SUBS visits the seaside...
On Sunday SUBS visited the RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs, the best place to see seabirds in England, which was recently featured on the Springwatch Easter special.
After an early start due to the long minibus journey, we arrived at the reserve midmorning to a lovely sunny day but with a chilly sea breeze. The reserve is arranged with several viewpoints along the cliffs, and we started with the nearest viewpoint which had had views that morning of our main goal: a Puffin!
The viewing point was busy, and as we looked around we saw many of the breeding seabirds such as guillemots, razorbills, gannets, kittiwakes and fulmars. All along the cliffs they were in large numbers and came very close, creating a great spectacle! Spotting a puffin in this crowd would have been difficult, but luckily a lady from the RSPB already had her scope on it allowing us an easy view!
Further along the cliffs, another RSPB volunteer had a different treat for us: a bridled guillemot! Unlike normal guillemots, bridled guillemots have white ‘spectacles’ around the eyes, a feature which is due to a recessive gene. At Bempton 2% of the guillemots exhibit this trait, which would have been hard for us to spot! The further north you go, a greater percentage of the guillemot populations are bridled, reaching 25% in Svalbard!
With such good views of the birds, we saw lots of breeding behaviour, such as Gannets collecting nest material as well as reaffirming their pair bond. Whilst walking between viewpoints we also caught sight of a peregrine falcon, as well as meadow pipits, skylarks and tree sparrows.
Later in the day we visited the nearby seaside town of Bridlington, as no trip to the coast is complete without fish and chips! We also came across a final treat: 99s that were £1! We all had a great day by the sea, and was a lovely departure from our usual seabird-lite trips around Sheffield!
- Luke (SUBS President 2014/15)