Nestled on the Yorkshire Coast, just South from Filey is a wonderful bird reserve managed by the RSPB called Bempton Cliffs.In June, thousands of seabirds including guillemot, razorbill, gannet, kittiwake and puffin can be seen crowding these dramatic sea cliffs.
It really is a sight to behold! Along the cliffs are multiple viewing platforms, enabling you to gaze down at the natural spectacle below. It is like watching a snow storm of birds, with white shapes soaring in and out of sight, as the parents go off to feed, leaving their chicks or unhatched eggs on the cliff edges. The little ledges which they nest on look so narrow and thin,it really is incredible to think that day in, day out these birds live in such precarious positions, risking all to raise their babies. Witnessing them survive such hardship has made me realise even more so how important it is to preserve such special sites as these.
These beautiful birds don’t ask for much…just a little, rocky ledge on a cliff where they can raise their young. It’s only a small request, and I hope that locations such as Bempton Cliffs continue to be protected to enable the populations of these precious sea birds to grow.
Bempton Cliffs is really popular with wildlife photographers as you can imagine, and it was a little intimidating being faced by a hoard of photographers, most kitted out with huge zoom lenses. One guy even had two DSLRS set up on different tripods so he could take multiple images at the same time, with a string of camera bodies and lenses hanging over his back! Don’t get me wrong, having hi-tech, fancy equipment is great, and I am sure that he managed to get some awesome shots but at the same time, if you generally only work with/ own one lens like me, then it can be a bit off-putting. All the images I shot at the cliffs were taken on my DSLR with my 18-200mm lens, and I still managed to get some pretty good photos, despite being quite far away from the birds, so don’t despair if you only have limited options, kit-wise. The key I found when shooting gannets in flight, is to boost up your ISO nice and high in order to get the fastest shutter speeds possible. With patience and some luck, you should be able to get some sharp movement images of these fast flying birds.
En route to the coast, we also stumbled across this beautiful field of red poppies.
Sarah Clews Photography 