Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris returns to Bempton Cliffs east Yorkshire for another season, April 2022
It seemed likely that the Black-browed Albatross would return to Bempton in 2022 having seemingly adopted the cliffs their in summer and autumn 2021 but it seems fair to say that most people did not expect it to return so early. First seen on March 30th I delayed my first visit of the season until April 4th to find the bird perched on the cliff below Staple Newk visible from Old Rollup but frustratingly just hidden from view from the Staple viewpoint. Arriving around 09:30 I had a look from New Rollup and then stationed myself with other determined watchers at Staple but it was 14:20 before it moved and popped it head up above the ridge; a few quick images and a few flaps and it disappeared again before eventually flying out to sea and having a good bath after which it looped back in towards the cliffs and did a couple of fly pasts before landing back on its vacant Gannet nest. The number of territory holding Gannets is still low so it is not having the battles to land that it did last year but as more Gannets return to claim their old nests things may change. A few images below.
Black-browed Albatross June 29th and July 9th 2021
After spending two days, 17 hours in total, looking for this bird at Bempton in 2020 and failing to see it even though it was there on one occasion when we were stood in the wrong spot I finally managed to see it on June 29th. The story of that trip is detailed below.
After a rather predictable dip on the two Lincs Beeeaters on Sunday it was back to normal service yesterday bumping into the second Caspian Tern of the month at Barton in every location I seemed to visit starting off with Waters' Edge in the morning then the sailing pit , over Chowder and Far Ings in the afternoon and eventually saw it sitting on the foreshore off the tileyard, my first land bound encounter. By evening my phone was flat so put it on charge upstairs; hitting the sack early my wife informed me that the phone had gone off and a casual glance saw a WhatsApp timed at 23:05 from John H saying that the Albatross had been seen at Bempton and Thornwick Bay - after last year's two days and 17 hours https://pewit.blogspot.com/2020/07/two-days-at-bempton.html of frustration I not inclined to assume that it would be there in the morning so didn't set the alarm. Then luck played a strange trick on me - waking up at 04:55 I looked at Birdguides and saw the message Black-browed Albatross Bempton this morning which without my glasses I took to mean now so I had some breaky and packed up and was about to set off when I looked at it again and realised that it meant yesterday morning; oh well I was up anyway so might as well go but with no great urgency. Then approaching Carnaby at 06:30 I get a message that its on the cliffs at Bempton - a strange sense of urgency then ensued! arrived in the car park at 06:50 with few cars and no people to tell me where New Rollup was but a man with a strimmer pointed me in the right direction and after a quick walk, jog, run the 2020 frustration was laid to rest; after initially distant views we moved to Staple Newk and it performed, mainly below us it has to be said, but at close range for what seemed like a long time before flying out to sea. After a long wait it returned along the cliff top, when I should have just watched it pass at 30 feet and 6 feet overhead instead of trying to photograph it - the rest of the day was spent in good company waiting for it to perform again but I left before it did - no complaints no excuses and maybe just maybe I am now making the right decisions.
