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.

Northern Holiday, 2017 (1): Puffins

Those who have followed my blog over the years will know that Puffins are my favourite bird. We almost missed these seasonal visitors this year; but, as you can see, there were still a few left at RSPB Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast when we were there in early July. I'm running very behind, but never mind!

Above: I am intrigued by the feathers on the nape of the neck...

Most remaining Puffins were still taking care of Pufflings.

The cliff-face photo above, taken with my zoom lens fully extended,
shows a few of the adult birds. 

There are also a couple of Razorbills.

Every so often we got a really good view of a Puffin. 

This photo shows the cliff, with Gannets, Razorbills, a Herring gull and a Puffin. I think I can also make our Kittiwakes and Guillemots.

We got the impression that this Puffin was about to fly, but it may have been waiting for its mate to return with sand eels.

We broke our journey south in Yorkshire, so the photos above are actually from our last lap. We had spent the first part of our holiday near, and frequently on, Lindisfarne in Northumbria. I wish I had taken a better photo, but I love this stained glass window, created by Borderdale Stained Glass, in the Anglican church on the island. Not only does it show a handsome Puffin but also an Eider (affectionately known as a 'Cuddy' duck after St Cuthbert) and the haul-out of Grey Seals who sang most beguilingly each evening at sunset.

I shall end this post back at Bempton Cliffs. Do take a look at the Gannet's feet! I have always been so intrigued by their eyes that I don't think I have ever noticed these before. There were plenty of Guillemots on this rock. These are all wonderful seabirds, but the Puffin will always be the show-stealer for me.

Puffins from RSPB Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire

I have been wanting to post these Puffin pictures for days, but I recently switched to Lightroom as a photo storage system and it is taking me a while, particularly with more than one or two images, to become adept at exporting and so on. I really like the way Lightroom displays, and I feel sure that the procedures will soon become second nature (but you didn't hear me say that) ...

So here at last are a few Puffins!

Our days out on the cliffs were during that bitterly cold snap. We had pelting rain, howling gales ... and just occasionally a sunny moment. I feel sure that my photos would have been better if the light had been on our side. But Puffins are Puffins, and they are always a joy to watch. It was a good opportunity, too, to visit the re-vamped RSPB Seabird Centre. 

Our first visit on this occasion was in especially unfavourable conditions. My hands have not felt so cold since I was on the outside balcony at the top of the Empire State Building in January some years ago. The Puffins were not showing well (who can blame them), but this one little chap more than made up for any discomfort. 

The Puffin may have been busy with some pre-mating grooming ...

... or was perhaps busy fluffing up the feathers, having only recently arrived off the ocean. 

You can see from the photo below that the sea was a steely grey, but the perfect backdrop for a rainbow.  

On our second visit the weather was a bit kinder, though I was still wearing two coats, a scarf, hat and hoodie. There were more Puffins about. The one below was peering down on the neighbouring Razorbills.

The photo below shows the distinctive orange-yellow spot on the cheek. If you click this link, you will see how it moves.

The coast, as you can see, were awash with seabirds. I will post more photos of the Puffins' neighbours in the days to come.

I just love those orange feet!

A pair of Razorbills strutted along the steep cliff ledge path to inspect ...

... and a Puffin perched precariously near the edge to look down.

Puffin, Kittiwake and Razorbill all seemed quite at ease with one another.

I asked David to pose on one of the new viewing platforms. Isn't Mosey Downgate a brilliant name?

I hope the photo below gives you some idea of the sheer size of the cliffs. 

A visit to RSPB Bempton Cliffs is always a most enjoyable experience. It is also an educational one.

The viewing platforms mean that you can watch the birds safely from a distance, without causing a disturbance. This is particularly important since threatened species such as the Puffins and the other seabirds arrive for the breeding season. The RSPB website includes helpful information on the subject of nesting birds. A local MP, Kevin Hollinrake, has become a Species Champion for the Puffin. You can read about his conservation publicity role here.

The Bempton staff often have scopes positioned on the cliff ledges to enhance bird-watching activity: zoom lenses are very helpful, and I often found that I had a better view through my camera than my binoculars. 

