What a way to start a new month, with a new bird for my British list and a new bird for my Life List !!!! Yesterday 2nd July some amazing news came out of East Yorkshire; A Black Browed Albatross had been seen resting amongst the Gannets on the sea cliffs at Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve just north of Flamborough at about 16:30 hrs. Well, the news caused a meltdown!! And I think many plans for a quiet Wednesday went out of the window!! This was not the first time a Black Browed Albatross had been seen at Bempton; A few lucky observers had seen a fly-past in May 2017: but after much searching no more sightings were conclusive. For the last few years along the coasts of Germany and Denmark a Black Browed Albatross has being regularly sighted, surely this is the same bird ?? Amazingly from the the mid – 1970s until July 1995 a male Black Browed Albatross was seen regularly on the island of Hermaness off the coast of Shetland. Albatrosses are regularly seen in the Southern Oceans and they are known for their long epic journeys, following the oceans’ wind patterns. Black Browed Albatrosses are known for their frequent ventures into the North Atlantic – but for one to enter to enter the North Sea is something special. I had always dreamt of seeing an albatross maybe on a future holiday, so the chance of seeing one on the East Coast of Yorkshire was the chance of a lifetime. So Friday 3rd July dawned and the omens were not good, the albatross had been seen early morning but then had disappeared North. Just as I was about to set off heavy rain had started, so I was reluctant to go – however the chance of seeing a bird of such magnitude got the better of me, so I headed for Bempton. The car park was absolutely packed when I arrived about 10:45 a.m. However, there was no sign of the bird. So with a slight feeling of dejection I headed for the first viewing platform, north of the main access footpath. I had only been there 15 minutes when a phone-call was received by one of the other birders on the platform from another birder up the coast; the bird was heading south !!!!! Frantically some 20 anxious birders scanned the sea – then it came into view and then absolute joy swept the platform as the bird gave crippling views as it circled underneath us with its impossible long wings. The bird then flew north passing the next platform and temporarily went out of sight behind the headland. Several anxious minutes went by, then the albatross flew out from the headland on a couple of sorties. Sadly, the bird went out of sight at 11:30 a.m. and it has not been seen since. What an amazing 20 minutes: something that will stay with me for a very long time. More images of this amazing encounter can be found on my UK photo page on the main website ……. So here’s to Albert Ross – safe passage wherever your journeys take you.
