Tuesday 4 May 2010

Bempton

It's been just over a year since our last visit to Bempton therefore just over a year since I started this blog using the Bempton trip as my first proper post. Thank you to all who have checked out my posts since then and I hope to keep them coming.

So to Bempton, we arrived around 10am on Monday to a very very windy but sunny cliff top and not a bit of fog in sight! We made our way down to the clifftop and along to the left paths first of all. The wind was so strong at the viewing points that it was difficult to hold the camera still.

A lot of the birds where flying about including the Puffins, they were finding it difficult to land. The ones that were on the cliffs looked like they were clinging on for dear life. We saw Razorbills, Guillemots, Gannets,Puffins and Kittiwakes on the cliffs. Jackdaws, Crows and Meadow Pipits were flying about the tops, one posed very nicely helping confirm the id on Birdforum.

We also saw these purple flowers everywhere we looked, despite my guide i'm still not sure what they are so if anyone does, can they let me know!

Without the fog the views were stunning!
Razorbills

Guillemots & Kittiwakes

Meadow Pipit

Last year we could barely see this Gannet colony but this time we got it in it's full glory. Amazing to watch them hovering round the rocks.

Back at the feeders by the RSPB shop I watched Tree Sparrows and Reed Buntings. There are also plenty of nest boxes around too and I caught a couple of the Tree Sparrows on them.

Unfortunately the Reed Bunting was pretty shy and I couldn't get a clear enough shot.

At the feeding station I saw my only new bird of the day - a Linnet, well a pair of Linnets. That brings my life list to 96! There were also Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blackbirds and Tree Sparrows around too.
We were very pleased to finally see the cliffs properly and will be back again next year! We did go on to visit Wheldrake Ings but i'll post that separately.

3 comments:

  1. I am so jealous, Pam! I've only seen a (single) Puffin once and have never see a Gannet. Next time I'm in the UK, I must get to one of these cliff areas.

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  2. Happy belated blog birthday Pam and what better way to celebrate than a birding bonanza at Bempton! The first pic of the cliffs is very dramatic, its incredible that they breed on such a sheer cliff face.
    Could the the pinky flower be Red Campion perhaps? The pic in my Collins Wild Flower book is on the small side so I can't be sure. Linda

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  3. Wow, quick comments, thank you! The Puffins were quite hard to see this time around with them always in the air and so many of the other birds flying too. Definitely worth a visit.
    I can't imagine how they manage to breed successfully hanging on like that. I think you might be right about it being Red Campion, the RSPB site mentions that as being abundant!
    Pam

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