A PAIR of gannets neck as they swap nest-guarding duties at Bempton Cliffs. Yes, it really is as romantic as it appears, according to Ian Kendall, the RSPB’s site manager at the spectacular clifftop reserve, near Bridlington.

“Gannets pair for life,” he says. “The necking is a way of reaffirming that pair bond. Whenever they change over at the nest, they do it by touching necks, touching bills, sky-pointing.”

Late spring and early summer – in other words, right now – is the best time to visit the cliffs, Ian says.

The 200,000-and-more seabirds who have made this stunning section of coastline their home are at their busiest, nesting, breeding and looking after young.

“Every bird is either sitting on eggs or has just hatched the first few chicks,” he says. “There are thousands of seabirds starting to come in with fish for their young: it’s a really exciting time.”

Gannets are the country’s biggest seabird, with wingspans stretching to six feet.

There are 7,800 pairs nesting on the cliffs at Bempton. Watching them wheel in the wide skies is spectacular: seeing them come in to land even more so. “They fly really tight to the cliffs so they can get the right uplift they need to land,” Ian says.

Another favourite at this time of year is the puffin.

There are about 1,000 of them at Bempton – although, despite their distinctive appearance, they are much harder to spot than the extrovert gannets.

They tend to nest in cracks in the cliff-face, so you’ll often see them shuffling along ledges half way up the sheer cliffs.

The simple way to spot them is to follow the long lenses of the many birdwatchers. Odds are that they will be pointing at a puffin hunched on the cliffs, its thick bill and striking face making it stand out.

There are plenty of other seabirds to look out for, however: thousands of guillemots, nesting so closely together they scarcely seem to have elbow room; narrow-winged fulmars, related to the albatross; squabbling kittiwakes; razorbills, the puffins’ cousins; herring gulls; and shags, dark-feathered relatives of the cormorant. There are 20-odd pairs of them – though because they nest in sea caves right at the bottom of the cliffs, they may not be that easy to see.

At this time of year, the sky is thick with birds of all shapes and sizes and colours wheeling and swooping and squabbling on the clifftops. And perhaps the most stunning thing of all – apart from the smell of fish and salt air – is the noise: a cacophony of shrieks and squawks and yells as this community of 200,000 mismatched neighbours somehow gets on with the business of living together.

It’s a stunning place, and well worth a visit.

• There is a £3.50 parking charge for cars at Bempton, which gives entry to the reserve for everyone in the car. RSPB members get in free.