A winter walk at Bempton Cliffs RSPB
A post Christmas walk at Bempton on an initially sunny then cloudy and progressively more windy day revealed that the only Puffins were in the shop, shock horror, but a number of Fulmars were back prospecting along the cliffs and the local Jackdaws proved to be entertaining while the locally made scones in the cafe are always a major attraction. A Peregrine and Kestrel patrolled but evaded the camera but the cliffs thronged with that seldom appreciated super species the Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon. Presumably in summer they are lost amongst the hordes of seabirds but in winter they gather in large flocks and dash around the cliffs commuting to inland fields to feed. On getting home I consulted John Mather’s, The Birds of Yorkshire 1986 to find that even in the early 1980’s there were counts of up to 5000 birds in the area in winter and surveys had revealed that 80% were or more realistically resembled pure Rock Doves. Looking at the mix at the moment that percentage I think will be lower but there are still a lot of good looking Rocks. Early authors of Lincolnshire bird lists considered that Rock Doves from the Yorkshire coast occasionally strayed to the Lincolnshire coast particularly in hard weather but proof was always lacking. Below a selection of images all taken with the Canon R^2 and Canon RF 100-500. The saddest part of the visit was seeing the empty Gannet nests at Staple Newk all adorned with masses of plastic fishing detritus a start reminder of the appalling way in which we treat our seas and oceans and the creatures that live there.
Bempton Cliffs looking towards Flamborough Head December 2024
Staple Newk - Gannets nests peppered with plastic fishing debris
A lone Great Black-backed Gull atop the ridge - the Black-browed Albatross memories seem a long way back
Fulmar patrolling the cliffs - check the wing moult
Fulmar in nice flat light - Bempton is such a great place and living so close I tend to visit as an after thought most years - I should make more effort and appreciate it more
There are a lot of photo opportunities beyond the portraits that I seem to end up with every year - must try harder
Moult lovers dream bird
Jackdaws are always entertaining and look at the subtle colours in the wing coverts and mantle feathers
Jackdaw flight over cafe scraps - submissive bird on the left
A couple of pretty good looking Rocks
A fine dove - pigeon gathering
A wide range of plumage types but still a good proportion of Rock types
You would guess that the local Peregrines never go hungry