Puffin
What a sad and worrying time for the world. We are very lucky living in Bempton, which is a sparsely populated area with wide open spaces within two minutes of the door and social distancing is not a problem. I say lucky, but being at a high risk, it can only be time before I am placed under house arrest. Being an outdoor person, I envisage being like a caged Tiger.
I decided to take an early morning walk with Symphony around the Bempton circular (Bempton, Buckton, Hoddy Cows Lane, Buckton Cliffs, Bempton Cliffs and back to Bempton down Cliff Lane) about four miles.
WARNING! This Blog Post Contains Images of Puffins!!!
It was nice to see four Mistle Thrushes in Buckton village but the first part of the walk up to Buckton Cliffs was quiet. I expected a few spring migrants but didn't see any. Even the Yellowhammers were few and far between!
Near the big gate on Hoddy Cows Lane, I could see two hairs boxing but they were to far off for an image. I did manage to capture one of the Hares as it sped across the field.
At the top of Hoddy Cows Lane, I managed a year tick with two Grey Partridge but they flew to quick to capture!
On the cliffs, Buckton and Bempton, there was a lot of seabird activity but numbers of Guillemots on the cliffs had lessened dramatically.
Razorbills were the most numerous Auk on the cliffs
Kittiwake numbers have increased with many on the cliffs (having a bad feather day in the strong NE wind), but many more on the sea and in flight.
A random image of a Carrion Crow, included for no specific reason!
Another seabird showing an increase in numbers on the cliff was the Puffin. Puffins were seen well at Grandstand viewpoint.
It was nice to see the Puffins that nest very close to Grandstand viewpoint to be back at the nest site!
Something to "Puffin" about!
It is not every day that you have the opportunity to photograph Puffins in flight. Today I had a go!
"I'm walking in the air..."
And, of course, the Gannets gave great entertainment!
Gannet Life
Final birds of interest were two Lapwings displaying over the potato field on the edge of the reserve.
The visitor centre at RSPB Bempton Cliffs is closed on government advice but the reserve is fully open and accessible. Obviously sensible social distancing should occur on the viewpoints, so please be prepared to move along should numbers of visitors increase. Elsewhere, there is plenty of open space, but more importantly, fresh coastal air renewed by Bempton's strong winds!
Lovely pics and thank you for allowing me to have a virtual walk with you.
ReplyDeleteThank you and I'm really pleased that you have enjoyed it.
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