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'Magical' nature reserve showcased on Springwatch

Charis Scott-Holm,East Yorkshire and Lincolnshireand
Sally Fairfax,in Bempton
BBC A man with short cropped grey hair, wearing a bright blue outdoors jacket, stands on the top of a tall, chalk cliff with fields and the sea in the background. BBC
Iolo Williams has been presenting live from Bempton cliffs this week

A TV presenter has called his time at an East Yorkshire nature reserve as "magical" and "one of the best evenings" he has had presenting a nature show.

Iolo Williams is visiting RSPB Bempton Cliffs as part of BBC Two's Springwatch.

After broadcasting from a boat beneath the cliffs on Monday, he said: "We had a wonderful evening last night, one of the best evenings I've had since I became involved with Springwatch 17 years ago.

"It was a lovely calm sea, the sun was going down, we had gannets diving all around us for fish – it was absolutely brilliant."

He described the reserve, which is currently home to about 300,000 seabirds nesting on its chalk cliffs, as a "magical place" and "visually stunning".

A young woman with blonde hair tied back, wearing glasses and a black polo neck fleece with a navy waterproof jacket on top. She is smiling and standing in a field slightly away from the cliff's edge.
Poppy Rummery says she hopes the show will help introduce more people to the nature reserve

Poppy Rummery, visitor experience manager at the reserve, said the show was a "fantastic opportunity" and would help them showcase the "wonders of Bempton" to a wider audience.

She said: "We're always trying to engage with lots of different people, branch out and show people what we've got here and communicate with lots of different people.

"I think this is a really fantastic opportunity for us to showcase that."

She said she hoped the show would encourage people watching at home to plan a visit of their own as well as highlighting other aspects of work at the reserve.

She added: "It's giving us an opportunity to chat about really important conservation success from here as well."

PA Media A white seabird with its wings spread wide open tends to a black and white fluffy chick on a grassy ledge, the sea twinkles in the background.PA Media
Gannets are just one species of seabird whose chicks will hatch on the cliffs this summer

The nature reserve, based just outside Bridlington, sees about half a million seabirds gather between March and August to raise chicks on the cliffs that overlook the North Sea.

Visiting species include puffins, gannets, kittiwakes and guillemots.

As well as seabirds, there are also meadows on site, which Williams said he had "really enjoyed" walking through.

"People should really remember there's a lot more than just seabirds here," he said.

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