Tuesday, June 2, 2009

June 2009 - Bempton Cliffs revisited - PUFFINS!



Tuesday 2nd, only 11 Puffins! Yes I took advantage of what the weatherman said was going to be; "the last of the hot sunny days", and went back to RSPB Bempton Cliffs as I had heard that some of these magical birds had returned in May.









What was apparent compared to the last time that I saw Puffins at Bempton Cliffs in 2000, was the lack of them! In 2000 there were quite a few, (in the hundreds). They were easily seen but scattered about in small groups or pairs. Now they are even scarcer and the small groups are no bigger than four. I walked a considerable distance towards Filey and back towards Flambrough, and there was a completer dearth of them. The Puffins main food source, Sand eels are scarcer too now and this is generally accepted as the main reason for such low numbers of Puffins.But enough of that! The feeling of wonder on seeing my first Puffin for 9 years was immense. Those red legs and webbed feet distinguish the Puffin form the other black and white birds such as the Guillemot and Razorbill and this makes them easier to spot.Though I only counted 11 all day, I suspect that some will be perched out of sight on inaccessible "out-of-the-way" cliff ledges.




As usual, a great many other seabirds were on show. The Herring Gull in small numbers was there, presumably waiting for chicks to be hatched and on the look-out for unattended eggs. Large numbers of Kittiwakes clung to the clif ledges along with many sizable colonies of Guillemots and to a lesser extent, Razorbills.











What was also noticeable everywhere one would go, was the large number of Painted-Lady Buterflies, more than any other type. Subsequently, I saw an item on the BBC's "Springwatch" programme stating that there are huge numbers of these Butterflies around this year as there has been an unusual influx from sub-Saharan Africa. Amazing how this delicate creature can fly all that distance!
Some numbers of Fulmars were also seen, but by far the largest number of any one specific seabird was the Gannet.



Above are photos of the younger members of the Gannet colony. Judging from the dark feathers, I would say that these are one year old, maybe two year old immatures. There was certainly many of these along with the vast numbers of mature breeding Gannets. And yes, I saw one chick that could have been about 2-weeks old.

Away from the sea, there as plenty of other birds to see; Greenfinch,Tree Sparrows, Goldfinches, Skylarks (which were quite numerous), Chaffinches, Wood Pigeon and Rock Doves together with plenty of Jackdaws and of course the Summer migrants of Swallows, Swifts and Martins, of which there was plenty.

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