Photographer captures ghostly shadow in the mist

A Brocken spectre appears only in specific conditions

A wildlife photographer from East Yorkshire has captured a rare ghostly shadow phenomenon while out spotting seabirds.

Chris Atkinson, 44, was looking for peregrine falcons at Bempton Cliffs, near Bridlington, on 18 October when he spotted a circular rainbow in the mist.

Mr Atkinson, who works at Hull Prison, said he spotted something "different, very unusual", but did not realise it was his own shadow looming large until he began moving to get better light for his photograph.

The phenomenon is called a Brocken spectre, which the Met Office describes as "a large shadow of an observer cast onto cloud or mist", named after the German mountain on which it was first noted in 1780.

After getting a positive reaction to the photo from friends and colleagues on social media, the photo was shared by the RSPB Bempton Cliffs Facebook page, receiving more than 1,300 responses.

Mr Atkinson, from Bilton, near Hull, said: "All the positive comments have been amazing. It's had a really lovely response and it's been nice to see the reaction to it."

The keen photographer said he normally captured wildlife and sunsets and had some interesting photos of the moon, but this unusual photo was now going "straight to the top of the pile in my photo albums".

Another example of a Brocken spectre captured in Hayfield in the Peak District

Dannie Jackson, visitor experience manager at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, said the team had not seen any examples of Brocken spectres at the nature reserve before.

She added: "This isn't a phenomenon that occurs very often. The weather conditions have to be quite specific in order to get this kind of image. It is more about being in the right place, right time."

A spokesperson for the Met Office said: "A Brocken spectre is a phenomenon where an observer’s shadow is cast onto a hill partially shrouded in mist.

"The illusion makes the shadow of the person (or 'spectre') appear much larger than reality and at a considerable distance away."

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