Print pageSeasonal highlights
Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.
Spring
Tens of thousands of seabirds return to the cliffs, including gannets and puffins. Wildflowers bloom on the clifftop grassland.
Summer
Fulmars, gannets, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and herring gulls cram on to the cliffs while smaller numbers of puffins nest in burrows or crevices. Shags, eiders and the occasional great skua can be seen just offshore. The cliff-top is swathed in thrift and campions. Out to sea, bottle-nosed dolphins, porpoises and other cetaceans are often present. Grey and common seals are seen regularly.
Autumn
The cliffs are quiet after the frantic activity of the summer months, with most seabirds having left the cliffs. Only herring gulls, shags and fulmars will stay behind. Migrant thrushes from northern Europe make landfall on the reserve.
Winter
The cliffs are almost deserted but the first gannets return to the cliffs from mid-January onwards.