In the last Blog Post, I detailed my first attempt to see the Black-browed Albatross at Bempton Cliffs, when I missed it by about one hour, after it had flown out to sea. It was back on the cliffs for most of the mornings on the Monday and Tuesday mornings, but it disappearing off to feed at some point in the day. There were no sightings on the Wednesday & Thursday. But it was seen again on the Friday, where it spent the day on the cliffs. During the week it seemed to have found a regular spot on the cliffs, which was viewable from one of the viewing platforms.
I decided to have another attempt on the Saturday, after another hectic week of work. I was too tired to get up at 23:00 after only two hours sleep. I finally got up at 00:30 and left at 01:30. I arrived at Bempton at 07:15, to hear that it had already flown off the cliffs, but it was still showing at a distance on the sea. However, it had flown out to sea by the time I arrived at the clifftop viewing platforms. I had missed it on its cliff roost spot by just over an hour & on the sea by about forty minutes.
Still I had a good time watching the Gannets, Auks and Kittiwakes and chatting with my friend Ewan Urquhart (Black Audi Birding) & his mate Hugh. We were at the platform that could see the Black-browed Albatross roost spot. It was packed with a few Birders, as well as, birdwatchers and photographers: as it also provided good views of part of the Gannet colony. Pete Moore was standing nearby, as he had arrived earlier than me. But there was no room in the crowd to join Pete. C19 still a big concern for me & I was not into sharing cars at this point.
Bempton Cliffs are a superb area to visit & enjoy the spectacular Seabird colony. It should be one of those locations that everybody puts on their Bucket List to visit at least once in their lifetime. I will focus on some flight shots in this Blog Post. But there was so much more going on in front of each of the viewing platforms, that it still remained a great day out, despite missing the Black-browed Albatross.
Later in the day, I walked off to try some of the other viewing platforms to see some of the other parts of the colony. There was a Bridled Guillemot distantly on view from one of the viewing platforms. I must have seen them before on my first visit to the Shetland Islands, but there is nothing in my notes to indicate that. It is only a colour form of Guillemot, which is uncommon in Dorset, but more common in the Shetland Islands.
Sea fog appeared & cleared a couple of times in the late afternoon, but then it drifted in and looked like it was set in for good. I left about 19:15 for the long journey home. The weather forecast for the following morning was for the fog to persist . There was thick fog there the following morning, which didn't clear for several hours. So, I made the right decision to head home. However, the Black-browed Albatross reappeared on the cliff around mid-afternoon and it spent the rest of the day on view on its preferred cliff perch.