“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
3 replies on “Gannets at Bempton Cliffs”
Wow, Amazing pictures!
Great set, too many faves. probably the ‘fight’ top then the mobbing for me. I must go there next year.
Brilliant first one of a gull mobbing a gannet