RSPB Bempton

One of my objectives in making a trip to the East Coast was to meet up with friends from the camera club for an outing to the RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs. In this spectacular setting, around half a million seabirds gather in the summer, to nest and raise chicks on the chalk cliffs overlooking the North Sea. It really is an amazing spectacle, with gannets, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and herring gulls jostling for position. If you're lucky you might see puffins too. The puffin population at Bempton appears reasonably stable though elsewhere their numbers have dropped considerably in recent years.

It's incredible how the birds are able to perch and nest on the narrowest of ledges.

Gannets are much bigger than the other sea birds. To the left (below), with black heads, are a couple of guillemots. The grey and white gulls are the pretty kittiwakes. 

The razorbill (below) can be distinguished from the guillemot by its thick, blunt beak and white stripe. 

The view north is of Filey Bay with Filey in the distance.