A hard act to swallow; Otter Safari 20/11/18
by martin on 21/11/18 12:18, under Druridge Bay
In March last year I was knocked off my bike by a car in Bedlington (which is our local town). The day after the incident, I posted in our local Facebook group, thanking everyone who helped me. “I don’t know if they’re in this group but I’d just like to say a huge thank you to the people who looked after me until the paramedics and police arrived after I was knocked off my bike opposite the market place, especially the lady who held my hand and talked to me...Laid in the road, unable to move your head and with one leg twisted painfully, is a scary experience so it’s hard to put into words how much it helped having people who stopped the traffic, held my hand, talked to me and kept me calm.”
I collected Stephanie and Gary yesterday, just up the road from the NEWT office and Stephanie said “My friend Leigh was the one who held your hand when you were knocked off your bike.” and told me that Leigh decided to train as a first-aider after helping me 🙂 Bedlington and it’s surrounding villages is a small world…and then we headed to Newbiggin to collect Susanne and Leanne. As they walked across the car park towards us, Leanne looked familiar – one of my chemistry students from 14 years ago! Small world indeed!
We headed out to explore Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland in search of Otters and, from the state of the sea crashing against the breakwaters of Newbiggin Bay it looked like the wind would present a challenge for the day. The rest of the day was a series of squally showers, increasing in intensity as the day progressed. Noisy flocks of Long-tailed Tits foraged in pathside trees and Cormorant, Little Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser and Goldeneye were diving in search of fish.
A Cormorant managed to generate a false alarm as it wrestled with a large Eel – the bird’s black body and the tail of the fish combining to do a remarkable impression of an Otter fishing with it’s tail up out of the water 🙂 Having managed to swallow the Eel, the Cormorant caught an even larger one a few minutes later and we were able to watch as it tossed the Eel until eventually grabbing it around the head and swallowing it in one go. That was followed by a couple of minutes of watching the Cormorant’s neck bulging and writhing as it struggled to get the Eel down into it’s stomach. Incredibly it started fishing again straight away and caught and swallowed a much smaller Eel.
A theme in the last couple of weeks has been Sparrowhawks causing consternation among roosting wader and wildfowl flocks, and yesterday was no exception. Knot, Dunlin, Redshank, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Curlew, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall and Wigeon all took flight repeatedly before the Sparrowhawk eventually flew past us. A dense flock of Kittiwakes flew along over huge rolling waves and foaming surf and as Starlings, Lapwings and Golden Plover struggled against the strengthening breeze and geese arrived to roost the next squall took the light levels from challenging to near dark in a matter of minutes and we headed back toward he bright lights of Newbiggin 🙂
Easterlies; Druridge Bay Safari 19/11/18
by martin on 20/11/18 09:10, under Druridge Bay
There was a gentle breeze as I collected Nigel, Corina, Victoria and Rob from Longframlington and we headed towards the coast for a day around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland…
Waders and wildfowl were in abundance, as they tend to be in the late autumn. A huge roosting flock of Golden Plover and Lapwing were restless and vocal and Redshank, Dunlin and a lone Curlew were sleeping until disturbed by a marauding Sparrowhawk. Drake Shovelers and a lone drake Scaup were still patchy, coming out of eclipse plumage, a flock of Eider flying north over white foaming surf on a strengthening easterly contained a mix of females, young males and a couple of pristine adult males and Mallard, Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Red-breasted Merganser and Teal drakes were all sporting their very best finery.
Our picnic spot was graced by a Kestrel hanging on the stiff breeze so close that we could see how he held his head stationary while making minor movements of wings, body and tail. An apparent absence of small birds was suddenly broken by a noisy foraging flock of Great, Coal, Blue and Long-tailed Tits. Hunched against the wind, a Grey Heron looked even more miserable than they usually do and, as Little Egrets shone in the gloom, at least 20 Little Grebes, including a group of 12 together, were along one stretch of river. With dusk fast approaching a noisy mixed flock of Canada, Greylag and Pink-footed Geese arrived to roost as Starlings passed by in small groups, foregoing the murmuration in favour of a quick dash to the reeds and Whooper Swans trumpeted their own arrival and the light faded to a barely penetrable gloom.
