Hello readers, and welcome again to a special edition of Recent Sightings. Apologies for the delay in getting this one up -- I've just graduated, so I'm sure you can imagine it's been a busy week! Unfortunately, this also means that this will be my final update, as my placement time at Bempton has ended and I must be moving on. Today I'll be updating what was seen in my last few days on the reserve (up to last Monday…

 It’s always nice to get a pat on the back.  When it's accompanied by a university-style gown on your back, it’s even more welcome.

This is exactly what happened recently to East Riding local group volunteer and RSPB Council member, Sal Cooke.

Earlier this month, the Myerscough College in Preston, Lancashire conferred an honorary fellowship on Sal in recognition of her ‘outstanding career in the use of…

Gannets must love Bempton Cliffs. Back in the 1970s there were only about 20 pairs breeding, but by 2012 there were 11,000 pairs and 1000 non-breeding birds (see graph). A look around the reserve suggests that the number has continued to rise.

One of the results of this increase has been that Gannets are nesting in new areas – last week I took a 1984 photo of the Nettletrip Guillemot productivity monitoring plot up…

How good does it feel to release a puffin back into the wild?  The smile on Jo Allen's face probably gives you some idea.

The box in the photo (henceforth known as a Puffin not Pet Carrier) contains a puffling that was brought to the reserve yesterday after being found in a garden in the nearby village of Buckton.   Membership Development Officer Jo Allen was first to meet him and so he was named 'Little Jo'…

Welcome to the first of an occasional series of blog posts looking back at the 2014 seabird monitoring programme at Bempton Cliffs.

It’s hard to believe, but the 2014 seabird monitoring season at Bempton Cliffs is winding down. Most of our auk chicks have fledged, with only late chicks still on the cliffs. Kittiwake chicks are moulting into their first year plumage and are busy stretching their wings. Gannet chicks are…

I'm a bit scared of poems.  They do their best to bamboozle me and usually succeed.    So it was with a certain amount of trepidation last month that I got involved in the Bridlington Poetry Festival and offered Bempton Cliffs as a fringe venue.

To get in the mood (and in an attempt to overcome my fear of iambic pentameters), I asked staff and volunteers to send me their favourite poem to display around the reserve…

The following text was written by and posted on behalf of RSPB Conservation Scientist Dr Guy Anderson.

The face of the Yorkshire coast has a nose.  A pretty, green, rolling nose edged with magnificent  white chalk cliffs. Flamborough Head.  This nose has many occupants, and sitting on its tip, I can see many of them streaming past (nose...streaming...geddit?).  Slowly weaving lines of large, brilliant white planks – gannets…

Here we are with another recent sightings update! First up, following on to last time's big news, I'm pleased to report that we've still had a fair number of late puffins hanging around the cliffs, as you can see....

Some puffins are still here! Photo taken 18 July, by Jaime.

As a result, our popular daily Puffin Patrol guided walks with our enthusiastic volunteers (including, periodically, yours truly…

I have a tendency to leave things til the last minute.  I fill up the car only when the little petrol pump light appears.   I replenish the milk in the fridge when there’s only enough in the bottle to dampen my muesli.   So typically, I only just managed to scrape on to the final Puffin and Gannet cruise of this season.  

The downside to this means that everyone’s already said everything there is to say about sailing…

Hello everyone! I’ll cut right to it, because we have BIG NEWS! A little over a week ago, one of our membership team specialists spotted something a bit strange on one of our visitor’s centre live cameras... it’s...

Young puffin putting in a cheeky appearance on one of our live cams! Photo by Jaime

...a PUFFLING!

Often, visitors coming to the cliffs to see their first puffins marvel at how small…

We’re used to groups  visiting the cliff tops.   But even we were surprised to hear that almost all the  East Riding of Yorkshire Council was going to pay us a call.

However, not much phases Team Bempton Cliffs for long so we were up bright and early to meet the 40 councillors as they arrived on a glorious July morning. 

The visit started with a cuppa and a short introduction from site manager, Keith Clarkson, before…

Leaving the nest isn't something young birds get right every time.  And last week a holiday maker in Scarborough alterted us to a young peregrine falcon who had made the leap of faith a bit too early.     

A pair of these impressive birds has been nesting on the Grand Hotel in Scarborough this season and successfully raised two chicks.  One had already fledged and when the second one decided to venture out into the big…

Hello all and welcome to a special edition of Bempton Recent Sightings! This past weekend I had the privilege of joining one of our unique Sea Bird Cruises sailing on the Yorkshire Belle out of Bridlington harbour, and wow, what a trip!

