Albion albatross

Two weeks ago, I read that the Black-browed Albatross, which had spent most of last summer at Bempton Cliffs, was back again!  Having previously written to a WP-listing friend suggesting that, if it returned this year, we should give it a try, it took me just 24 hours to convince him to join me and book our Eurostar and UK train tickets as well as the nearest possible accommodation to the cliffs, the lovely little secretcourtyard.co.uk in Bempton itself.  Just a week later, i.e. last Friday, we finally made it to Bempton after a mammoth Brussels-York-Scarborough-Bempton train journey which took eight hours.  Despite this, we headed to the lookout early on Saturday morning and were relieved to meet some birders on the way who confirmed the bird was around.  Once there, it only took around 15 minutes before someone shouted "there he is" and I frantically started scanning low above the sea, only to realise it was up at eye-level right in front of me!  For the next 45-minutes or so we enjoyed wonderful views of it flying around, floating on the updraughts, and occasionally settling in amongst the Gannets.

At 09h10, it flew off out to sea and was not seen again all weekend, despite us making another two visits to the cliffs over the two days we were there.  We were extremely lucky, therefore, and both thrilled to have finally seen our first albatross so well at the wonderful Bempton Cliffs, the smells and sounds of which always make for a magical birding experience, albatross or not.

New additions

As you've probably gathered from the lack of posts lately, I've had little time for birding since my Blyth's Reed Warbler twitch to The Netherlands.  The highlights, once again, were seen or heard from my apartment so that my apartment list now stands at an impressive 75 species since I moved here in the autumn of 2015.  The first new addition was a pair of White Storks I noticed passing high over the park last week and, two days ago, I struggled to hear a singing Willow Warbler above the noise of the numerous and extremely vocal Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs.  The Willow Warbler is still there today, simultaneously singing and foraging for insects amongst the blossoms.  Another good bird for my balcony, although not a new one, was a handsome male Black Redstart, my first of the year, perched briefly on the railing.  During one of my few walks in the forest before the birch trees started trying to make up for lost time and pumping out as much pollen as they can, I saw a Kingfisher entering its nesthole and found this beautiful Snake's Head Fritillary, which I don't think I've seen before.