Puffins and Gannets and Owls Oh My!

It’s Bank Holiday Weekend, I’m off to the coast. But there’s no buckets and spades! The destination? Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve in Bridlington! 

02:30am and I’m up and making breakfast. Why? because my friend Bev was coming to collect me and we wanted to get there for dawn and before it became busy with the bank holiday crowd.

I’d packed my camera gear and we were off to find some “flippy flappies,” i.e. Puffins, and if the drive over was anything to go by, we were going to be in luck! Because Bev was driving, I was able to gawping at everything. The cold frosty morning revealed some mystical hares in the fields, and a barn owl flew overhead before the dawn started to appear. We briefly stopped to stretch our legs before we arrived and we saw another barn owl!!!

The view at the cliffs was incredible. Epic and wondrous. We walked along the coastal path and were treated to flippy flappies and yet another barn owl!!! We felt incredibly lucky and celebrated our sightings with a flippy flappy dance. It’s fun to be silly sometimes eh.

The gannets were busy gathering nesting materials and snuggling up to their mates amongst the cliffs. Their colours were stunning, their blue eyes were piercing against their soft yellow and white plumage. Just as we were leaving we were treated to a short eared owl in the distance, and just as predicted the crowds had gathered so it was time to go home.

Here are two drawings I’ve created from the photos I took whilst there. I can’t wait to go back!

gannets painting
Puffin by Sarah Brabbin