm, or a blinking toad, or a massive moth?   

Not everyone is brave enough.  But if you've got a curious and courageous kid like Jordan (below), then a magical moment with a bug or a bat could win them a cuddly puffin.   

Parents and carers are being asked to take photos of their youngsters getting close to things that and crawl, slither and slide, hop and croak ...if they…

Hello again,

As promised, I will include pictures of the Great Crested Newts (when I manage to send the pictures to myself); collected by Wold Ecology, with the amphibian fencing around the site of the building extension.

Also Jo Allen, of the Member ship team has kindly sent me the pictures below of the fledging swallows at the centre. Thanks Jo!

(all pictures above - Jo Allen)

Until the next blog…

Hello again, from The Cliffs.

Should be Swallows and Amazons, I know! I haven’t found any Amazons up here, yet! The prolific swallows in the entrance way of the visitor centre are at it again. The young of the second brood of the year, are about to fledge (due any time now). They produced 6 in the first brood and there are 5 or 6 in this latest one. Also at the centre we have a pigeon which regularly comes and sits on…

This is what receiving a huge amount of money from the Coast Communities Fund looks like.

The latest round of awards from the Govenment  were announced last week and a whopping £452,000 headed our way.   So it was out on the cliff tops with photographer Paul Atkinson to have a rousing photo taken of staff and visitors as news of the award spread around the reserve.    

We couldn't be more thrilled and we couldn…

Hello again, time for some updates on what is going on at Bempton Cliffs.

We recently took part in the 13^th National Whale and Dolphin Watch, organised by the ‘Seawatch’ organisation. This is an event, which went on all around the UK. We were on the cliffs at Bempton (Bartlett Nab viewpoint), from the 27^th August and until Sunday 3^rd August. The last 2 days were the most successful and some harbour porpoises…

Anyone who has ever visited the reserve will know that it’s a  haven for photographers.  There are incredible photo opportunities around every corner.

And we’re always grateful when people allow us to use their images - you can never have too many pictures of puffins, gannets and other seabirds.

So it’s always nice to hear when a photo we’ve used is also appreciated elsewhere.

Enter Pete Hewitt…

My tenuous grip on popular culture is an ongoing source of amusement to my friends. But after the Queen got in on the action at the Commonwealth Games even I have heard of photobombing. And, after looking at the results of a recent session trying to get some pictures of large Gannet chicks at our Staple Newk viewpoint, I think our seabirds have too.

What I was trying for – some pictures of the large Gannet chicks showing…

Hello, this is Bill McCarthy and I am the new Residential Volunteer at Bempton Cliffs. I will be here until the 27^th August. I am a Primary Teacher in The Netherlands and I am volunteering in my Summer holidays. Swapping kids for birds!

First of all I would like to say thanks to Jamie for her previous blogs and I hope that I can live up to her standard of ‘blogging’. She has Just posted a great new blog with great pictures…

Scaring crows kind of goes against the grain with us.  In fact, ever since singing along with the crows in the Disney film 'Dumbo'  I've had a bit of a soft spot for them.    So when  we decided to get involved with the famous (in the East Riding)  Muston Scarecrow Festival, we decided we'd have to make an un-scarecrow.  A scarecrow that might welcome birds rather than frighten them.

How our involvement came…