• Gone in a Puff of Smoke

    Rachael Tulloch
     
    On Wednesday the puffins were here, on Thursday they weren’t (apart from two who obviously missed the memo…)
    Volunteers manned four of our viewpoints for several hours and a member of staff visited the fifth but it appears that the puffins have stayed true to their usual schedule and headed up north in the first week of August. So if you see a flash of black and orange skimming the North Sea now, the…

  • Ducks Galore

    Rachael Tulloch

    Since the king eider deigned to visit our reserve earlier this week, we've had a few other, less royal, ducks checking out the cliffs. A group of seven eider were seen paddling southwards on Wednesday and then yesterday there was a flurry of activity when two long-tailed ducks were spotted by one of our volunteers just off Bartlett Nab. Those who rushed down to see them needn't have bothered though because the pair…

  • Migrant Watch

    Rachael Tulloch

    Our roving site warden, Zoe, spotted 15 whimbrels over the cliffs today. Whimbrels are large, wading birds that breed in the north of Scotland and winter in South Africa. We're getting towards the time of year where the more and more migrants will be passing through or over our reserve, so keep your eyes peeled if you visit!

  • Wildlife Gone Cuckoo?

    Rachael Tulloch
    Perhaps the confusing weather that we have experienced of late has caused a little bit of confusion in our wildlife… This weekend a young puffling was found one and a half miles inland at a factory on Jewison lane in Bridlington. Nobody knows how the 5-6 week old youngster got there but it was lively and healthy enough to resist rescue for several hours. A local wildlife rescue expert was contacted for advice before…

  • Bye Bye Baby

    Rachael Tulloch

    You will be glad to hear that all four of our swallow chicks successfully fledged this week. On Tuesday morning we were holding our breath, waiting for the first bird to take the leap of faith, and by Wednesday the nest was empty. Whilst we were very happy that everything had gone so well for them, we were also left feeling a little bereft. So imagine our joy when, on Thursday morning, we went to open the centre doors…

  • Do You Know What a Flock of Spoonbills is Called?

    Rachael Tulloch

    A gentleman came in to the visitor centre here at Bempton Cliffs today with this interesting question. However, when none of the staff or volunteers could come up with an answer, he provided us with his very own idea. He and his friends had invented the term 'canteen' to describe a flock of these interesting birds whilst on a visit to another reserve. Personally i think it's quite clever (and funny) but i wondered…

  • Sweet about Bempton Cliffs?

    Rachael Tulloch
     
    Then you’ll be interested to learn that as of tomorrow (the 20th of July) we will be stocking the RSPB’s very own brand of organic, fair trade chocolate. You can choose from milk chocolate, chocolate orange or dark chocolate and know that with every bar bought you’re helping to make the world a fairer, more environmentally friendly place. Also, it tastes pretty good, not that we’ve tried that…

  • Take a Hike

    Rachael Tulloch

    Did you know that Bempton Cliffs Reserve is part of a 4-5 mile circular walk encompassing cliff top habitat, farmland habitat, the village of Buckton and the village of Bempton? It's a wonderful way to experience a wide range of different birds and wildlife as well as getting a bit of exercise and a rosy glow in your cheeks at the same time.

    Imagine this....

    You pull up in the reserve car park, pay the £3.50 fee…

  • Proud Parents

    Rachael Tulloch
     
    We’re pleased to announce the hatching of four baby swallow chicks at the Bempton Cliffs visitor centre. The youngsters, now a couple of days old, are typically hungry and rather vocal about it! Many people are starting their visit to Bempton staring up into the rafters of the porch where the nest is located, which, until you get a bit closer and discover the reason for this, can seem a little bit strange… …

  • Are you a Bempton Cliffs Fan?

    Rachael Tulloch

    Just to let everyone know, there is a new Bempton Cliffs RSPB fan page on Facebook. If you get a chance have a little look at the page and if you have any comments, suggestions or pictures to add then feel free to start a new discussion or post something on the wall. Remember to click on the 'become a fan' button to show your support!

