When I began twitching in 2010 the Black-browed Albatross has always been right at the top of my wish list. Previous records since 2010 have been fly-bys or single-day sightings, which meant you needed to be on site when they appeared to have any chance of connecting. So when one was reported on Monday I consoled myself by thinking it would be another brief appearance and didn't think any more of it. Tuesday, and it's reported on the cliffs at Bempton! We should have gone there and then but with 230 miles and four and a half hours traveling, along with our recent record of dipping birds up north we decided to wait and hope it was seen going to roost that evening.
When it was reported on the cliffs above Staple Newk at 9.10pm we hatched a plan to leave at 12.30am and take our chances of it still being on the cliffs at first light this morning. We arrived shortly before 4.30am and headed along the footpath to join around 300 other birders at the New Roll-Up Viewpoint. It looked promising as we approached but that soon changed when we reached the viewpoint to be told there had been no sign this morning! We decided to walk along the cliffs and scan from any vantage points we could find, hoping it had roosted out of sight of the main viewpoint. But by 7am there had been no sightings. We returned to the viewpoint cursing ourselves for not taking a chance yesterday, then fifteen minutes later the shout went up "THERE IT IS!" It was surprisingly difficult to pick up among the numerous Gannets especially the immature birds, but when it flew along the cliff face it proven much easier to spot. We enjoyed several views over the next couple of hours before it eventually landed on the cliff face among the Gannets, allowing for some stunning scope views.
There's always the risk of dipping, that's just the nature of twitching. You either accept it or you don't do it. Thankfully the plan worked out perfectly today and we had four hours of watching this incredible bird.
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| Black-browed Albatross |
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| On the cliffs among the Gannets |
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| A few of the birders at the viewpoint |
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