Visit to Flamborough Head and Bempton Cliffs : 5th August 2012
For our second day on the east coast we took a drive out to the lighthouse at Flamborough Head and had a walk around the bay there which was very interesting and we could hear a number of small birds among the grass and wild flowers and plants at the cliffs enge bur they were were hidden and hard to see. There were lots of Swallows flying low along the grass. We decided that the day was nice enough to go over to Bridlington to see if we could get a boat trip on the “Yorkshire Belle” to Bempton Cliffs so we could see the colony from the sea looking towards the cliffs. We parked up (no mean fear there) and headed off to the pier where we hoped to get a boat trip. There was a trip out to Bempton Cliffs but it was a three hour trip starting at 3pm and we couldn’t wait that long. We did however manage to get a trip more or less straight away that went out to Flamborough Head and back so we thought that was better than nothing.
We set sail and passed the end of Bridlington. The boat was quite good fun but it took a little while to get away from Bridlington. When it did we could see long beaches that were accessed from steep paths down from the cliffs and there were lots of sunbathers including humans and Gulls and Cormorants. Unfortunately it soon turned to drizzle then heavy rain and we were then confined to the cover of inside the cabin. It was roomy enough but there wasn’t much to see from inside. We popped our heads out to get a view of Flamborough Head before the boat turned round and headed back to harbour. A little dry spell on the way back allowed us to get outdoors again as as we neared home a couple of what looked like juvenile Razorbills popped up and then quickly disappeared. Later we saw a few Common Terns plunging into the water.
By the time we got back to the harbour it was torrential rain and it was so bad most of the passengers were reluctant to leave the boat. However the 3pm passengers were waiting for their trip to start so eventually we all had to get off the boat and let them on. They were already drenched and we were soon to be drenched as well.
Back at the car and soaking wet we thought about heading off somewhere drier but at the last minute we though we should just give Bempton Cliffs another go just in case it was drier there. As it happens, by the time we got there the weather was much better so we decided to have a quick walk on the easterly path and back. Whilst it was just a repeat of the previous day, it just isn’t boring doing the same again. You can never get tired of watching Gannets ! As we were standing at the main rock the “Yorkshire Belle” hove into view and a few of their passengers were out on deck getting fantastically close views of the Gannet colony. The boat came right in to within a few yards of the rock and we were a bit cheesed off that we had not had the time to get this trip. As it happens, we had not even booked a room for the night (since the North Star was full) so we couldn’t have taken that trip which would not have got back to Bridlington until 6pm – that would have been cutting it a bit fine.
Anyway we were happy enough with our day and were walking back along the coast when a bird was pointed out to us perched about 50 or 60 feet away from us with its back facing us but its head turned towards us. It had a tag on its back which had a symbol and also had 175403 (or D5403) written on it. It wasn’t a Buzzard but it looked too big for a Peregrine so we were a bit nonplussed. I took a few photos of it before it decided to fly off so we asked at the visitor centre if anyone could id it. Unfortunately a lot of the staff in the visitor centre at that moment appeared to be young volunteers so no one could explain the tag on the bird’s back and whilst we all thought it looked like a Peregrine Falcon none of us was 100% sure. In any event it was a good spot and we were pleased to have such a good view of it. Perhaps I will send a copy of it to Bird Watching magazine to see if they cal explain how to find out more about a bird from it’s id tag.
With the day getting on we drove off into what soon became a very wet late afternoon and eventually we booked a hotel room in York for the night which was a smallish room in a Premier Inn but it did mean that we had a very pleasant morning the next day strolling around York before heading back to Manchester.
UPDATE ON MYSTERY BIRD
I posted a photograph of the mystery bird we saw at Bempton Cliffs on the “Bird Watching” magazine’s Facebook page and in the October issue of the magazine this appeared
Mystery Bird
In the November 2012 issue a follow-up article appeared with the above picture reprinted.
