RSPB ST BEES HEAD NATURE RESERVE
AND WHITEHAVEN COAST
The spectacular red sandstone cliffs of the St Bees Head RSPB reserve are one of the jewels of the Cumbrian coastline. The cliffs hold the largest seabird colony on the west coast of England. The ledges and clefts in the cliffs provide nesting sites in spring and summer for more than 5,000 pairs of nesting seabirds. Nesting seabirds include guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars. A few pairs of puffins nest in burrows at the cliff top, and this is the only site in England where black guillemots nest.
The patches of gorse and other vegetation on the cliffs and along the shoreline towards Whitehaven provide nesting habitats for a wide range of small birds. These include; stonechats, meadow and rock pipits, whitethroats, linnets and yellowhammers. Peregrine falcons often hunt along the coast and can sometimes be seen flying overhead or perched on the cliff face.
Many birds pass along the coastline on migration and sometimes take shelter in bad weather. Sea-watching from the shore can be rewarded by views of gannets, skuas, shearwaters and divers.
We hope that choughs, a rare kind of crow, may one day re-colonise this stretch of coast. The odd chough has been seen here in recent years, probably from the not too distant population in the Isle of Man. Choughs need a variety of different habitats from heather covered coastal slopes to well grazed pasture in order to find insects to feed on all year round. The RSPB (http://www.rspb.org.uk/) is trying to create this kind of habitat at St Bees Head and is working with the Whitehaven Coast Project to manage the whole of the coastline in a way that will benefit all forms of wildlife.
