Back in the UK, Black-browed Albatross

Last week I arrived in the UK for a family visit, our first after covid. Over the first week we did lots of stuff, on which I will elaborate later. Here I want to focus on our visit to Yorkshire. We stayed in Filey with our dear friends Mark and Amity. The reunion was emotional, but my brain wasn't completely there... It was in RSPB Bempton Cliffs. Half an hour after arrival on June 2nd I was already at Bempton Cliffs. Mark and I spent a few good hours there waiting for the albatross to show up, admiring the amazing reserve and its breeding seabirds, but one long-winged bird didn't show up. We had to leave empty-handed to join our family for tea. 

Back in Filey, as I was chopping up vegetables for tea, my phone rang - a mate who stayed on the cliff reported the albatross to be back (thanks mate!)... Classic. Mark and I looked at each other, then at our wives, then at the fading light outside. 15 minutes later we were back in Bempton Cliffs. I ran from the carpark to Staple Nook, only to discover the bird was not showing, apparently still there but concealed from view. Noooooo! I couldn't believe it, After a few long minutes of stressful wait eventually we spotted the albatross flying around with Gannets, showing off its long black wings and wonderful black brows. Yes! Sigh of relief. What a bird. The light was fading quickly so my photos weren't amazing, but I was over the moon with joy and excitement.

Get in pic.twitter.com/1xXEzj9Pyt

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) June 2, 2022

Next day we returned with the families - Bempton Cliffs really is a perfect reserve for the family to enjoy wildlife at its best. Of course, as soon as we arrived, the albatross was showing, first at some distance, circling over Staple Nook with gannets:

Then we joined the crowds at Staple Nook viewpoint and were treated to fantastic figures-of-eight flights below us. Light conditions were a bit better. Still room for improvement but I guess I shouldn't complain.

It was challenging to find photos of the albatross without other birds in the frame, demonstrating how huge the bird numbers are there. Check out how many birds are in this video by Mark:

A beautiful show from the Albatross at @Bempton_Cliffs this afternoon - it never gets old, especially when shared with friends. @yoavperlman

# pic.twitter.com/oJPEqWh24b

— Mark James Pearson (@Markthebirder) June 3, 2022

Kittiwake and Gannet

Kittiwake and two Gannets

Puffin

Razorbill

Of course, Bempton Cliffs offers so much more than the albatross. I have visited the reserve several times before, yet it keeps blowing my mind away, how powerful the wildlife experience it offers, and how well the reserve is set up for visitors, much to the credit of the fantastic staff and volunteers there. 

Fulmar are mega birds

Adult Gannets are so beautiful

To my eyes, younger birds are even more stunning with their checkered plumage

Puffins are the sweetest thing

I enjoyed the challenge of photographing flying auks - they fly so fast!

Razorbill

Tree Sparrows joined us for the celebratory ice cream back in the cafe

Scotland #3 - seabird extravaganza

Back home in Norwich already, but I have some more Scottish tales to tell. On July 31st we went out to sea with my mate Phil from Shetland Seabird Tours. We left Lerwick harbour and headed towards Noss NNR. Phil boat is great - small enough to get close to water level, but sits very well on the water. 

Noss is an impressive rock and has even more impressive gannet numbers - in fact 22,000 pairs breed there. The sea was somewhat choppier than normal but we all did well, especially Libby who fell asleep halfway through the trip...

The gannets there know their duty and showed up when they were invited by Phil. I was so unprofessional and forgot my small lens onshore. At these distances, my 500 was useless, so all these photos were taken with my phone. Phone photos should never be displayed on a computer screen, I know. But all in all they're not too bad I think, for phone photos at least.

Quite a few Bonxies joined the feast too:

As did the local Great Black-backed Gulls:

Most breeding gannets had Masked-Booby-like fluffy chicks still in the nest:

Lots of non-breeders too

Shags, made in 2017

On the way back we stopped for some seabirds away from the cliffs. We encountered some feeding concentrations of puffins and Arctic Terns. Closer views on Sumburgh Head but lovely to see them at sea:

Most Common Guillemots had already left - only few seen

Several Black Guillemots (Tysties) were loafing in the harbour - losing their summer plumage:

 Some more Arctic Terns in the harbour:

And a few Common Eider families: 

Back on land, one of the few Common Terns on Shetland was especially obliging just in the carpark:

Many thanks to Phil for the brilliant tour. Great fun and quality birding. Highly recommended to anyone visiting Shetland. Till next post...

Norfolk rarity

Last night the wind switched to a proper northerly, which means better seawatching conditions. I haven't been out properly for toooooooooooo long, actually since I got back from Iberia, so I was very keen to head out. During the few hours of sleep I dream of albatrosses and Fea's Petrels. I arrived at Cley at 05:00. At first the few birds were disappointingly distant, because the wind had switched to north just few hours earlier. Rather soon I clocked on a Sooty Shearwater - nice, but too distant for a photo. Then birds were pushed closer inshore by the strong wind and there was a nice constant passage of terns and gannets. Albert didn't fly past, nor a pterodroma. Bird highlights of the morning were a Manx Shearwater, Little Gull, 40 Common Scoter and a Guillemot. Sadly I had to leave after a couple of hours - had to get back home for schoolrun. See full list here. After leaving the others had a couple of spoony Poms and a Velvet Scoter.

Sandwich Tern

Gannet and bird choppers

But the true highlight of the morning was an extremely visitor to Norfolk - DIM Wallace who walked into the seawatching shelter in nonchalance, like it's his midlands local patch. Great to see him here, alongside some of Norfolk's finest.

Yorkshire weekend

Had a superb weekend in Yorkshire with my family - got my share of the perfect combination of birds & people. We stayed with our dear friends Mark and Amity in Filey. We did lots of stuff together and enjoyed every minute of it. Birding highlight was of course the annual visit to RSPB Bempton Cliffs. It is such a fantastic place. The reserve was very full but that did not affect the very pure and powerful wildlife experience there. The fact that the birds pass few meters away and pay no attention to humans makes it all so special. Light was shite, and I had Libby on my back and held Bamba on a lead most of the time.  As a result photo opps were rather limited but that's the great thing about Bempton Cliffs  - you don't need much to get great photos there!

Last year when we visited the reserve Puffins weren't that cooperative. This time around they played ball, and showed as well as they can at this site. Stunning birds.

 

Squadrons of the majestic Gannets patrolled along the cliffs. In this image the huge number of birds on the water is visible: 

At one point the gannets collected nesting material few meters from the main track - magic moments:

Check that eye!

 I always love Kittiwakes - little gulls with an attitude ;-)

Most were on eggs but few failed breeders were rebuilding nests:

There was good Fulmar activity too but I spent little time with them:

 Razorbills are brilliant birds. Funny thing about them is that their eyes are hardly visible in photos:

Here the dark eye is just about visible:

O'mighty cliffs!

Tree Sparrows are sort of a Yorkshire specialty:

This guy collected caterpillars puffin-style but dropped them on the track beside us, don't know why:

Mark introduces me to his superb local patch - Filey Brigg and Carr Naze. We were slightly optimistic with rain and wind almost from a proper direction but our hopes did not materialize into any migrants. Few shorebirds were at the tip of the Brigg:

Oystercatchers

And a small group of Dunlins and Knots:

Many thanks guys for the great weekend - looking forward to the next time we meet!

Me & Mark with Filey Brigg sticking out into the North Sea in the background