Bempton Cliffs RSPB
Bempton Cliffs on the East Yorkshire coast near Bridlington are the most impressive seabird cliffs in England, a section of chalk coastline rising to over a hundred metres above the North Sea that supports the largest mainland gannet colony in England along with tens of thousands of guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars, puffins and herring gulls breeding on the vertical chalk faces from April through August. The RSPB has managed the site since 1969 and the combination of accessible viewpoints, excellent visitor facilities and the sheer overwhelming abundance of breeding seabirds makes Bempton one of the most rewarding wildlife spectacles in Britain.
The gannet colony at Bempton has grown dramatically over the past fifty years from a handful of pairs in the 1970s to several thousand pairs today, part of the general expansion of the British gannet population as the species recovers from historical persecution and finds new breeding sites along the British coastline. The gannets nest on the ledges and broad clifftop areas, their white plumage and distinctive black-tipped wings making them unmistakable even at a distance, and their aerial fishing displays in the sea below the cliffs provide continuous dramatic entertainment.
The RSPB visitor centre provides excellent facilities including telescopes at the main viewpoints, interpretive displays explaining the seabird colony and its ecology, and guided walks during the breeding season. The six viewpoints along the clifftop path provide different perspectives on the colony, with some viewpoints looking directly into the most densely occupied sections of cliff at very short range. The noise, smell and sheer visual intensity of a hundred thousand seabirds in full breeding activity is one of the great wildlife experiences that Britain offers.
Outside the seabird season Bempton is also excellent for watching migrant passerine birds in spring and autumn, when the sheltered scrub along the clifftop provides cover for tired migrants arriving from the continent.