Cameras give bird’s eye views of life with the gannets...

Close-up shots of a pair of nesting gannets are being beamed into the visitor centre at RSPB Bempton Cliffs after two servicemen abseiled 150ft down the sheer cliffs.

The images capture intimate – and sometimes ferocious – moments in the birds’ lives.

Dawn McKie, who works in the visitor centre at the reserve near Bridlington, said: “There’s only one word to describe the images we are seeing – breathtaking.

“The camera magnifies the images up to 60 times, so we can pick up minute details of individual feathers, zoom right into the incredible blue of a gannet’s eye, or pan around and see what the other birds are up to. We really are getting the proverbial bird’s eye view of life in the nest.

“The camera means we can watch everything that’s going on with the gannets, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Our aim is to try to catch the very moment when the pair lay their egg, when the chick hatches, when it eventually leaves the nest and flies for the first time.”

Already visitors have seen brutal battles as the gannets lay claim to their breeding territories and watched as the birds bring back bouquets of seaweed – and demonstrate their sneaky side by pinching nesting materials as soon as their neighbours nod off.

The camera capturing all the action is trained on a nest on the famous Staple Newk rock stack, which every spring and summer becomes home to hundreds of pairs of breeding gannets.

The camera was put in place by civilian instructor Andy Phillips and Warrant Officer Adrian Haslam from the Ripon-based Joint Services Mountain Training Wing. The project was funded by the Coast, Wolds and Waterways Leader Programme in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the European Union and was managed by Yorkshire Forward.

Visitors can see the gannet story unfold at the centre from 9.30am to 5pm daily.