Bempton Birds

Bempton birds I

Bempton RSPB reserve is an amazing place. The breeding season of the birds is progressing now and so, whilst it is a great place to visit all year round, you need to plan a visit as soon as possible to see nesting puffins, razorbills, common  guillemots, gannets (Atlantic gannets), kittiwakes (black-legged kittiwakes), fulmars, feral pigeons, meadow pipts, skylarks and many others.

The cliffs are chalk and are over 100m high in places. They run form Flamborough north to Filey and are a major feature of the local coast. There are walks along the top of them from the RSPB reserve.

For those interested in the image above it is a 10 shot multiple exposure to show the flight paths of the birds taken using a Nikon D800E and 70-200mm lens mounted on a tripod. Photography here can be difficult as the birds are not always close. The use of a 500mm lens is best for close ups of the birds and if you visit when the wind is right the fulmars and gannets 'hover' off the edge of the cliff, accompanied by the gulls. To get good close-ups of the auks, which is possible from Bempton, but you have to be lucky and spend a long time at it usually, you could take one of the boat trips from Bridlington or from Flamborough North Bay.