RSPB Bempton Cliffs

RSPB Bempton Cliffs has so many birds to offer, but being able to get up close and personal with these birds in their nesting habitat is one of the key attractions for me. With many ledges built out of the cliff you can see down on to the birds and get very close as they fly by at eye level.

These Guillemots were happy enough being closely packed in, but made a constant din of noise just to ward off their neighbours in case they got too close.

Below you can see a Bridled Guillemot with a white ring around its eye. It looks like it's wearing glasses.

The very good looking Kittiwake

The stiff winged Fulmar soaring on the thermals over the cliffs

RSPB Bempton Cliffs

Last month I made a visit to Bempton cliffs with a couple of my birding friends. We were hoping to see the Black-browed Albatross that had been in the around for a couple of a few weeks. Unfortunately on the morning we went, it had decided to go AWOL, and wasn't seen at all that day. It has since returned, but is very hit and miss. I'm hoping to see it one day, but will leave it for a while just at the moment.

Meanwhile, there was plenty to see on the rocks and sea below. Gannets galore, plus the usual Guillemots, Razzorbills and Kittiwakes. It was a hot day, which was a bonus, as the near 3 hour journey would have been really miserable in the rain. Just a reminder that not every twitch is successful, but I guess that's part of the fun.

Not an Albatross, but part of the same family, a Fulmar in flight and good light.

Gannets were plentiful.

Ever wondered what a sleeping Guillemot looks like? 👇

Kittiwakes were noisy on the cliffs.

There were not too many Puffins left.

 

Fulmar - Sheringham

The cliff tops at Sheringham are a great place to look for birds. It could be Meadow Pipits, Stonechats or just recently Ring Ouzles. I like to look out to sea a lot of the time, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. I've seen all sorts, from Gannets to Red-throated Divers and Scoters.
Currently nesting in the rocks are are some Fulmars. I had tried for a few days to try and get some flight shots of them, but they always seemed to come out of nowhere at me and then off before I could get a focus on them.
These are the best I could manage, but watching them sore along the cliff tops was good consolation.

Once again, it came out of nowhere.

Fulmar

I only saw a few of these birds on my trip to the North East. I thought that I would see lots on the rocky islands and coast lines, but that wasn't the case. Still, the few that I did see were a real pleasure.
In flight they have a very stiff wing beat, and glide quite a lot. They are tubenosed seabirds and related to the Albatross. A quite unusual looking bird, but one I enjoyed seeing fly above my boat.

Fulmar

I came across these lovely birds whilst walking along the beach in Hunstanton. I believe they nest along the cliffs here, but I'd never timed a visit that coincided with them being around. So I was fortunate enough this time to see a few pairs soaring on the up draughts of the cliffs.
They fly with stiff wings that look as though they can't be bothered to moved. Unlike the lolloping wing beat of a gull for example.
This pair caught my attention by the noise they were making, otherwise I would have walked straight past them. A nice bird to see around our coast and something a bit different.

Seemed to be having a nice chat with each other.

I left them to it as I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable.