Two fulmars and a puffin at Flamborough Head
I visited Flamborough Head last Sunday with the Stockport RSPB Club. We visited the headlands near the old lighthouse, and then went up to the North Landing. It was a beautiful day, mostly sunny with a light breeze, and it was nice to get out of the city for the day
There are two lighthouses at Flamborough, the older (below) being the reconstructed chalk tower and the other a more recent construction.
The chalk tower near Flamborough Head. Built in 1669, this is the oldest surviving complete lighthouse in England
The chalk cliffs are home to a number of regular visitors and residents: mostly guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and puffins. It is also on a main migratory route, so at certain times of the year you may see pretty much anything, especially if mist and fog forces unexpected landings. No little skuas recently, for that you need to go further north.
We saw four or five seals: it’s very hard to tell them apart in the water, so these are either common seals (Phoca vitulina) or grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). I’d plump for the common ones, but what do I know?
We saw all the expected sea species: a selection below.
Juvenile fulmar flying over the calm water
Kittiwakes nesting on the cliffs at Flamborough
A razorbill, perched rather precariously on the cliff edge
A few more puffins
And we also saw a few land birds around the headland:
A meadow pipit (aka Mipit), in all his splendour …
A male chaffinch surveying all he owns …
And a rather forbidding jackdaw pausing between meals …
All in all, a very pleasant day spent with my new friend Mags and other good people at the Stockport RSPB.