Around 500,000 seabirds head to the Yorkshire coast from March to begin nesting and raising their young. Birds such as puffins, gannets, razorbills and and guillemots all make Yorkshire’s stunning cliffs their home for the spring summer months – forming of the UK’s top wildlife spectacles.
Thousands of people visit Bempton Cliffs each year to catch a glimpse of this amazing spectacle. Take a look through our picture gallery so you can see from the comfort of your own home.
Press Association photographer Danny Lawson headed to the cliffs this week and captured some beautiful pictures of the birds.
While seabirds have been nesting on these cliffs for countless generations, the reception they receive from human visitors has changed greatly from the past. While the pleasure cruises along the base of the towering cliffs are as much loved today as they were in the Victorian era, our 19th century counterparts were more interested in killing the birds than helping to protect them.
Bempton Cliffs is one of Yorkshire’s most popular wildlife attractions, and 2022 saw the visit of Albie the albatross, who is the only albatross in the Northern hemisphere. Albie, who has a wingspan of over 2.4m, has been living in the Baltic Seas around Denmark and Germany since 2014 after being blown off course from the South Atlantic oceans.
1. Seabirds at Bempton Cliffs
Nesting gannets at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire where around 500,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. Photo credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire Photo: Danny Lawson
2. Gannet
A Gannet gathers nesting material at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire where around 500,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. Photo credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire Photo: Danny Lawson
3. Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire
Bempton Cliffs. Photo credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire Photo: Danny Lawson
4. Gannets at Bempton Cliffs
Gannets at Bempton Cliffs. Photo credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire Photo: Danny Lawson