But first, a quick note of apology for the weekend's regular recent sightings post -- it was meant to go up Saturday evening but there was a problem with the picture upload and the post…

We had a very busy and very sunny start to the week, and though the weather has cooled off considerably, there’s still plenty to see! All our regulars are still out in force, including the puffins, who will likely only be around a few more weeks! If you’re itching to see them, be sure to come along before the children begin summer holiday for your best chance, as that’s typically around about the time our last puffins…

We don't often get chance to pop out to a local cafe.  And when we do, it's never ever been to collect a puffin.  That is until last week.

Customers and staff at The Sands cafe on Bridlington's North Beach were taken aback when an adult puffin walked into the seating area and took up residence.   So they called us for advice. 

Cafe assistant Lynn Horman said that customers had tried to coax the bird onto the beach…

Hello again all, and what a busy weekend it’s shaped up to be at Bempton Cliffs! The week had a very slow start on the interesting sightings front, as the weather was cold, cloudy, and very windy indeed! A single sighting of a whitethroat on Wednesday 18 June was threatening to be our only spot of excitement for the week. But come Friday, the weather cleared to be positively glorious, and things began to pick up…

We love to see visitors arrive by bike. But Nicola Melville and her Mum, Katharine, deserved an even warmer than usual Bempton Cliffs’ welcome after pedalling 190 miles across the country to get to us.  

They started out from our reserve at Leighton Moss five days ago and headed for the Way of the Roses cycle route on an epic bike ride to raise funds to support our work.

Nicola, who was once part of the  RSPB Futurescape…

Hello everyone! My name is Jaime and I’m a new residential volunteer at Bempton Cliffs. I've recently completed a degree in ecology here in England, but was originally born and raised in Canada! Over the next several weeks, I’ll be helping to keep you all up-to-date on what our amazing Bempton flora and fauna are up to, and for those of you who are new to Bempton like me, sharing a bit about what amazing things I’ve learned…

 East Riding MP, Sir Greg Knight, enjoyed a coffee break with a difference on a recent visit to RSPB Bempton Cliffs.

For the second year running, the nature reserve is working with local coffee-makers to promote the cliff-top destination to a wider audience through ‘Capuffinccinos’ – coffees with a puffin shape, sprinkled in chocolate on top.   

 Sir Greg was able to sample one as part of a guided tour…

It’s never a dull moment at Bempton during the breeding season. All of our seabirds are present in good numbers, especially Puffins, with most species now on eggs. Guillemot and Razorbill chicks have been sighted on the reserve should be hatching in numbers soon – keep your eyes peeled for movement under adult birds on the cliffs. Gannet chicks are appearing as well. The ‘nest 33’ gannet chick at Staple Newk…

There were more than seabirds flying above Bempton Cliffs the other day as techy wizard and RSPB ecologist, David Morris, put a

natty little gizmo, otherwise known as a quad copter, through its paces in the office garden.   

Usually brought in to take aerial shots of habitats, if the test flight went well, the plan at Bempton is to use the copter, with its gimbal mounted GoPro camera, to monitor the seabird colony.

East Riding MP, Sir Greg Knight, took time out from the hustle and bustle of Westminster to enjoy the peace and quiet of Bempton Cliffs recently. 

Site Manager, Keith Clarkson, was able to explain the development plans made possible through a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and show him the nature reserve on a glorious day with the seabird spectacle in full swing. 

The link below to Sir Greg's website gives you more of…

Apologies for the delay since the last recent sightings update, our office move has meant that access to our IT systems has been limited.

Seabird breeding season is in full swing, with plenty of our breeding Guillemot and Razorbill seen on eggs. Watch out for a tell-tale flash of blue when a Guillemot changes position.  Most of our breeding Gannet are on eggs and the first Gannet chick was spotted on 6 May – nest 33 leading…

There’s a definite feeling of spring in the air at Bempton Cliffs as we head towards an action packed Easter weekend.

All of our summer regulars – including plenty of Puffins - are here in good number, although the auks are on and off the cliffs as they feed up prior to breeding. The first Gannet egg was spotted from Staple Newk viewpoint on 28 March. Amazingly, the first egg of the year is usually from the…

It's not often we're found wearing less than three layers of clothing up on the cliffs.  An almost constant nippy north-easternly means fleeces are de rigueur all year round. However, last Wednesday we made an exception and donned our best summer holiday outfits in honour of a new member of staff.   And after days of grim greyness, the sun shone specially for the occasion. 

Ryan Chenery hails from Barbados and is our…