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.
Events
- Migweek 2026 Programme
Saturday 10th – Sunday 18th October 2026 Every day Ringing Demonstration 8am – 12pm at the Living Seas Centre, Flamborough Come and meet FBO’s ringing team, see birds up close and discover the secrets of migration that bird ringing is helping to discover. ** Bird welfare is paramount – demonstrations will be cancelled if the…
Latest Sightings
- 25th August 2026
Sunny intervals, moderate easterly winds and a high of 19 degrees C. A Barred Warbler at RSPB Bempton Cliffs represented the highlight of a small arrival of migrants including a Quail, three Garden Warblers and five Pied Flycatchers (including one at Bempton). Additional sightings from Bempton included the two Ravens… - 24th August 2026Sunny intervals throughout a day when an easterly wind gradually increased in strength and temperatures reached 19 degrees C. Three Whimbrel were off Hartendale and a Green Sandpiper overflew Thornwick. A Short-eared Owl came in off the sea at Cattlemere, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was off the Fog Station, while…
- 23rd August 2026Sunny intervals, with light winds that switched to an onshore direction in the afternoon and a high of 21 degrees C. Sightings from South Landing included one Marsh Harrier, a Hobby, 17 Ringed Plovers, one Ruff, seven Bar-tailed Godwits, two Purple Sandpipers, a Knot and two Ravens that flew north-west.…
- 22nd August 2026Generally overcast, although sunny intervals established by the afternoon; there were relatively light northerly winds and a high of 16 degrees C. The morning’s avian highlights came early, with single Great Shearwater and Grey Phalarope flying north past the Seawatch Observatory soon after first light. An evening watch was rewarded…
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
- January – June 2026A brief round up of the efforts of the FBO ringing team over the first half of the year, generally our quietest period, we are often hampered by wind and/or rain. Our ringing tends to begin in earnest around mid April when migrant birds begin to arrive, then in May…
- 2025 Ringing Round-up2025 has been an excellent year for our ever-growing ringing team with new trainees joining us and two more ringers becoming licensed trainers. This year we completed 272 ringing sessions across ten different sites. We took part in six projects :- RAS-Re-trapping adults for survival, CES-Constant Effort site, NRS-Nest record…
- 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…
Click on the button below for full details of all posts about ringing. The posts are ordered with the latest first.