One for the Birds

Bempton Cliffs, late evening, birds flying in and out

The early morning black clouds have rolled away leaving a lovely warm Saturday morning here in sunny East Riding of Yorkshire.

This is a big sporting day for us here as the local Championship football side Hull City are needing to win today's game to get promotion to the Premier League. I only take a passing interest in them, but if they make it then it's good news for the city of Hull. Good Luck.

I try to let you have a look at what I do in the vicinity when I visit places and I went to Bempton on the coast of East Yorkshire one evening earlier in the week. This is a fairly wild and rugged place, chalk cliffs facing the ire of the North Sea, but home to many many thousands of sea birds. I didn't know this, but according to some basic research, up to 200,000 birds are there during the summer.
 

The evening was lovely and not a cloud in the sky to talk of and very unusually, there was no wind either which one local bird watcher told me was very unusual; Mother Nature must have known I was coming!  Seeing the sun does help. There are lots of facilities for the visitor and clear marked cliff top paths which are fenced off for safety but which do not spoil the vista at all. This is a 'get wrapped up' sort of walk which needs good shoes although the paths are fine and the inclines gentle.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) have a nature reserve there and although it does cost to park there, during an evening we parked for free as the visitors centre was closed. You can park anywhere on this part of the coast and walk, that's the beauty of it, you don't have to use the RSPB facilities. There are also disabled visitors facilities too.

My friend Linda and I didn't walk far, probably several hundred yards that's all, but the walking was easy and there are seats and observation points. Much time is spent just standing, looking and enjoying the scenery and taking in the atmosphere. A very helpful friendly man answered our questions about the various birds and told us that the long winter had taken its toll on the bird population. There were no puffins there yet but a whole variety of birds were coming in to roost as we watched and the noise was phenomenal. There were gannets, gulls of various kinds, razor bills, kittiwakes, a few chattering sparrows in the gorse and we think we spotted an owl swoop low by late in the evening. We might even have seen a linnet.

I'm not sure how the birds cope. Perching precariously on the cliffs on ledges just a couple of inches wide, birds wheel away in the sea breeze. Many were on the surface of the sea in flocks bobbing up and down on the surf. The whole sight of the ancient landscape and seascape was something quite emotional and special. We did take several minutes to sit and meditate which was wonderful.

How does this survive on the cliff top?

I haven't been there since I was a child and a young child at that, and oh I wish I had gone more often. I've taken a few pics which don't really do it justice but I hope you enjoy!

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Spurn Point - a Walk in Paradise...

Above - deserted fabulous east facing beach at Spurn point at 10.30 in the morning at low tide

(NB Blog updated April 2012 after pictures mysteriously disappeared)

What a fabulous day today (Sunday), summer has returned for the north of England, albeit for the time being and I picked the best day of the week to go for a walk with a good friend at Spurn Point in Yorkshire.

Click on any of the pics to enlarge them...

This is a walk which is great with a friend or if you like your own company, it's an ideal place to clear your thoughts and relax. Take sensible shoes and protection against sea breezes and you have a choice, a walk along the roadway. a narrow single concrete track, or do what we did because it was low tide, walk southwards along the eastern beach, round the head of the point and back up the western shoreline. It's one of the best kept secrets with miles of lovely beaches - virtually empty except a handful of people who are into the secret.

If it's sunny, like today, take sun cream, windburn/sunburn is a possibility. Why Spurn Point? It's famous for birdwatching and it's looked after by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and if you take a car on, it'll cost you three quid for the day. Please note, no dogs allowed.

One of many typical breakwaters protecting the delicate headland on the eastern North Sea facing beach.
Note the red seaweed washed ashore...

But for me, who is largely ignorant about birds except the garden variety, it's the magnificent views across the River Humber toward Lincolnshire, down the river to the Humber Bridge far to the west and out into the vast North Sea with dozens of huge ocean going ships trading their way across the high seas. There is a lot of other wildlife other than birds including a vast array of insects, butterflies and moths.

