Birdwatchers take to waves for a different perspective

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds will launch a new season of three-hour cruises around Bempton Cliffs next month, offering spectacular views of the coastline and its feathered inhabitants.

From Saturday, May 7, the pleasure cruiser MV Yorkshire Belle will be sailing out of Bridlington Harbour along the chalk cliffs between Flamborough Head and Bempton Cliffs, the site of an RSPB nature reserve that in spring and summer is home to almost 250,000 seabirds.

Species nesting at the site include one of the most sought after and charismatic birds on the coast, the puffin, and visitors will also see gannets – Britain’s largest seabird with a 6ft wingspan – and one of its smallest, the kittiwake, as well as guillemots and fulmars.

Kim Smales, the RSPB’s cruise co-ordinator, said: “If you haven’t been on one of these cruises before, you’re missing out.

“The sight of majestic gannets, with their distinctive yellow heads and six-foot wingspan, is something that lives in the memory for a very long time.

“And that’s not to mention the cute puffins bobbing along in the water alongside the boat, or the deafening noise of the kittiwakes filling the air with their noisy calls.”

Volunteers from the RSPB will be on board to help passengers to identify the birds, answer questions and provide a commentary.

The cruises run until to July 16 and cost £18 for adults, £9 for children under 14 or £45 for a family. To book or find out more call (01262) 850959.