Thursday 23 August 2018

Northern Holiday 2018, Post 6: Puffin Quest at RSPB Bempton Cliffs




You might well be wondering why the first bird in a post with the word 'Puffin' in the title is a ... Guillemot! Having posted a few photos of the Black Guillemot or Tystie a few days ago, it seemed only right, in the name of balance, to post an 'ordinary' Guillemot, too. Seen in this pose, there is something very 'Penguin' about these seabirds.

We were on the last lap of our holiday by this stage, and enjoying bright sunshine at RSPB Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast. There were Razorbills ...


... flapping about ...


... and long rows of Gannets and Guillemots along the chalk cliff face.


Many of the birds were with their mates, though it was the tail end of the nesting season.



Every so often a Gannet would soar past us.


Suddenly my eyes alerted on a pair of distinctive orange feet which simply had to belong to a Puffin!



There were not many Puffins to be seen, and I guess this was due to the fact that their numbers are down generally and in this part of the world; and also due to the fact that some would have reared their Pufflings by this stage and headed back out to sea. There is a fascinating RSPB post here about counting Puffins.


There may not have been many,
but the ones we saw delighted us, as they always do.





Puffins will always be the showstealers for me, but I love to see the cliffs filled with a healthy mix of seabirds. The photo below shows a Gannet surrounded by Kittiwakes.


Scarborough is not far up the coast, 
and after an excellent Italian meal on the harbourside, 
we looked up at the castle ...


and across to the sunlit cliffs ...


... as the sun set over the water.


4 comments:

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I'm not sure how much I'd like to lean out to get those great photographs!

Ragged Robin said...

Bempton Cliffs is a place I would so love to visit. A lovely set of images Caroline and so good to see the puffin (I have only ever seen puffins once on a boat ride in Cornwall). It looks as though you had the most wonderful holiday and I have so enjoyed reading all about it.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Lovely photos, specially the puffins, such wonderful birds!

Lowcarb team member said...

Oh those puffins, so good to see … and that last photograph is simply wonderful.

All the best Jan