Take plenty of time to get there by car, the latter part of the journey past Hull from the West is on pleasant but winding country roads with lots of 30 mph villages to drive through. We started the journey having parked just inside the entrance to the park and walked southwards along the eastern beach. There is a fantastic vista out into the North Sea and there were a lot of large ships heading south and some waiting to get into the Humber to the ports, but the bigger the ship, they then need a pilot and they often have to wait until one goes aboard.

Sands were clean and there were a lot of attractive worn and weathered breakwaters which added much interest. The sun was shining and the reflection from the sea was very hot. We passed the lighthouse which still works and can be seen from high ground from dozens of miles away even from the Yorkshire Wolds. It's automated now, no staff populate this old building. We only saw a couple of people on this leg of the journey which was easier walking on the shoreline where the sand was firmer. There are a few stones around of interest and we found an ammonite, a popular fossil.

Lighthouse seen from the eastern facing shoreline

Towards the head, you pass the coastguard station, a modern square grey building which has a magnificent view of the whole area. Approaching the head, the flotsam and jetsam increases with a few plastic bottles, crates, rigging, but nothing that spoils the scene because most of it is hidden by small rocks.

Fabulous beach at the head, looking out to the North Sea

The sand at the head is magnificent, clean and wide and the sea is a lovely translucent green, a vivid comparison with the brown muddy waters of inland Humber water. There were a few more people here, perhaps four of fives groups of families, lost in the vastness of the available sand. We had a lovely lunch of home made sandwiches and fruit while sitting on a breakwater watching the water, following a DFDS container ship going into the Humber and looking at fair weather cloud scudding by.

A Humber Pilot cutter going back to base passing a large ship travelling up the Humber...

We passed the Lifeboat, bobbing serenely on the calm sea and the pilot boat station at the end of a long jetty. The walk then turns north and we walked along the western side of the point with vast open gorgeous sands at the low tide, Gulls walked along the shoreline and there was lots of empty crab shells, a feast for some lucky birds. We passed the houses of the brave Lifeboat staff who put their lives at risk to save souls at sea. My thoughts went to my mother, who as a member of the Cottingham Women's Lifeboat Guild, has raised thousands upon thousands over the years to keep these boats at sea.

The Spurn Point Humber Lifeboat

We walked back onto the roadway for the last half mile of the walk back to the car. Google maps indicate we walked about 9Km and we sauntered really in parts and sat and had a longish lunch break. Starting at 10.30 am and finishing at 2.40 pm, this was a very comfortable walk in excellent convivial company on a gorgeous day.

The view north along the western shore, under the jetty which leads to the Pilot's cutters and the lifeboat, and homeward bound

A Mr Moo's ice cream at the cafe just a couple of miles up the road was very welcome and a great end to the day. If you have a spare day - go for it - nature is amazing, but here's a word of warning. Don't go there if it is going to be stormy, the water can wash over the road in high storm weather and the road has been washed away in the past (rare event, but you don't need to be caught up in it).

Enjoy the week ahead.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Misty Shores

What was supposed to be a special day for me today has had the shine wiped off it by the dreadful news from Cumbria in the UK on the shooting dead of a number of innocent people, apparently on the street. I am so appalled, I can't bring myself to discuss it. My thoughts are with those who are directly affected by this tragedy and for the community.

The sun is shining here and the breeze is warm. I went to Hornsea (East Yorkshire) last night after a days rain and walked along the beach north towards Bridlington. It was a foggy evening and so never got any drawing done as intended, mainly because it was so damp in the air, but at least got some exercise. We saw the carcass of a seal, a dead small dogfish and a strange bird which didn't seem at all intimidated by our group and posed for a photograph. The research indicates it might be a Gannet, but if you know different, let me know.

The east coast is normally a haven for birds and they appear plentiful and although there were a few common gulls around in the fog, this lonely bird was having a rest on the sand next to a breakwater.

The forecast for the weekend is fantastic and I hope you enjoy it - don't forget to slap on the cream!

No story today - why would you want to listen to one? Sorry.

Chat soon

ta-ra.
Click on the pictures to enlarge them.