Yorkshire’s ‘great white cape’ embraces many thousands of seabirds and it’s the time of year when they really make some noise, as Amy Cooper discovers.
The eroding chalk cliffs with their caves, holes and stacks; the shifting tide, waves and sky; the cacophony of bird call along the shore. These are not simply the backdrop to wildlife on show, but the life and soul of Flamborough Cliffs, a nature reserve that embodies the intimate relationship between land and sea. May is a great time to experience the ‘great white cape’ of Yorkshire, with towering white cliffs, topped with springtime flowers and of course our famous seabirds.
Between May and August, the cliffs host internationally important numbers of breeding seabirds including fulmars, herring gulls, kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills and puffins, creating quite the rumpus.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Flamborough Cliffs nature reserve is one of the very best places to see puffins, just a short walk from the car park at North Landing. Enjoy the clifftop path that takes you to Breil, Holmes and Thornwick, each with their own character but all important for the seabirds nesting on the 100-ft-high sheer chalk cliffs.
The sea cliffs from Filey to Bridlington protect the UK’s largest mainland seabird colony, and Flamborough Head is one of the most important seabird colonies in Europe – as well as the largest mainland puffin colony in the UK and one of the few places you can see these birds without taking a boat. Puffins are sometimes referred to as ‘sea parrots’ or ‘the clowns of the sea’ because they are instantly recognisable from its brightly coloured parrot-like bill. They only return to Yorkshire for three to four months each year and have mostly left the cliffs by August.
For visitors to Flamborough Head who are keen to discover more about their marine and coast-dwelling wildlife, there’s plenty to see for those with a little patience – and a sense of adventure! On a calm day, watch for the playful splashes of bottle-nosed dolphins, the arched back and black fin of a harbour porpoise, the bobbing head of a seal, or even a minke whale out at sea and basking in the sun.
There is also an option to experience this ‘Seabird city’ from a different angle by setting sail in a traditional fishing coble from North Landing beach on one of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas Safaris, led by a wildlife guide.
Plant life is in abundance across the cliffs. Both the base of the steps into Holmes and near Thornwick cottages are fantastic spots for wildflowers. A riot of colour fills the chalk grassland in the summer, from bird's-foot trefoil to common spotted orchids and pyramidal orchids, and along the cliff edge beautiful shows of delicate pink thrift contrast the occasional Northern marsh orchid. Such a range of flowers attracts a number of butterflies, including small skipper, ringlet, and the scarce burnet companion moth.
Throughout the year, North Landing beach provides endless opportunities for rock pooling with starfish, crabs, fish and an array of marine molluscs to be found as well as a rich and varied carpet of seaweeds. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust runs a number of Seashore Safaris from the Living Seas Centre at South Landing, where one of our seashore experts will point out some of the most exciting shoreline wildlife you can spot.
The waters around Flamborough Head are full of food for seabirds and other marine wildlife due to the ‘Flamborough Front’: the meeting of cold and warm water creates an upwelling of nutrients and plankton. In spring and summer gleaming white gannets plunge into the sea for fish, gulls wheel overhead, and puffins busy themselves zipping to and fro in search of sustenance.
Many of our seabirds rely on our threatened marine habitat. We have lost 20% of coastal habitat in England since 1954, more than 90% of our native oysters reefs in England since the mid-1800s, and up to 92% of seagrass from UK seas. Kittiwake populations have declined by 40% since 1970, and sand-eels – the dietary staple of puffins – are becoming increasingly rare. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is working hard to protect our marine wildlife and the birds of Flamborough, and welcome recent moves to protect marine habitats and the increasing interest Yorkshire folk are taking in their seas.
Find out more about how you can join and support the Trust as well as details for visiting Flamborough Cliffs nature reserve ywt.org.uk
