A short break in Yorkshire

Last week I spent a few days on the Yorkshire coast, primarily to visit Bempton Cliffs, but I decided to spend a day at Tophill Low near Beverley to see whether I could spot any of the marsh harriers. While the rest of the country was basking in sunshine and warm temperatures, the coast was covered in thick cloud and a cold wind was blowing off the sea.

One advantage to the strong wind was that many of the birds were hovering in the air when coming to land, making it easier to photograph them in flight, although the puffins didn't seem too keen on the last day and very sensibly spent most of the day in their burrows, so I took a walk over to Flamborough to see if I could spot any seals.

I was delighted to see several pairs of marsh harriers at Tophill Low, and although they mainly kept their distance, there was a female on a nest just in front of one of the hides. She popped out a couple of times while I was there, so I managed to get some close-up shots as she descended back into her nest in the reeds.

Here are some shots from the visit. Click on any of the images to view in full.

A selection of the birds at Bempton Cliffs

From Tophill Low, male an female marsh harrier, plus common tern and avocet

A walk over to Flamborough, north landing, the lighthouse, and a few of the seals I spotted