Last week I decided to undertake a day trip to Bempton Cliffs RSPB in Yorkshire to see and photograph the hordes of sea birds that gather in the spring and summer to breed on the cliffs.
A long but fairly relaxed drive had me on site at 09:00. My main target for the day was to see and photograph Gannet courtship behaviour. Before heading to the cliffs I spent some time with Bemptons thriving Tree Sparrow population.
As a young boy growing up in the small Wiltshire village of Hindon Tree Sparrows were a very common site in the countryside hedges. Sadly, our wonton disregard for our environment and the other creatures that inhabit it has hit the Tree Sparrow very hard such that they are now a comparatively scarce bird in the UK with a scattered population at a number of hotspots. Stirling work by the RSPB at Bempton, however, has helped the Tree Sparrows thrive there, so much so that a volunteer told me that they had now ringed more than 400 young birds.
I moved onto the Cliffs which were jam packed with Gannets, Fulmars, Razorbills and Guillemots. Every nook and cranny had a bird either perched on it or sitting on a nest. I wandered around slowly looking for a pair of Gannets showing courtship behaviour until I eventually found a pair in a favourable position for photography.
Gannets are highly loyal, colonial seabirds that mate for life. Their courtship is characterized by elaborate, highly synchronized dances and greeting ceremonies on the crowded cliff ledges. When a pair reunites, they perform a behaviour often referred to as "fencing". Standing face-to-face with wings spread, they stretch their beaks straight up to the sky, shake their heads, and rhythmically tap their bills together. The fencing and bill-clacking rituals are not limited to pre-mating. Paired gannets perform these displays every single time a partner returns to the nest after a fishing trip to keep their connection strong.
The female sat patiently on the cliff edge while the male undertook periodic short flights around the colony. Each time upon the male returning to the cliff they would perform their famous and enthralling dance. After one short foray the male landed with a bill full of nesting material which obviously had the desired effect on his partner as they immediately copulated. I’m told that bringing a bag full of bricks home does not stimulate the same effect in humans so, guys, don’t try that one!
Gannets normally have piercing blue eyes but one of the males eyes was black as you can see in my photos. This is a striking and visible marker that the bird has survived an infection of avian influenza. The black eye is thought to result from either a lasting physiological response to the virus or inflammation caused during the recovery process. Either way it seems to have no behavioural effect or disadvantage to the fortunate surviving individual.
Close by a Fulmar sat on its nest with its characteristic tube nose showing well. Tube nose birds, which include Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters have evolved a gland on the top of the beak to process and expel excessive salt from drinking water, a helpful adaption for a life spent almost entirely at sea.
In the afternoon I saw a small film crew filming what is presumably the next series of “Sam and Ade go birding”. I enjoyed watching the first series recently which features Sam West (All creatures great and small etc.) who is a keen birder, introducing his mate, Ade Edmundson (The young ones, Bottom, Alien Earth etc.) to the joys of birding. Ade walked past me at one point and I briefly chatted to him about birding. Fortunately he did not go all Vivian on me and head but me!
Footnote – my blogs are posted with sometimes rather imaginative spelling and grammar due to my extreme dyslexia!
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