Bempton birds – violence and aggression
It’s not all mutual preening and sweetness and light at Bempton Cliffs. It’s a difficult life, perched on a ledge surrounded by hundreds of thousands of other birds. Sometimes life there is like this instead:
![Gannet fighting at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar--725x483.jpg)
Even the Kittiwakes are at it, pecking and calling and chasing one another:
The Gannets are the true masters of combat though:
![Gannets fighting at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-9319-725x483.jpg)
This pair are having a serious territorial dispute:
![Gannets fighting at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-9313-725x483.jpg)
They lock beaks:
Sometimes the fighting is fast and furious:
![Gannets fighting at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-9423-725x483.jpg)
![Gannets fighting at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-9410-725x483.jpg)
They will even grab each other and throw one another off the cliff and fly away, still locked in combat:
It may only be a tiny patch of cliff, but owning it may make the difference between breeding and not. That’s something they all take very seriously indeed.
More birds at Bempton Cliffs
![Displaying Gannets - Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-9247-300x200.jpg)
![Tree Sparrow at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-8943-300x200.jpg)
![Guillemot at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-0235-300x200.jpg)
![Gannet at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-9913-200x300.jpg)
![Razorbill - Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-0767-300x200.jpg)
![Gannet at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-9930-200x300.jpg)
![Puffin - Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-8670-300x200.jpg)
![Puffin at Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-9509-300x200.jpg)
![Razorbill with chick - Bempton - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bempton-The-Hall-of-Einar-8749-300x200.jpg)