Bakewell Bird Study Group visit to Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire – Saturday16th May 2026, 10:30 to 14.30

Summary

We enjoyed a great day out at Bempton Cliffs, including smooth journeys both ways in a minibus from Slacks in Matlock. We were very lucky with the weather, which was mostly sunny, not too chilly or windy and it didn’t start to rain until we were well on the way back. Despite the crowds we caught several unusual sightings, including a barn owl hunting in broad daylight over the meadow behind the cliff, a peregrine resting on the cliff amongst various seabirds, a yellow wagtail and a fleeting view of a corn bunting. Unfortunately, having split up into small groups not everyone saw all these.

As expected, there were thousands of seabirds, both circling and resting. Gannets, kittiwakes, guillemots and razorbills were prevalent. There were only a few sightings of puffin. It is still quite early in the season, hence the scarcity of puffins. Most of the seabirds appeared to have staked their claims on the cliff ledges but didn’t appear to be actually nesting.

The meadows behind the cliffs were stunning, with broad carpets of red campion in bloom everywhere and a good variety of other wild flowers. Consequently, there were lots of small birds in these open areas and in the bordering hedges and bushes, so we had good sightings of tree sparrows, reed bunting, whitethroat etc and plenty of swallows swooping over. Other fauna seen included Painted Lady and Red Admiral butterflies, field vole and hares, two of which put on quite a long boxing show in an adjacent cornfield.

Being a fine, sunny Saturday, the reserve was very busy; the visitor centre and viewing platforms were thronged with folks. Nevertheless, it was worth waiting a few minutes for a turn at a good viewing spot to enjoy the spectacle.

Members & friends participating: 16

Bird list – 40 species seen including 3 en-route

Barn Owl	Jackdaw	Reed Bunting
Blackbird	Kestrel	Robin
Bluetit	Kittiwake	Shag
Buzzard (en-route)	Linnet	Skylark
Carrion Crow	Magpie (en-route)	Swallow
Chaffinch	Moorhen	Tree Sparrow
Chiffchaff	Peregrine Falcon	Wagtail – pied
Corn Bunting	Pheasant	Wagtail yellow
Dunnock	Pigeon	Warbler – Sedge
Fulmar	Pipit – rock or meadow?	Warbler – Willow
Gannet	Puffin	Whitethroat
Goldfinch	Razorbill	Woodpigeon
Guillemot	Red Kite (en-route)
Herring Gull	Reed Bunting