Flamborough Headland, situated on the North Sea coast of East Yorkshire, is renowned for having the largest mainland seabird colony in Britain and a reputation for the best seawatching on the British east coast. Not least, the area is a fantastic place to witness bird migration and see small birds such as thrushes, chats and warblers making landfall after crossing the North Sea. It also has an impeccable pedigree in attracting scarcities from continental Europe and many rarities from farther east.
Latest Sightings
- 25th February 2026
A foggy and overcast start of the day gave way to sunny skies during the afternoon and the temperature rose to a very mild 15°C. The wind was moderate from the south-west. Perhaps heartened by the spring-like weather, two Chiffchaffs below the lighthouse were the first of the year and… - 24th February 2026
A moderate to fresh southerly brought scattered clouds after an overcast morning, the temperature rising to 14°C. A Dark-bellied Brent Goose flew inland from the Fog Station during a morning seawatch. A Common Crane fed in fields near Northcliff Marsh from late afternoon. Other highlights from the Outer Head included… - 23rd February 2026The weather comprised sunny intervals, a moderate westerly wind and high of 12 degrees C. A third calendar-year Mediterranean Gull flew north during a morning seawatch that also saw 25 Pink-footed Geese moving in the same direction. The goose flock that roosted on the outer head contained five Tundra Beans,…
- 22nd February 2026A day of variable cloud cover in a moderate westerly. The temperature rose to a spring-like 13°C. Four Tundra Bean Geese flew north at the Fog Station at 08:47. Ducks at Thornwick Pool included five Gadwall and two Shoveler while 50 Wigeon were at Northcliff Marsh. A single Woodcock was…
Daily Birding Highlights
Recent Birding Highlights
Click on the button below for full details of all birding highlights for the last 30 days. The posts are ordered with the latest first.
Birding Highlights Archive
Select the required month and highlights for every day will be presented for the chosen period. This archive goes back to 2014 and posts ordered with the earliest first.
The Ringing Diary
- Migweek 2025Every year FBO runs its Migweek event, offering daily guided walks, daily ringing demonstrations, talks and a migration station providing info, merchandise and chat. The event continues to grow in popularity with this year being the best ever with a big increase in visitor numbers. The team ran eleven ringing…
- September 2025This month saw the final preparations for Migweek, with the clearing of rides at South Landing being completed. Twenty seven sessions were run across the headland including three at RSPB Bempton. Towards the end of the month we welcomed Dr. Joe Wynn from Liverpool University who is researching where trans-siberian…
- August 2025What an amazing month for our ringing team! Thirty-one sessions were held at eight different sites which yielded a fabulous 1301 birds of which 1163 were newly ringed and 137 were re-traps, with two UK controls and one foreign control. Our team ran two public demonstrations on 16th & 17th…
- July 2025The calm weather of July gave our team more opportunities to hold ringing sessions this month, with 33 run at 7 sites, including Thornwick roost, CES at Thornwick, South Landing and our usual garden sites. A total of 596 birds were caught with 551 of these newly ringed plus 45…
Click on the button below for full details of all posts about ringing. The posts are ordered with the latest first.