Bird
haven  |
Bridlington is one of the east coast's great seaside resorts, famous for
its fish and chips and beach holidays. But it is also the gateway
to one of the best seabird experiences anywhere - Bempton Cliffs. | | Bempton - sea
bird sanctuary. One of Britain's best bird experiences |
To
see this great spectacle, you'll need to head out to sea - the RSPB runs regular
trips to see the seabird colony at Bempton on the Yorkshire Belle.
The
white chalk cliffs of Bempton are 350 feet high, and support one of the largest
colonies of seabirds on the UK coast. The chalk has made the perfect nesting
environment for the birds. It was laid down in layers over tens of millions
of years - and the horizontal ledges have been adopted by the birds - and you'll
find different species at different levels of the cliffs. Colony
of birds  There
are more than 200,000 birds on the colony which is at its absolute peak of activity
in May when the birds are mating.
Look out for eight species of seabirds
at Bempton including Guillemots, Kittiwakes, and Razorbills. You'll find
the Puffins near the top of the cliffs, nesting in burrows whilst the Kittiwakes,
Gannets and the Guillemots are slightly further down with the Shags occupying
the broad ledges and caves at the bottom. Where the chalk is exposed, you
get a brilliant view - there are even seabirds trying to nest at a 45 degree angle! If
boats aren't your preferred choice of transport, why not get an altogether different
view from the top of the cliffs. From here you can see that the seabirds
crammed onto the cliff ledges, jostling for spaces. Gannets  Bempton
is also a great place to see the crown prince of seabirds - the Gannet.
This
is the most accessible mainland colony of these birds anywhere in the UK. There
about 3,500 Gannets at Bempton - the colony has grown from around 30 pairs in
the late 1960's when the first birds arrived, using the cliffs as an overspill
from Bass Rock further up the coast. This beautiful seabird has a six feet
wingspan. It's great to watch them when they're reunited with their mate
in the spring and they behave like long-lost lovers, caressing each other. More
to see and do聟  But
there's more to Bempton than sea birds - the cliffs are backed by agricultural
land which is a great place to watch migrant birds visiting from the continent.
There's
also an abundance of insect life including many varieties of moth. The cliff
tops are also carpet of wild flowers in the spring including Red Campion. It's
also a habitat that is popular for small mammals including Stoats and Weasels. And
don't forget the RSPB's boat trip to the cliff face and sea colony for one of
Britain's best bird watching experiences. | 
