Bempton and back

Hello

An ardent crew of us tried to escape the intense heat of Middle England today and drove north to Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast. A wonderful place to go in any event but made all the more special with the lure of the regular Black-browed Albatross and a vagrant Red-tailed (Turkestan) Shrike. It was always going to be an early start and just after 8am saw us kitted up and heading towards the cliffs after our journey from sunny Northants. Two of our team were Cambodian tour leaders who had come over to exhibit at the Global Birdfair and it was great to see new birds for them at the en-route service station which included Song and Mistle Thrushes!

A vibrant sea-bird city of course was a brand new experience and they particularly wanted to see Puffin. First we had to take in flocks of Tree Sparrows, Greenfinches, Common Whitethroat, Linnet and Great Spotted Woodpecker in the car park and then of course if was the noisy and wonderful cliff-nesting Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Gannets.

After an absence yesterday we were relieved to see the Black-browed Albatross wheeling in towards us, always an amazing sight anywhere in the world but all the more special in the Northern Hemisphere. Our Cambodian friends duly delighted in these views but were just as happy to see Fulmars, Shags and of course the cheeky Puffins!

It is easy to become transfixed and a little detached when watching the antics of all these birds, and trying to take photos provides another exciting dimension. We tore ourselves away from the cliffs and went in search for the long-staying shrike, finding it quickly in a coastal field hedge. First though Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Corn Bunting were all new avian experiences for our friends! The shrike showed nicely and we watched it dispatch a couple of bees. The local farmer decided the time was right to harvest the cereal crop right next door and the bird was subsequently displaced by the combine harvester and seemingly not reported afterwards.

We then spent a couple more hours enjoying the sea-birds from various vantage points but even here the temperature rose into the early 30s Centigrade but with a nice on-shore breeze.

Our journey back was a warm affair with temperatures up to 40C when we were passing through sections of Leicestershire.

In the county today the Garganey was again at Stanford Reservoir along with five Common Sandpipers, six Little Egrets, a Kingfisher and a Raven. Two Ravens were at Hanging Houghton together with the still-sitting Spotted Flycatcher and a Hobby. A family party of Spotted Flycatchers remain at Lamport Hall and a Common Redstart was still at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning.

This weather of course sends the insects potty with huge numbers of moths active during the night and lots of butterflies, day-flying moths and odonata during the day. Several gardens hosted Purple Hairstreak butterflies today (including ours) and they were in particularly large numbers at Salcey Forest.

Regards

Neil M

Red-tailed Shrike courtesy
of Jim Dunkley.

Black-browed Albatross.

Gannets.