Why Headlands Are the Best Seats in the House

There are few better ways to spend a bright morning than standing on a grassy, dune-backed headland with the sea below and the air full of birds. Headlands push you out into the current of coastal life. Where a cliff meets open water, tidal streams and upwellings gather fish, and where there is fish there are seabirds — often thousands of them. You do not need a boat, a permit or a long walk. Sturdy boots, a decent morning and a little patience will do. The trick is to arrive early, before the crowds, and let the birds come to you.

Getting Your Eye In: Fulmars, Guillemots and Razorbills

Start close to the cliff face. Northern fulmars are the easiest to watch well. They are stiff-winged, tube-nosed gliders that look like small, grey-and-white albatrosses. Fulmars nest on narrow ledges and will often glide past at eye level if you sit quietly. A word of warning: they defend their nests by spitting a foul-smelling oil, so keep a respectful distance and never corner one on a ledge.

Below the fulmars, guillemots raft in loose groups on the swell. They are chocolate-brown above and white below, with a sharp, straight bill. Some wear the "bridled" form — a white ring around the eye with a thin line running back from it. Razorbills look similar but stockier, with a blunt, black bill crossed by a white stripe. Puffins are the clowns of the colony: short, whirring wings, orange feet and, in spring, that famously colourful bill. Look for them flying fast and low, often carrying a beakful of sand eels.

All three nest in dense colonies on ledges and in crevices. From a headland you can watch the constant traffic of adults leaving and returning, and the noisy, guano-splashed world of the colony, without ever getting too close.

Gannets and the Great Seawatch

For sheer drama, nothing beats the northern gannet. A gannet is a big, brilliant-white bird with black wingtips, a creamy head and a dagger of a bill. Watch one fold its wings and drop from thirty metres or more, hitting the water at close to sixty miles per hour. The splash carries clearly to the cliff top.

A seawatch from a headland is simple. Find a spot with a clear view, brace yourself against the wind and scan slowly. On a breezy day with an onshore wind, birds are pushed closer to land. Manx shearwaters shear low over the waves, great skuas harry other birds, and kittiwakes — the true ocean gulls — wheel about and call their own name. Autumn gales can bring rarities, but even the common species are a spectacle.

Low tide is a good time to scan the shoreline beneath you. Shags and cormorants dry their wings on rocky outcrops, oystercatchers pipe along the waterline and turnstones busy themselves among the weed. If you beachcomb later, the strandline after a blow can be full of mermaid's purses — the eggcases of rays and skates — which you can record for local wildlife groups.

Kit, Weather and Timing

Binoculars are essential. An 8x42 or 10x42 pair, waterproof and fog-proof, will serve you well. A spotting scope is a bonus for distant rafts and passing shearwaters, but it is not necessary. Keep a microfibre cloth handy: salt spray will blur your lenses, and wiping them with a sleeve only smears the glass.

• Binoculars: 8x42 or 10x42, waterproof and fog-proof.
• Clothing: windproof and waterproof layers, warm hat, gloves, sunglasses.
• Footwear: boots with good grip; wet grass on cliff paths is treacherous.
• Extras: sun cream, water, a flask and a notebook for your records.

Timing matters. Seabird colonies are busiest in the first few hours after dawn. Tides make a difference, too: a rising tide pushes fish and feeding birds closer to shore. Weather is the biggest factor. A moderate onshore breeze is perfect, keeping birds low and close. Clear, calm, high-pressure days look lovely but often leave the sea empty and the birds distant.

Cliffcraft: Safety and Colony Etiquette

Cliff edges are not always what they seem. Grass can overhang a void, and a seemingly solid edge may be undercut. Stay at least five metres back, and if you want to look over, lie down and crawl forward. Never kneel or stand on the very edge. Keep dogs on a short lead, and do not fly drones anywhere near nesting colonies.

• Keep back from the edge — five metres minimum on grassy tops.
• Stay on marked paths and never climb down to a ledge.
• If birds alarm-call or dive at you, you are too close. Back off.
• Do not enter or cross a colony, even if the path looks clear.

Nesting colonies are fragile places. A flushed adult leaves eggs and chicks exposed to cold, rain and predators such as great black-backed gulls. Watch from a distance, use your binoculars and enjoy the spectacle without disturbing it. That way the birds return next spring, and so can you.