Bempton Cliffs

I've never been to Bempton Cliffs before, on the E Yorks coast.  Today turned out to be the perfect opportunity to explore the nature reserve there, famous for all the seabirds on and around the cliffs. The weather was forecast to be dry and mostly sunny, and Richard had a Folklore Society meeting to go to in London. I know which one of us got the better deal...

I dropped R at the station for his 7 a.m. train, and set off straight after that. It's a couple of hours' drive, and I wanted to get there as early as I could manage.

It was really blissful.  I did spot one puffin, but he or she was a way off, semi-hidden on the cliff side. Gannets, on the other hand, were everywhere: plenty of opportunities to practise getting them in focus.  And there were many other seabirds that I now need to look up, not being very good on bird ID.  As I was leaving, a kestrel decided to hover almost straight overhead - see the vole's eye view in the extra.

I'll be going back, later in the spring, when I can.

I can't let today pass without noting the guilty verdicts in the George Floyd trial.  Thank goodness that some form of justice has been done. Perhaps this will help to open the door for some of the positive changes that Biden and Harris have said they want to make, in the US justice system and more widely.