Gannets at Bempton Cliffs

A photography day with Steve Hedges.

“RSPB Bempton Cliffs is a jewel of a location on the Yorkshire coast. It is home to the largest mainland seabird colony in England. Over half a million seabirds flock to Bempton Cliffs to breed. After spending the winter out at sea, gannets, kittywakes, puffins, guillemots, razorbills and fulmars head back to Bempton to breed on Yorkshire’s rugged sea cliffs.”

Gannet flypast

The gannets are here to nest

Gannets gathering nesting material

Sometimes a fight

Gannets pair for life and reinforce their bond with “beaking” displays

Adopting an ET pose

A single gannet stretching indicates that it is about to take-off

Space on the rock face is at a premium and jealeously protected. Here, a gull is mobbing a gannet, probably because the gannet has got too close to the gull eggs. (see also the picture at the top of the page).

Gannets also squabble over space

Sometimes it looks fairly vicious

More sqabbling pictures in the gallery

Gannets in flight

We tried some “techniques”. Here a long shutter speed to blur the motion

And here a long exposure to create “angels”

Other birds. Razorbills mating

Kittiwake

Looking inland, a skylark

Bempton Cliffs

Red campion

Bempton cliff face, with Staple Neuk arch

Next day, from the sea at Staple Neuk

And the geological features at the bottom of the cliffs.

Select any thumbnail below for a full screen slideshow