The RSPB Bempton column with Ivan Nethercoat

If you like the beauty of a wild walk the cliffs here provide a spectacular backdrop all year, where you can pause on the cliff edge in safety on one of our viewing platforms – and if you’re a relatively early riser the sun rising over the sea can be breathtaking.

Autumn brings a change in character at RSPB Bempton as new visitors arrive, especially on an easterly wind.

In September and October hundreds of thousands of birds make their way to the UK for its relatively warmer winters. Any bit of land that sticks out from the coast can be a magnet for these transient winter visitors and RSPB Bempton Cliffs is in a prime location, being part of Yorkshire’s ‘great white cape’ that is Flamborough Head.

Many of these birds will fly overhead but others will stop for food after a perilous sea crossing and the trees and hedgerows we have planted here give them a winter larder to refresh tired wings – a ‘service station’ for feathered travellers.

Some are regular visitors to our shores – thrushes and goldcrests in particular increase in numbers now. You will see more blackbirds in your gardens and parks and overhead the loud crackles of Fieldfares can be heard before they fly away from hawthorn berries in a flash of silver.

The smaller Redwing is often nearby, another Scandinavian breeder over here for better weather and more food.

The temperature drops at this time of year and the Visitor Centre adapts its menu accordingly with warming soups and hot chocolate. And if those birds are a bit distant or the dolphins slightly too far away for naked eyes you can rent or buy some binoculars to help.

You can also experience the autumn magic with an evening walk as part of the East Yorkshire Walking Festival or join us for one of our monthly ‘Discover Bempton’ walks that are taking place for the rest of the year. When summer turns to autumn this area can be a great place to watch multitudes of migrating seabirds and if you want to experience some of this, the last of our sea cruises takes place on Sunday, September 14.

Sail out into the North Sea on the famous MV Yorkshire Belle from Bridlington and look for seabirds such as Shearwaters, Skuas, Divers, Auks, Gulls and Terns, in addition to marine life such as Porpoises and Seals.

Visit rspb.org.uk/bemptoncliffs for more information about RSPB Bempton.