Flamborough Head/Bempton Cliffs wins birdwatching Site of the Year

The prestigious Site of the Year title, in its Birders’ Choice Awards, has been won by Flamborough Head/Bempton Cliffs.

Amongst other winners was Chris Packham, who was named Conservation Hero of the Year.

The magazine described the East Yorkshire site as a ‘worthy winner’ due to ‘offering great sea-watching, spectacular visible migration’ and it being the ‘adopted’ home of a black-browed albatross, which spent weeks on the cliffs last year.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs Site Manager, Dave O’Hara, explained further why this is a special place for birders:

‘This stunning stretch of the Yorkshire coastline attracts a broad range of seabirds and migrants and is extremely popular with the birding community.

The fact that the birds come here in such numbers is, in part, due to the continued conservation work of organisations such as the RSPB. The headland and cliffs are designated a Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest, which highlights the importance of the seabird colony and its kittiwake population, in particular.

With the support of local groups such as Flamborough Bird Observatory, we aim not just to win awards but to win the fight against the national decline in seabird numbers.’

Birdwatch magazine has a global reach and is bought in 45 countries. These annual awards are voted for by the magazine’s readers.

Communications officer, Maria Prchlik, said: "To win a people’s vote is a real accolade. It means that we’ve connected with birdwatchers who are out in the field day in, day out, rain and shine, binoculars in hand. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for us."