While at Bempton Cliff’s I was talking to one of the volunteers who told me about the Sand Martin’s at Fraisthorpe beach.

Fraisthorpe beach was about a 30 minute drive from my accommodation. I had been told mornings were best as the sun would be on the banks. I knew the car parking was on a farm but hadn’t realised how many fields you had to drive through to get there (I was starting to wonder if I’d got lost!) but the farm finally came into view. (There is an honesty box for your parking fee and the use of the toilet facilities).

Once I had put on my walking boots (I can’t drive in them!) I headed to the beach and turned left along the shore. I didn’t have to walk far before I saw the Sand Martins. Sand Martin’s are the smallest of the Martin’s and Swallow’s that visit for the summer.  They nest in either sandy coastal cliffs or sandy river banks.

One thing I did discover is they are quite difficult to photograph! They are so quick, by the time you have one framed you’ve lost it again!! It took me a little time to get my eye into their patterns and speed of flight. They seemed to be moving about in a pack. One minute there were birds around the nest holes, the next they all seemed to be gone. They were flying off to the farm / grassland to look for food.  You really do loose track of time when spending time with these little feathered friends, it was lunch time before I knew it!  I decided to head back to Bempton Cliffs for the afternoon and made the decision to stop off at Fraisthope beach again on my journey home.