RSPB's Bempton Cliffs gannet colony - in pictures

A kittiwake flies over the cliff top at the RSPB's Bempton Cliffs on the East Yorkshire coast in Bempton, United Kingdom Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Around 20,000 gannets that pair for life and can live for over 20 years make up the quarter of a million seabirds that return to nest each summer on these chalk cliffs at Bempton every year Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The gannets that nest on the reserve make up what is the biggest breeding colony on the UK mainland Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Other birds apart from gannets that live at Bempton include, kittiwake, guillemots, razorbill, fulmars and puffins which nest in burrows on the top of the huge cliff faces Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The birds have a wingspan of up to two metres and are the largest seabird in the UK Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A puffin flies over squabbling gannets Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A puffin, two razorbills and three gannets sit on the cliff tops Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Northern gannets sit on rock ledges Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A northern gannet carries nesting material Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Gannets can dive from a height of 30m, achieving speeds of 100 km/h as they strike the water, enabling them to catch fish much deeper than most airborne birds Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A pair of northern gannets share nesting material Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A pair of northern gannets perform a courtship display Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Gannets nesting Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A gannet makes a clumbsy landing on a cliff top Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

RSPB members view seabirds at Bempton Cliffs from a cruise on the Yorkshire Belle on the East Yorkshire coast Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Red campion flowers on the cliff tops at the RSPB's Bempton Cliffs Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images