randombirder

Long stayers always peak my interest which makes decision making a little easier for trips like this.  Bempton Cliffs is a breathtaking place to visit especially in the summer when the seabird frenzy is at its zenith. The red-tailed shrike (turkestan shrike) showed beautifully feeding off a concrete post before disappearing into cover where it then popped out into the open, preened a little and basked in the sun for a while.  Lovely stuff.   The walk along the cliff-face was majestic as always, seabirds everywhere, the sights, sounds and smells of the place - nature at its best. The now reliable black-browed albatross was also present wheeling around the cliffs until it headed out seaward and plopped itself down distantly for a bit of peace and quiet.

A trip that will live long in the memory.  Thankfully Albert had returned after a few days out to sea.  Always a gamble as the black-browed albatross has a tendency to disappear at the most inconvenient moments. It was quite an anxious wait of around five hours while viewing from the Grandstand, that was until one keen albatross-eyed birder managed to pick out Albert loafing distantly way out to sea - it was actually impressive how he managed to get onto it.  Over the course of around an hour, we watched it as it slowly made it towards the cliffs settling once again on sea further along the coastline toward North Landing. I decided to wander down and stopped at the New Roll-up Viewpoint.  The albatross was flying again and making its way toward the cliff face.  Over the next half an hour or so, this monstrous sea-bird wheeled around the stack flying past on a single occasion, appearing to wait for clearance to land before finally touching down on top of the cli...

This part of East Yorkshire is absolutely spectacular.  The rugged cliff faces that stretch out from Flambrough Head up to Bempton and beyond provide the stage for a dramatic and breath-taking seabird spectacle. The viewpoints overlooking the cliffs give the public grandstand views across the cliff-face, the home to thousands of seabirds. Incredible numbers of  Kittwake ,  Razorbill ,  Guillemot  and  Gannet  swirling around this epic landscape. The trip started at midday Saturday, a spontaneous decision to head away and by five, we arrived at the Lighthouse car park at Flamborough.  I made tracks immediately to connect with the male Black-headed Bunting that sat out in the open on a gloomy afternoon, preening, roosting, before making a dash to the top of the hedge-line where it paused briefly before disappearing into the adjacent field. I then disappeared as the weather was closing in.  Heading back to the car park where the fem...

A trip over to Ireland for my sister's wedding party but there were a couple of days for sightseeing. The Cliffs of Moher is disappointingly overrun with tourists, but not without reason as it's an impressive place.  The charge of six euros to enter the site seemed a little crude though.  Cashing in on a natural landscape was obviously the opportunity to steal a few shekels from the tourists. The cliffs were teeming with seabirds.  Plenty of Puffin , Guillemot , Razorbill , and Fulmar .  Two Red-billed Chough tumbled over the cliff face. The towns of Salthill and Galway are also worth a visit.