  • ‘Wet Your Lips’ and Swallow Those Beetles

    Rachael Tulloch
     
    Bempton Cliffs visitor centre may soon be home to some new baby birds. The swallows that have been swooping in and out of the centre’s porch have now built a fully serviceable nest and so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we will soon hear the cheeping of tiny little beaks. The prospective parents seem to be enjoying their new celebrity status in the mean time though. They have been delighting onlookers by posing…

  • 'Spotted' This Week

    Rachael Tulloch

     

    There's so much to report this week that I'm not really sure where to start. Perhaps with the news that both a marsh harrier and a spotted flycatcher were observed in the area around the centre over the weekend. Both were, of course, welcome visitors, if not a little different in shape, size and character! Whilst spotted flycatchers are thought to be declining rapidly in number throughout the UK, they are much…

  • A Redwing? You Cannot Be Serious!

    Rachael Tulloch

    We are serious actually... (Just a little topical reference in there for anyone who's a tennis fan). Over the past few weeks there have been several sightings of a redwing, a close relation of the song thrush, on our reserve. These were confirmed beyond question when our site manager, Ian Kendall, spotted it up at the feeding station on Friday. What is so unusual about this is that redwings tend to be winter visitors…

  • Join the Club!

    Rachael Tulloch

    As I’m sure many of you who live on the coast (or who were booked onto one of our seabird cruises) will know, last weekend was a windy one! This can be both good and bad for the seabirds here at Bempton Cliffs. Gannets fare well in these windier conditions and if you were lucky enough to visit us in the past week or so, you might have come across the ‘youth club’, our motley, but growing, collection of juvenile…

  • An offer you can't refuse

    Margaret Overend

     

    Fancy a trip with a difference?

    We've got together with VHEY, the local tourism partners, to offer a brilliant day out with our amazing seabirds.

    Start off with lunch at Rags Hotel Bar and Restaurant in Bridlington, then it's off to Bempton Cliffs for a tour of the reserve with one of our wonderful guides. You'll hear lots about the 200,000 seabirds that make Bempton Cliffs their summer home - and about loads of…

  • Baby Boom

    Steve Race

    Late May is a very exciting time at RSPB Bempton Cliffs where most of the birds are now sat on eggs and we have just had our first chicks of 2010. The first Gannet chick of the year was produced by our regular visitors, Pair 33 - aka Peckster and Flip who are usually the first Gannets to come back to Bempton. The nest can be seen on top of the arch which can be viewed from the "Staple Newk" viewpoint.

    Pair 33 with chick by Steve Race

    …

  • Seabird Spectacle at Bempton Cliffs: Report by Ruth Porter

    Rachael Tulloch

    Hello!
    Well I am back for another season, and it is well underway.  I have been extremely busy setting up the seabird monitoring plots at England's largest seabird colony Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head and organising an army of enthusiastic volunteers!    
    Well where do I start.... a lot has happened since the start of the season, there are already plenty of gannet, guillemot, razorbill and kittiwake chicks, and so…

  • The New Kid On The Block!

    Steve Race

     

    Hi Everybody!

    My name is Steve Race and I am the newly appointed "Community Education and Outreach Officer" at RSPB Bempton Cliffs Reserve. One of my many jobs is to keep this blog updated on a regular basis with information regarding what is happening on and around the reserve - so here goes!!

    The bank holiday weekend was awesome with lots of Puffins showing well all over the reserve. The wind direction…

  • Have you visited Bempton Cliffs recently?

    Katie Fuller

    We're helping Humberside Police with the investigation into the disappearance of 18-year old Russell Bohling (pictured) who lives in the West Ella area of Hull.

    According to Humberside Police, Russell left his home around 8am on Tuesday 2 March 2010, intending to go to Bishop Burton College, where he is a student. He was in a blue Renault Clio registered in 2002 (pictured). He never arrived at college and he didn…

  • Isn't spring brilliant?

    Ian Kendall

    What a brilliant time of year, all the seabirds are back and busy, spring migrants are making their first landfall on the cliffs and occasionally the sun even feels warm!

    So over the last couple of weeks a lot has been happening. Are you sitting comfortably? OK, so gannet pair 33 were the first pair, yet again, to lay their egg and others have now followed their lead. Much easier, though to see gannets flying in all…