I visited Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve, in East Yorkshire. Home to over 200,000 nesting sea birds. Such a breath taking sight - Literally. Indeed, the sounds of living cliffs like these, are something everyone should experience in their lifetime, at least once. The reserve covers about 3 and a half miles of clifftop footpaths and the birds which can be easily observed include stunners such as Gannets. They drift effortlessly on the wing over the sea and cliffs and suddenly plummet, like heavy stones into water - but without the heavy splash, at speeds of up to 60mph. Striking birds. Another favourite if extremely odorous colony bird is the Kittiwake. Thousands of them and you will probably hear them before you see them. As their name suggests 'Kitti-Waaaark!' Cute, small gulls underrated who travel many many miles in search of food. Fairly easy to recognize. Nice to see pairs huddling close near their nests. Also sharing these fabulous cliffs were Guillemots and Razorbills - seen in the pic above, a youngster being fed by an adult. Now, they don't bother building nests, they just lay an egg on very small ledges instead and the Guillemots' young, when ready, will jump off from tremendous heights into the sea... Brave souls! You can tell the difference between these two as the Razorbill has an almost raptor-shaped bill with white stripe. Perhaps one of The cutest seabirds to grace the UK'S cliffs, is the Puffin. Who can stuff dozens of fish in their bills at one time. Supermarket bulk shop - Puffin style. Not just a pretty face - Very clever birds but sadly under serious threat from over-fishing.
Herring Gulls & Fulmars also frequent these cliffs, along with other birds in nearby fields such as Kestrels,Buntings,Martins,Sparrows,Peregrines,Owls, & Skylarks to name but a few. I even saw a Mole out of it's hole. Never actually seen one before, only in books and on TV! It was still too quick for a pic, scurrying into thick grasses and brambles. Bempton reserve really is a fantastic place to be. Living cliffs. Millions of years old. I do hope, that the decline in many of these sea birds will cease and that their resources and fish stocks will soon be stabilized for them. The responsibility of making our seas viable and clean and campaigning for this is down to all of us. I just hope this reserve and others around the UK are preserved for it's wildlife forever. A coast without sea birds is like a meadow without flowers... Or, some other, slightly better poetic analogy... I'm sure you can think of a better one.
