I have always wanted to visit Bempton Cliffs but never got the chance but I wanted that to change in 2013. I had set a plan of visiting Bempton and Flamborough for the day, then in the late afternoon driving to some point in Wykenham Forest for the night to see if we could spot Nightjars.  During the day we would then go to see if we could observe Goshawk, Honey Buzzard, Turtle Dove, Crossbill, Tree Pipits, Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers and Wood Warblers.  Of course not just birds but any other wildlife we could come across.  My plans changed and I could only manage Bempton and Flamborough Head as a day trip.  I had to pick up two people one from Manchester and the other from Huddersfield.

I had visited neither place so I was looking forwards to it.  It was a beautiful day although along the way cloud cover varied.  Once off the M62 and on the out skirts of York we came across rolling plains like this:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarfrazh/9113323557/

Within such habitats we noticed many of the common countryside birds but also Common Whitethroat, Skylark and Corn Bunting.  I was glad to see Corn Buntings as they are a declining species as are Skylarks of course.  Once at the reserve we needed to freshen ourselves and we made it to the public toilets seconds before a coach load of birders from Nottingham!  Within the car park we noted Jackdaws, Magpies, Woodpigeons as well as Tree Sparrows.  On top of the cliff top meadows we did see Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Whitethroat in the scrub, Pied Wagtails and more Corn Buntings.  The feeders in the visitor centre were dominated by Tree Sparrows.  We never saw any other species there.  The meadows were splashed by pink flowers and they looked heavenly against the cotton cloud blue sky and deep blue sea.

Once on to the cliffs and with the sea bird colony just below us it was hard to decide what to look.  Gannets, Fulmars, Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes were all seen straight away.  My two companions had never visited a sea bird colony before and they were both interested in photography professionally.  They did not know where to start.  Guillemots and Razorbills would look up from underneath whilst Gannets, Kittiwakes and the occasional Fulmar would soar straight past or hover around the cliffs.  There we a couple of Shags around too.  The others were looking for Puffins but I did say to them we would be lucky to get them close.  However, we did find some Puffins which gave excellent views and even with my bridge camera I did get some decent results.  I focused on birds which were stationary. 

A lady asked what is that big brown bird, it looks very different?  It entered my view and I said a Buzzard, what a surprise.  As my bins followed the fast, northerly bound, powerful and purposeful flight of this bulky out of place brown bird I realised it was a Great Skua.  I expected it to stick around and really spice the day up by stealing food from the hard working sea birds or even predating one of out feathered friends but no such luck.  We walked past the final view point and in the distance saw a Roe Deer, pointed out to us by some walkers! 

We walked to the south but had no time to walk to Flamborough.  We saw Bempton Arch.  Talking to the other birders we realised that there boat trips into the sea where you could get closer to the sea birds and view them from below.  As we looked north we could understand why people called them sea bird cities as they were very busy indeed.  The sea below and eastwards was speckled black and white, as was the airspace by the cliffs.  We did note Rock Dove.  There were gull species such as Herring and Great-black Backed.  The only bird of prey to be seen was a Kestrel.  I did manage to hear and see a Blackcap singing near the visitor centre but in such a setting passerines were quite limited. 

Bempton attracted all sorts of people unlike many other nature reserves.  Not just people from all over the country it also attracted quite a diverse mix of ethnic groups.  There were African photographers, European families and girl from Singapore who was visiting London but travelled north to fulfil her wish of seeing Puffins.

A Sylvia Communis saves the day!

We then drove to Flamborough and descended onto the little beach.  Time was running out so we could not stay here too long.  As we descended Linnets and Whitethroats sang from the coastal scrub.  Whenever I have visited the coast in spring and summer I have always had two companions on my trips the Whitethroat and the Linnet.  Most people would think of Gulls as the bird associated mainly with coastal areas but for some reason the song of the Whitethroat rings through my head. 

We had a look at the beach and saw some of the caves and arches formed naturally by elements such as the wind and the sea.  We did not have time to stay long and I had to find a way of getting my photographer friends back to the car.  They were still in the same spot taking the hundredth photo of the same scene just to make sure they got the shot right.  Slowly we edged back to the stairs but a distraction would arise meaning that more photos had to be taken.  A Whitethroat popped up onto a perch and began to sing.  As I watched the song caught the attention of the slower photographer who asked what it was.  However, by the time he arrived the bird had disappeared.  A few metres further up it reappeared.  My friend slowly approached it but it vanished again.  I had an idea that would tempt the photographers back up to the car park.  I waited for the Whitethroat to appear on another bush appearing to dance to us and sing flirtingly.  It would disappear as we edged even closer.  We worked our way up following this little flirt of a bird, its skulking nature making the photographers even more interested.  It was the only way I could prize them away from the back and back to the car park and it did work.   

Here is a set dedicated to the photographs I have taken whilst there.  I do hope you enjoy them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarfrazh/sets/72157634556393604/