Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire

[rlchew]

I have been fortunate enough to visit a number of the excellent seabird colonies in the Scottish Highlands and also Orkney and Shetland .... but they are a long way from home, often difficult to access and very expensive to get to.

Much nearer to home and not requiring too long a drive and a ferry trip is Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve.

Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve

This site is highly recommended and I know that some WAB members have visited.

For me, the Gannets are the stars here and you will not find a more accessible colony in the UK. Apart from the constant fly by of birds, there were a large number of nesting pairs and also birds regularly coming to the grass topped cliffs for nesting material.

Razorbills and Guillemots are easy to see but Puffins take a bit more searching.

I visited towards the end of April and here are a few photos from the trip.

Gannets .....















.... and Puffin, Razorbill and Fulmar ....









If you want to see an awesome seabird colony that is easy to get to, this is the one.

Richard

[glsammy]

I couldn't agree more. I went last year, supposedly on a WAB meeting (I was taken ill there so I missed the meeting!) I went for a couple of days so I was able to see the birds on the day before the meet, and it's an awesome sight, well worth a visit with excellent photographic opportunities.
Some good shots there Richard.

[Ollie]

Lovely shots Richard, I am actually planning to visit myself next Monday with a mate of mine weather permitting. I always make one trip per year to Bempton as it's only a good hours drive from me. I shall be a happy man if I get photos anywhere near as good as yours.
Roger

[pressld2]

Great shots Richard. Gannets are one of my favourite birds and your photos of them are beautiful.

Bempton is a place I'd love to visit but it's a 500 mile round trip for me. I'd be more inclined to risk it if weather forecasts were more reliable but I'd hate to make the trip just to find that it's chucking it down when I get there.

Dave P.

[pressld2]

Richard, I just took a look at the images in the Gallery to see what kit you were using. I have a Nikon D70 and an 80-400 lens too which is very encouraging . However, I noticed that the EXIF data for some of your shots gives a focal length of 1000mm. Is that correct? If so, do you mind me asking what lens/converter were you using?

Thanks!

Dave P.

[rlchew]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Great shots Richard. Gannets are one of my favourite birds and your photos of them are beautiful.

Bempton is a place I'd love to visit but it's a 500 mile round trip for me. I'd be more inclined to risk it if weather forecasts were more reliable but I'd hate to make the trip just to find that it's chucking it down when I get there.

Dave P.

Many thanks Dave.

Yes, you are even further away from Bempton than I am.

Whilst not 100% foolproof, I tend to use the BBC 5-day weather forecast on their website to plan my trips.

Richard

[rlchew]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Richard, I just took a look at the images in the Gallery to see what kit you were using. I have a Nikon D70 and an 80-400 lens too which is very encouraging . However, I noticed that the EXIF data for some of your shots gives a focal length of 1000mm. Is that correct? If so, do you mind me asking what lens/converter were you using?

Thanks!

Dave P.

Actually Dave this is because with those images I used my Nikon D70 with my Nikon Fieldscope ....

Equipment

However, the Nikon FSA-L1 camera/telescope attachment is expensive and even with a sturdy tripod, very good light and a steady hand, the failure rate of images is high, partly due to the high magnification and partly due to the D70 operating in manual focus mode only.

I would say in hindsight that the expense of the FSA-L1 is not justified given the results that I have had with it .... usually soft images at best and totally blurred at worst.

Richard

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

I'm going there myself next week, and seeing those shots has got me looking forward to it even more

[pressld2]

Thanks for the info Richard - much appreciated!

I had wondered what sort of results were possible with a DSLR and digiscope and I have to say I'm very impressed with yours. At the resolution posted here it's not easy to spot any loss of quality.

Back in days of yore I had a Vivitar 2x teleconverter that I used with my film camera and a 500mm mirror lens but I never got any results that I was happy with. This afternoon I dug it out and tried it in the garden with my 80-400. I lose autofocus and image stabilisation, not to mention 3 stops on the exposure but the results, while a little soft, were better than I expected. I think it might be worth trying for real one day, maybe even at Bempton.

Thanks again for sharing your pictures and tips.

Dave P.

P.s. very impressed with your web site too!