The RSPB staff and volunteers are often on hand to point out the Puffins (which, despite their 'hi-vis' features) can be surprisingly difficult to spot. There were several amusing and informative signs like the one below along the cliff.

No surprises here, but I came away convinced that Puffins are my favourite bird!

Postscript ...

My poem, 'Penmon Priory', has just been published in the 2016 ekphrastic eBook produced by Lidia Chiarelli and Huguette Bertrand for the international Immagine e Poesia Movement. The poem, largely about the priory on the Isle of Anglesey (off North Wales), also concerns Puffin Island, an islet off Anglesey, on which 2000 breeding pairs of Puffins were recorded at one point in the past. My poem has been paired with artwork by Jongo Park from South Korea. The eBook is free and can be downloaded from this link.

Post for 'I and the Bird' Blog Carnival: Northern Gannets

Welcome!

I have occasionally participated in these I and the Bird blog carnivals, and have always found them an excellent way of learning something new about a topic I already knew a little about. Blog carnivals offer the opportunity of visiting different blogs to see the most wonderful photographs on a given subject. Do follow the links to see who else has been taking part. The Carnival was delayed, but is now up and running here ...

On this occasion the folk behind I and the Bird put out a call for posts about Sulids, a group of birds including the Booby (which sadly we do not have in the UK) and the Gannet (which can be seen here in the UK in coastal areas and on offshore islands).

I hope you you will enjoy my photos. Do check out the links listed here - and please leave me a message in the Comments section if you would like to do so!

So where do I enjoy watching Gannets (my shorthand from now on for Northern Gannets)?

Well, I have often seen them off the Scottish coast, particularly around the beautiful Inner Hebridean island of Skye, but the site I have visited most often is a reserve run by the RSPB called Bempton Cliffs, on the Yorkshire coast in the north-east of England. This is the only mainland colony.

The coastline at Bempton Cliffs is steep and craggy. However, there is pretty good access to the viewing points via a series of pathways, which means that this site is a popular one, even with those who have certain mobility restrictions.

Look at these sociable birds! The top two are perching on their adjacent nests.

And here (below) you can begin to appreciate the precarious nature of the cliff-face. The diagonal supporting rock looks particularly unstable ...

The photo below shows the majestic line of these cliffs on a sunny day. You can see a couple of gannets in flight out to the right ...





... and here (below) are more Gannets on the wing.

There are sites around the UK where you might spot the occasional Gannet, but RSPB Bempton Cliffs is not one of these! You can see one of the rocks used by the colony in the photo below ...

There is usually one bird flying out ...

... or coming in to land.

I'm not sure what has caused the streaks of blue on the cliff, but you sometimes see bits of coloured twine or netting incorporated into the nests.

The photograph below shows a Guillemot preparing to touch down. The Bempton Gannets share the cliffs with Guillemots, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Razorbills ... and Puffins.

It is not surprising on account of the size of the colony that there are occasional lively exchanges, squabbles and spats!

Enter a Puffin!

Gannets pair for life. Wildlife photographer, Steve Race, took this stunning picture (click here) of an adolescent bird garlanding his mate-to-be with a string of Red Campion flowers.

The photo below shows the wings. The Gannet's wingspan is up to 2 metres.

The birds in the photo below are just three of the 200,000+ nesting seabirds who make their home in these cliffs from April - September.

Sadly the Bempton Puffin colony has been affected by adverse weather conditions, diminishing supplies of sand-eels and other factors. Scores of Puffins were lost earlier this year on the Yorkshire coast in what has been described as one of the worst Puffin disasters for almost half a century. The eventual return of the birds was celebrated with special cappuffinccino drinks that went on sale in 30 local outlets. 

Late spring is a busy time on the cliffs, with Gannets nesting and Puffins seeking out their cliff burrows, which they line with strands of long grass. 

Here I am on the cliff at one of the five Viewing Stations ...

... preparing to take a look at the variety of seabirds on this stunning bit of coast.

Gannets comprise the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae. 70% of Northern Gannets breed around our British shores.



They feed on mackerel and herring by plunge-diving from great heights of up to 40 metres. I love the pale blue eyes, surrounded by bare, black skin, which make this bird so distinctive!