I enjoyed a short holiday this week with my niece, Vanessa, at the east coast.
We stopped at The Bay Holiday Village between Primrose Valley and Bridlington in one of their lovely "beach houses" .
The weather forecast was not very favourable but, in the end, the weather was pretty good - as long as you wrapped up well.
This was not a birding holiday but Vanessa was quite understanding and we did see a bird or three along our walks.
We arrived on Tuesday 5th and with a check in time of 15:30 (which we thought was quite late) we dropped our gear and headed off to walk along the beach into Filey.
This was a very windy walk along the side of the water and it certainly blew the cobwebs away.
Sanderlings were the bird of the day with many running along the sand searching for food.
Sanderlings accompanied us nearly all the way to Filey beach.
When we arrived at Filey bay 6 Sandwich Terms were stood in the water - but not for long.
On Wednesday we drove into Filey and parked at the massive (nearly deserted) Filey Brigg Car Park where a 6 hour stay cost over £10.
After a look at the shops and a bacon sandwich in my go to cafe "Frothies" we had another breezy walk, this time along the top of the Brigg.
A short sharp shower sent us looking for some shelter and a dodgy walk down the south side diagonal path to the sea calmed the wind completely.
The concrete / stone path, next to the water here, can be very slippery and we passed the RLNI and Coastguard teams attending to a lady who had slipped and broken her leg.
The small lifeboat was at the ready and an ambulance was waiting on the cobbled landing.
It was very comforting to see the rescue teams, most of them volunteers, in action.
The 'usual' Brigg birds were hereabouts , but I did not pull a Puffin out of the bag , although I did not have the luxury of time to stay and check out all the cliff spots for a Puffin.
(I have seen them here on previous visits).
Birds seen included:-
Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar, Kittiwake.
Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull. Cormorant. Heron.
3 Great Crested Grebe.
Sand Martin, Swallow, Linnet, Goldfinch, Meadow Pipit.. Oystercatcher.
Back at the ranch, after tea, I headed off to look at the 'lakes' that were part of The Bay complex.
Along the way many House Martins were investigating nesting sites under the eaves of the pretty buildings of the complex.
The lakes were quite impressive with plenty of reeds and a few birds.
Pr. Tufted Duck. Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings were calling / singing.
On Thursday we caught the bus to Bridlington and had a look at the shops and a cafe stop before looking at the harbour.
The timing was pretty good with the tide just leaving and some mud and Waders appearing.
I did not carry my heavy camera and bins today but I did have a small camera and I got a few photographs.
Birds here included, Kittiwake, Purple Sandpiper and Turnstone.
Afterwards we walked along to Sewerby Park before catching a couple of buses back to the Complex.
We left for home, quite early on Friday, having to vacate the beach house by 10:00 am.
The journeys there and back were really good, although we noticed on the return journey that some road works had appeared on the opposite (east bound) carriageway on A64 and cars were being diverted off the A64 at a roundabout.
All in all an enjoyable break.
Filey:
Bridlington:-
