Happy Gannet Family
This mornings call to the cliffs was on the back of a bright, sunny morning - surprisingly the forecasted heavy rain came in earlier than expected and had passed through! Not complaining though as standing in heavy rain on the viewpoints is rather challenging and dampens the spirit! Regretfully, due to other commitments, I could only stay until 1200hrs and spent most of this time on Bartlett Nab.
Arriving in the car park, I was drawn to the colony of Tree Sparrows, adults and juveniles and felt obliged to take an image!
A good number of Red Admiral butterflies abounded the feeding station area
Including this one attempting to challenge me on one of the interpretation boards - I think I could get this one right!
The Gannet juveniles (Gugas) are getting bigger with a wide variation in maturity - some have fledged, some are in their dark feathers, others are still in their downy white, others are 50/50!
Auk (Razorbill, Guillemot and Puffin) numbers have reduced dramatically as they head out to sea, leaving large gaps on the ledges. Puffins this morning were a real challenge to find and will probably be gone completely by next week!
Its behind you! Menacing "eyes" in the rock watching this Guillemot!
Kittiwake Tarrock flexing its wings
Adult Herring Gull "chilling"!
Juvenile Herring Gulls
Nature can be cold and cruel with young birds falling from the ledges into the sea. However, natural recycling rapidly takes place!
In the Fulmar nest
Today, the RSPB ran one of their cruises - Glorious Gannets on the Yorkshire Belle
