Glorious Weekend On Bempton Cliffs!!

I was meeting up with good friend Di Stone and left Saturday Morning at 4.30am just in time to enjoy a beautiful sunrise, arrived on the cliff's at 7.30am, with only a handful of other visitors, amazed at the fantastic new Visitors Centre that has been built, Di had arrived the previous evening and was enjoying a full breakfast at the B & B we stay at, just a short distance away (which is highly recommended, AKO'S B & B, run by Keith and Nancy),there was brilliant sunshine and not a cloud in the sky, could not ask for more!!! Di arrived with her friend Marie, who lives locally and has the Cliff's on her door step (who Di introduced me to on my visit last year), Marie stayed with us until lunch time. Although it is tempting to photograph everything moving, sleeping or flying, I was trying for something a little different this year, although as there were so few Puffins in view, I took what I could of them. We went to the B & B to get me booked in at lunch time as the Cliffs were starting to fill up with visitors and to our amazement all the overtaking spaces on the approaching lane were full of queuing traffic waiting to get in and as the car parks were already full there were RSPB staff there holding them back until space became available, there must have been over 40 cars waiting. Not wanting to join them, we decided on a drive round to Flamborough to check out the cliffs there and ventured back to Bempton around 3pm by which time we were able to park easily. Marie re joined us at 6.30pm as the previous evening Di had seen the Barn Owl out at 6.45pm, so we positioned ourselves along the hedgerow between the two fields and almost on que it appeared from no where at 6.50pm, shot off into the distance, it did come back and quartered the lower part of the field we were in but never came too close, then as quickly as it had arrived it was gone at 7.10pm, but it was fantastic just to get a sight of such a majestic bird, and a brilliant day ended that way too!!! I have also this trip managed to get the best shots I have ever got of a Peregrine, usually by the time I have them in focus they are gone but this one although very high did stay around for sometime. We left the Cliffs at 7.20pm and just had time to hear the last five minutes of the F A Cup Final on the radio and as I had a £2 bet at 25/1 that Arsenal would win 4-0 you can imagine my delight, as with the winnings my trip was curtesy of Arsenal Football Club, THANKS LADS!!!! just a few images below, will be putting more onto my Zenfolio Site shortly, the first is Di doing her "I see no Ships act".