22 June 2024 : RSPB Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire
Sunny day but a late start so arrived 1.30pm
We intended to visit the cliffs early in the morning to make sure we avoided the worst of the weekend crowds, sadly a puncture on the way there put that plan to bed and we didnt arrive till 1.30pm on Sunday, and it was so busy we had to park in the overflow car park.
After a quick visit to the center we headed out to the cliffs, the first of the viewing platforms was closed due to land slippage so we headed of the ones further afield, the crowds were such that we had to wait for a place on the platforms, but we did manage it after a short wait, normally I would have lingered but that didnt seem fair on the others waiting, so each viewing spot was a quick stay only.
The cliffs were alive with birds, Gannets were probably the majority of the roosts, but the Guillimots were a close second. The Razorbills were plentiful and the kittwakes here and there, by far the smallest coloney was the Puffins, with only a few in each place and we perhaps only saw ten in total.
Almost all of the birds we spotted were with young in the nest, and plenty were taking advantage of the sunny day to fly out to see for a spot of fishing ! All in all a wonderful reserve to visit and we will definatly return, but I would choose to get there early and not at the weekend if it could be helped
