Back for the Albatross

I thought I'd seen the last of the black-browed albatross at Bempton Cliffs, at least for this year, but then a green warbler was found nearby at Buckton a few days ago and the albatross suddenly became part of a good supporting cast which also included the white-tailed plover at Blacktoft. The request was that birders going for the green warbler should park only in the Bempton Cliffs car park and that being the case it was unthinkable that we should not have another look at the albatross as well.

After about an hour at Buckton it was obvious to me that the green warbler had departed overnight so I decided to spend my time more productively by watching the gannet colony and hoping to see the albatross.

When I arrived at Staple Newk it was sitting on the cliff out of view from either of the nearest viewpoints, but after a wait of about 90 minutes it flew out, circled around a couple of times and then headed out to sea and I lost it. Perhaps not as exciting as my previous visits but always an awesome sight.

I've not yet managed the incredible views that some people have had, though I did see it down to a few meters on my first visit, but even so I think I've done pretty well with this bird. I've now seen it on each of the three occasions I've been for it, and compare that to a guy I was standing next to who was hoping to finally see the bird today at the seventh attempt. I'm not even sure he saw it today, I don't remember him still being there when the bird flew and it was only really viewable for about a minute before landing miles away on the sea.

Sunrise at Bempton Cliffs. We arrived early hoping to see the green warbler at nearby Buckton but it didn't show today and presumably left overnight.  Disappointing because the weather forecast was heavy rain all night which would probably have stopped it moving on, yet in reality it was a starry and calm night, perfect for a migrating warbler.

It was great to be at Bempton today, very different to the height of summer when all of the auks, kittiwakes and fulmers are about. Today it was nice to just watch the gannet colony without all of the other distractions and there were some great skies, especially early morning.

Staple Newk.

A snowstorm of gannets. Still plenty on the cliffs but not many other sea birds, we didn't see a single auk or kittiwake all day, and just a handful of fulmars plus a great skua on the sea.

The young gannets or gugas look great now, really smart looking birds, almost more beautiful than the adults. I'm not sure I've seen them so close at such an advanced age because most gannet colonies are inaccessible to me in autumn and I don't think that I've been to Bempton so late in September before. I have been in October but by then most of the gannets have gone.

Interesting to compare this colony of northern gannets with the colony of Australasian gannets I visited in New Zealand in 2018 (opens in a new window). In many respects very similar but there are also many differences.

These third calendar year gannets aren't bad lookers either!

 

Still plenty of gannets on Staple Newk.