I've just finished up my autumn guiding days at Flamborough and Bempton - five days over the last seven - and there was lots to enjoy (as ever), and lots of lovely clients to share it with (as ever ;-).
Siberian Stonechat, Bempton
Rarer birds we enjoyed included a particularly lovely Siberian Stonechat (keeping very close company with a Whinchat at Bempton, for excellent instruction / educational opps!), Barred Warblers (at Bempton and Flamborough) and Yellow-browed Warblers, while other highlights included cliff-face Goldcrests (see below), continental Robins and Song Thrushes, frolicking Bottlenose Dolphins on several occasions, Great Egrets, Caspian Gulls, Marsh Harriers and much more.
Barred Warbler, Bempton
Two Goldcrests on the cliff-face at Bempton on the afternoon of the 2nd were a thrill to witness. Arriving in a howling south-westerly - i.e. a headwind challenging enough for birds hundreds of times their size - these tiny warriors of migration (weighing in at about the same as a 20p piece and about as long as your thumb) successfully battled in from over the North Sea and onto the welcoming terra firma of the Yorkshire coast.
Pitching onto the relative shelter of the 100-metre-plus cliff-face before even reaching the sanctuary of the nearest bushes (just 30 metres or so inland) tells you how desperate they must've been; but they made it nonetheless, and we marvelled at them as they searched the cracks and weeds for tiny insects below us as we peered over the edge of the platform at Bartlett Nab.
Bottlenose Dolphins, Flamborough
All my autumn 2025 dates are now sold out, but if you'd like to join me on my Winter Wetland and Woodland days at the fabulous Tophill Low reserve in East Yorkshire, have a look HERE.
