I first visited Bempton Cliffs in my early teens during a family holiday in the mid-late 1970s, when we were staying with my Dad's relatives in Leeds. It resulted in six Ticks that day: Fulmar, Gannet, Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin & Kittiwake. I remember it was a great afternoon with my first views of proper Seabirds. It would have included Tree Sparrow as well, if it wasn't for a pair that popped up one summer & attempted to breed in a nest box in our suburban garden on the Kent-London border. Surprisingly, I never returned in the following decades.
On 2 & 3 July 20, a Black-browed Albatross appeared in the Gannet colony at Bempton Cliffs for a few hours. In Jun 81, I had seen Albert, the original Black-browed Albatross, that spent its most summers from 1975 to 1995 in the Hermaness Gannet colony. As a result, I wasn't going to race up to Bempton Cliffs on a mid-week trip, in the hope of seeing another one in the UK. It returned the following year to the Gannet colony at Bempton Cliffs on 28 Jun 21 and it was seen on & off until it flew out to see on the evening of 30 June 21. With no sightings over the next three days, it looked like it had moved on. Then news broke early on Sunday 4 July, that it was back in the Gannet colony. I had nothing planned for the day, so I decided to use it as an excuse to make a long-overdue return visit to Bempton Cliffs. I arrived about 16:30 to hear that the Black-browed Albatross had left the cliff it had been on all day, flown around a bit, before flying out to sea & being lost to view. It didn't seem likely that it would return, which proved to be the case. But there was the best part of six hours of light before it would be dark and there were plenty of Seabirds to see & photograph.
Although I was primarily looking for the Black-browed Albatross, it was hard not to take photographs of the breeding Gannets, Auks and Kittiwakes that are perched closed to the viewpoints or constantly flying past. Bempton Cliffs are the UK's best mainland Seabird colony and the numbers of Seabirds that are breeding along the cliffs are stunning. Additionally, the viewing platforms provide excellent views of small parts of this massive Seabird colony: which stretches for several miles. If you haven't been, then plan a visit and make sure you have plenty of food & drink as you won't want to leave. It's also well worth having plenty of warm clothes as it can be noticeably colder on that coast, compared to a few miles inland.
Bempton Cliffs are also known for their breeding Auks, with around 57,000 pairs of Guillemots, 19,000 pairs of Razorbills and around 1,400 pairs of Puffins.
There are good numbers of Tree Sparrows around the RSPB shop & cafe, as well as, along the clifftop path.
I stayed until last light in the slim hope that the Black-browed Albatross would reappear on the cliffs: but it didn't. It had been a good trip to Bempton Cliffs, even if I didn't see the Black-browed Albatross. It was a long drive home & it was wasn't that far off dawn by the time I arrived home. Fortunately, I was still working at home in the post C19 world & so I could "lie in" to a few minutes before I was due to start work.