Spotting Puffins at Flamborough Head

Puffins can be hard to come by in the UK. Generally, puffins arrive between March and April for breeding and then leave again by mid-August. Some notable breeding places include Bempton Cliffs in North Yorkshire, the Farne Islands, Coquet Island in Northumberland, and the Shetland and Orkney Islands. Me and my good friend Joe visited Bempton cliffs a couple of years back, and although I loved the experience, I found that my photos weren’t very good. For the most part, the puffins were either too far away for my 300mm lens, or I was looking down on them rather than being at eye level.

Camera shy - pretty much all my photos turned out like this

This year, we wanted to get some really good photos of these beautiful birds. We took a bit of a gamble and headed 5 miles South of Bempton cliffs to a place called Flamborough Head. Although it was harder to come across puffins here, there was meant to be more dips in the cliffs where you could get closer to them than Bempton. To make matters more challenging, I had just recently sold my 300mm lens, and so I had no choice but to use my much shorter ranged Canon 70-200mm lens instead. As we drove two hours to the shore, I wondered how successful of a day we were going to have.

As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed by dark skies and the rumble of thunder. It was incredibly muddy, which made it hard to scale down the dips of the cliffs. After a quick scout of the area, I wasn’t feeling too optimistic. I’d only spotted one family of puffins in the space of 20 minutes, and my lens was just not reaching. We realised that in order to get a good photo, we were going to have to be really close to these birds.

Still too far away! [200mm, uncropped]

After some more searching, we found a perfect little spot deep into the cliff with a good access point. It overlooked the sea and had a small ledge where we noticed some birds resting. Although none of them were puffins, we had noticed some hanging around the area. If we were patient enough, one may make a quick appearance.

If a puffin landed here, we’d get a great shot!

Some time passed, and after sitting around for a while, we began to lose hope. Frustratingly, we decided to pack up and wander elsewhere instead. It was starting to look like a lost cause. As we made our ascent back up the cliff, I stopped for a second to check my phone. It was just at that moment when Joe noticed two puffins land on that exact ledge we were just waiting at. This was our moment! As quickly and subtly as we could, we ran back to where we just were, laid down in the grass, and fired away.

The pay off from waiting around, I love how these images turned out

My photos were still a bit further away than I would have liked, but with a heavy crop and some editing, I think I managed to get some pretty decent photos. I’m currently now looking into getting a 100-400mm lens to avoid this problem in the future, as wildlife photography is something I'd like to delve deeper into. Regardless, the day was still really special for me. I had a really great time, including the waiting around. The sounds of the ocean, spotting different varieties of birds and good company all made for a brilliant outing. It was also an atypical shoot for me as I’m usually in the countryside taking pictures of landscapes, not fast-moving animals. I think it’s important to mix things up, it can be a real breath of fresh air going to a new location or shooting something unfamiliar.

If you plan on going to Flamborough Head like me to take pictures of puffins, don’t expect to see many. They are currently on the red list for conservation priority and their population is slowly declining. In total, I think we saw about five different puffins in the space of four hours - and that, from what I’ve heard, is quite lucky. I’ve heard stories of people going before and not spotting any at all. I’d advise going with nothing less than a 300mm lens, or a 200mm if you trust you can crop in with no problems. Finally, remember to stay safe, and don’t take too many risks getting close to the birds. The cliffside at Flamborough Head isn’t fenced off like Bempton is, so just bare that in mind if you plan on bringing dogs or small children! Other than that, I really do recommend this place, it’s a lot of fun, and I already plan on returning with my dad very soon for his birthday!

Happy shooting :)))