Published 11th Sep 2023, 17:06 BST

Updated 12th Sep 2023, 07:18 BST

The orca, an incredibly rare sight in British waters, was recorded 2-3 miles off the Grandstand viewpoint at the charity's Bempton Cliffs reserve, near Bridlington, just before 3pm on Tuesday.

The RSPB said: “Off Bempton at 14.55pm an orca (killer whale) headed south, 2-3 miles off Grandstand. Huge tall vertical dorsal. Seen five times by numerous visitors, no sightings reported since.”

Birdwatcher Andy Hood added that the orca appeared to be in a group with minke whales, and that large numbers of visitors were still looking for it.

Two killer whales photographed in the northern North Sea in 2015

According to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, orcas very rarely venture into the North Sea, though a fisherman filmed some off Holy Island in Northumberland in 2020. There is a resident UK community of just eight adults, mainly living off the west coast of northern Scotland during the summer, but they have not bred for 20 years.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs: Amazement as killer whale is seen off the Yorkshire coast in almost unknown sighting