Train trip: Bempton Cliffs

 

After finding bush-crickets in Scarborough and Filey I was keen to see if they were around Bempton, as they were no records of them there. I took the 8:21 train trip to Bempton and got there without hitches this time. The weather was sunny on the way there, but windy, and soon after I arrived, dark clouds gathered and it started to rain. I pushed towards the cliffs and was very surprised to find that there were still Gannet chicks on the cliffs, just a handful, but at least two were still downy.

A very late, downy 'guga'

A busy Gannet 'shelf'.

These two young gannets looked ready to fledge.

A pair of Great Black-backed gulls loafing on the exposed rocks on the ebbing tide.

Shag.

Herring Gull.

Pink-footed Geese. Several skeins flew south coming in from the sea. About 10 House Martins flew north.

Another late species, a single Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Willow Emerald, now breeding in the reserve pond.

Many Common Darters around, particularly along the wildlife paths.

Red Admiral, very plentiful this year.

The sun shone after a while, and I got the bat detector out. Weather was very cool, but soon the sunshine encouraged a Long-winged Conehead to call. I even managed to spot him and a female, basking nearby. No sign of Roesel's though.

Long-winged Coneheads.

As I searched for the bush-crickets, I was told there was a Short-eared Owl perched nearby. It was indeed, very active looking around and preening.

Short-eared Owl.

Short-eared Owl.

Kestrel.

A large flock of Goldfinches roamed across the fields, with a smaller one of Linnets. The wind was picking up so I headed back to the visitor centre for some lunch before heading back to the station.