Fulmar

Early morning dull cloud soon dispersed to give a sunny but cool day, courtesy of a strong north north east blow. Certainly no cobwebs were seen on the viewpoints today! It was certainly difficult keeping optics and cameras steady making scanning of the sea nearly impossible. However, bird numbers continue to increase with thousands of Guillemots, many Fulmars and hundreds of Gannets. Some lucky birders managed…

Guillemots

Late January already, where does the time go? Today was relatively overcast with a strengthening south westerly blow but feeling quite mild. The cliffs were full of action with an estimate of 30,000 Guillemots on the ledges, on the sea and in flight. A wonderful sound with their guttural calls mixing with the increasing number of Gannets and Fulmars. Last week there were only five Gannets on the cliffs…

Looking at the weather forecasts, today was destined to be rather inclement with rain and wintery showers all day. It's a good job that weather forecasts for this part of East Yorkshire are generally wrong! The morning was bright and frosty with an increasing south westerly blow, with snow showers blowing in late afternoon. It was a great day to be out on the cliffs for a bracing…

Fulmar

Today was a "grey" day! Grey sky, grey sea, grey cliffs and grey birds! In other words a nightmare for photography as there was little in the way of contrast, making it difficult to "lock" onto the birds! (That's my excuse!). What a day to try and capture birds in flight! It was also a rather chilly day, getting colder as the day progressed, necessitating movement to keep warm! Indeed, I walked the whole reserve…

Fulmar

A glorious January day dawned with a fantastic sunrise, followed by blue skies and sunshine but a niggling cool north easterly blow did its best to remind us this is winter!

So, what is about at the moment?

Fulmar

New Year's Eve and I was keen to capture the last sunrise of 2017. Arriving on the cliffs at 0730hrs, it was soon clear that there would be no spectacular colours as heavy cloud obscured the east! The morning dawned a dull grey and only an hour or so later did any brightness appear!

It may not have been spectacular, but the sight of a Barn Owl quartering the fields made up for my disappointment along…

Merry Christmas from the "gang" at Bempton Cliffs!

This Christmas was our first in Yorkshire! Normally we travel back to relatives in Rugby, but this year we thought it would be nice to spend Christmas at home. Another first was Christmas morning on Bempton Cliffs experiencing the sunrise. I had hoped that the Guillemots would have joined me, but alas no! However, it was a pleasure to watch c30 Fulmars flying…

It was a great start on the cliffs this morning with a stunning sunrise giving hope that the weather forecasters had got it wrong! The early morning frost was quite severe and Cliff Lane was like an ice rink in parts! Unfortunately the icy, bright start did not last more than an hour and eventually the promised rain did its best to dampen spirits, but failed, of course! 

Todays Sightings:

Today was another…

Fulmar

With snow being forecast, I had one aim today - photographing Guillemots in the snow! A light flurry of c3 flakes was not what I wanted but the Guillemots were more obliging! First thing there were c400 Guillemots around Grandstand viewpoint, increasing to c1000 on the cliffs, sea and in flight between Grandstand and Bartlett Nab. These numbers decreased to nine on Grandstand and c20 on Bartlett Nab during…

A mass of Guillemots on the cliffs today!

I haven't been onto the cliffs for three weeks due to various other commitments so on this fine day of blue sky and sunshine, I decided to see what was about. My last visit in November yielded naked cliffs but today the guttural sounds and sight of thousands of Guillemots on the cliff ledges, in flight and on the sea was a delight to enjoy! However, it is known that Guillemots…

Siberian Chiffchaff

This morning dawned bright and sunny with blue sky and a ground frost, a beautiful late autumn setting. Unfortunately, these pleasant conditions did not last longer than lunchtime when the wind increased and heavy showers rolled in. A relatively quiet day bird wise, so what was about?

At this time of year you should expect the unexpected at Bempton Cliffs! At the back of the visitor centre in the bushes near the newly located feeding station, a very showy vagrant in the form of a Siberian Chiffchaff! This bird could easily be mistaken as a Common Chiffchaff, unless of course you study it carefully. The Siberian Chiffchaffs call is different to that of the Common Chiffchaff, the former is more …

Gannets

Today on the cliffs could best be described as "Autumnal" with a cold, strong north westerly blow, frequent squally showers and some sunshine! The strength of the wind at times on the view points was not for the faint hearted! So what was about on such a day?