The lovely ladies of St Michael's Church in Bempton organise a regular afternoon get-together of tea, cakes and a talk.

Elaine and Joan decided it was a great way to get people out and about  as well as helping raise funds to go towards the church's running costs (especially the heating bill!)

This month, Education Officer Steve Race gave a presentation introducing all eight species of seabirds that nest on the cliffs to a crowd of around 30 people.

Steve's banter and amazing photos certainly went down a treat - but not quite as well as the wonderful coffee, chocolate and cream cakes that Joan had baked specially for the event.

In September, Steve will be returning to give a talk on garden birds - as well as to sample a few more cakes.   

  Steve's presentation attracted a big crowd 

 Elaine and Joan with the all-important refreshements

A pack of press men turned up on the reserve today.  (No, Justin Bieber wasn't spotted on a viewing platform.) 

The big attraction were seven seabirds that had been nursed back to health after taking a battering in the recent bad weather that had claimed the lives of so many of their kind. 

The five guillemots, a razorbill and a young puffin had been cared for by the team at Scarborough Sealife Centre and were being released back into the wild from the cliff tops.

After the sadness of dealing with thousands of dead seabirds on the beaches recently, this was a truly magical moment.   Here are the highlights:

  The young puffin waits patiently to be released.

 Site manager, Keith Clarkson, gives some guillemot facts to the crowd.

  The birds are carried in convoy to the viewing platform.

  The media jostle for the best position prior to release.

 The last two birds say a final farewell.

  Going, going, gone. The puffin flies straight out to sea.

 Flamborough headland was all a-flutter yesterday when an extremely rare bird was sighted over the headland.

A baikal teal, initially spotted by Brett Richards,  flew in from the sea in the company of two common teal.

Not quite believing his luck, Brett followed it to North Marsh to try to confirm his first impression.  Sure enough, there was the bird sitting, larger than life, on the water.

Then the alert went out to other twitchers in the area - which was when Education Officer, Steve Race and Visitor Services Manager Scott Smith, picked up the news and dashed down the coast to see the exotic visitor for themselves.  They weren't alone. The sighting eventually attracted people from far and wide.  

And here's why...there have only ever been a handful of sightings of the baikal teal in this country. The last one was in 2001 at RSPB Minsmere - so yesterday was a red letter day for our region.  

 Scott's photo of the baikal teal

  Everyone else trying to get a photo of the baikal teal

You don't need us to quote government statistics to remind you that kids just don't get out as much as they used to.  Or that they simply don't get involved with nature in the way those of us that ran, jumped and played in fields or woods did.

Which is why RSPB  Wild  Explorers groups play such an important role in what we do.   They actively encourage kids to get out of the house and experience all that is wonderful about being outdoors - as well as planting the seeds for a lifetime of enjoying being close to nature.

The local group is run by our fabulous volunteer, Margaret, with help from a enthusiastic team of helpers, as well as some Mums and Dads. 

'We do lots of fun activities both inside and outside - from discovering things on the beach to finding out what lives in the fields and meadows further inland.   During the winter, we play games and make stuff, as well as getting involved in fundraising for our favourite causes.  We'd love to welcome more girls and boys, between 5 -12, who live in the Bridlington area to join in the fun.' 

So if you know someone who wants to get exploring, call the office on 01262 851533 and we'll put you in touch.

Our wonderful volunteers gave up even more of their time yesterday spending the evening  in the local village hall,  finding out how the RSPB plans to move forward in the next few years.

Over a cuppa, Reserve manager, Keith Clarkson and Visitor Services Manager, Scott Smith led the presentation with the most anticipated slide being the unveiling of the ‘new brand’.

Now there’s been lots of talk recently about this in the press – and around the reserve, to be fair – so there was a real sense of anticipation as to how the famous ‘Avocet’ logo would be changed.

Sorry, there are no spoilers here.   As the official launch isn’t until May we can't reveal too much but, suffice to say, the new focus will bring us lots of opportunities to engage more people in our work, which has got to be good news.

Along with the new look,  we have our proposed new visitor centre in the offing (subject to approval, of course).   The additional space will be used to  give visitors a better understanding of the history of the reserve, our work on it, and the wildlife that makes its home here - as well as offering a place to run to on those less than balmy days.   

So the future really does look bright up on the cliffs.

  Final preparations before the big show.