Mesmerising murmuration; Druridge Bay Bespoke birdwatching 15/11/18
by martin on 17/11/18 16:33, under Druridge Bay
A lot of our clients muse on the possibility of retiring and moving to Northumberland, and John had done just that and booked a bespoke day out with us to explore some of the lesser-known birdwatching sites around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland…
With an almost cloudless blue sky and a chill wind we set out and were soon watching Common Redshanks as they probed the mud along the waterline with Red-breasted Mergansers in the background, a Grey Wagtail flycatching from rocks amidst fast flowing water, and a Sparrowhawk against the azure sky mobbed by a swarm of Jackdaws. Bullfinches and Goldcrests called from hidden positions in hawthorn bushes and a Short-eared Owl quartering rough grassland plunged out of sight after prey repeatedly without ever appearing carrying anything. The plan for dusk was a visit to (hopefully) a Starling roost. With Water Rails squealing from reedbeds, and Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Mute Swan and Whooper Swan on the water around roosting Lapwings, Golden Plovers and Cormorants, Starlings started to arrive. Cloud after cloud of birds landed in a small section of reeds before leaving again in groups of a few hundred birds every few seconds. A sudden panic ran through the flock and as they bunched tightly, twisting and turning, a Sparrowhawk came through before settling on the ground before reappearing around the end of the reeds and flying past us carrying a Starling. With dusk descending to darkness the murmuring rustle of birds in the reedbeds faded to silence as we walked back to the car.
Fireworks; Bespoke Druridge Bay Safari 04/11/18
by martin on 07/11/18 09:25, under Druridge Bay
If there’s one thing that’s even less predictable than wildlife it’s the weather, so when I collected Ted and Elaine for an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay searching for Otters, with stargazing planned for the end of the trip, we were at the mercy of both…
Dense flocks of Golden Plover and Lapwing were roosting, and alternating between unremarkable under overcast skies and stunning whenever the sun broke through the cloud. They repeatedly flushed in panic and a Sparrowhawk eventually revealed itself as the cause of their consternation. Once that had gone they settled back down before taking off again, this time deserting completely as a large falcon came through. Maybe a Lanner, maybe a Gyr x Saker hybrid, whatever it was it was big and the waders were really not happy about it. We’re moving to the time of year when male ducks start to out on their finery and Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Goldeneye and Tufted Duck were looking very smart as a Long-tailed Duck played hide and seek with us. Among a group of Common Snipe roosting close by a Jack Snipe revealed itself with rhythmical bobbing before it shuffled off and out of sight.
As dusk approached, thousands of Starlings streamed out of one reedbed and in front of us before settling into a different one and the three Pink-footed Geese on the mud in front of us became 3000 as the sky was suddenly filled with dark shapes and high yapping calls, leaving a dark impenetrable mass of birds in the gloom with fireworks illuminating the sky behind them and a break in the clouds revealing Cygnus, the Summer Triangle, Cassiopeia and a faint glow of the Milky Way overhead 🙂
Fantastic Mr Fox; Another walk in the woods 02/11/18
by martin on 03/11/18 10:39, under Choppington Woods
Under a leaden overcast sky the cold air wraps its damp tendrils around every exposed bit of my skin. Jays are making their way across open ground between the plantations with a stuttering flight, white rumps flashing in the gloom, and a Woodcock heads out as the unseen sun dips below the horizon. A last good feed of the day for Coal, Blue, Great and Willow Tits is on offer at a makeshift feeding station as I start scanning the hedgerow along the southern edge of a field of verdant green with new growth. In the distance a lump breaking the gentle undulations of the field isn’t straightforward to identify in the half-light. Moving along the hedgerow a few metres at time I get close enough to identify it as a Red Fox. Closer still and I get a great view as he stands up and has a good stretch. Now awake, he trots along for a few seconds and then sits, gazing intently around him. I move through the hedge and watch him from a well concealed position and then parallel his movements, stopping regularly to watch what he’s doing. By the time he eventually disappears through a hedge and into a small plantation 45mins have passed and I make my way home along dark paths wrapped in the scent and sound of the woods at dusk.
A walk in the woods 01/11/18
by martin on 02/11/18 10:54, under Choppington Woods
It’s been a difficult couple of weeks in the NEWT household. We’d had a week away in and around Glencoe checking locations for a landscape photography holiday I’m leading over Christmas, then a couple of days after we got back home I wasn’t feeling well. Sarah took me to see our GP and they sent me straight to the excellent Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington. Four days later I was discharged, limited to a liquid-only diet and with surgery scheduled for early January. Luckily I’m well enough to work, as we’ve got a very busy November ahead of us. This week has been mainly recuperation at home, but I need to keep my mind and body active and daily walks in the woods behind our house are the best medicine…
With the light of day fading to dusk, the harsh ‘chek’ calls of Jackdaws and deep ‘rawk’ of Rooks gathering together to roost were layered with the staccato ratting of Magpies. The woods are familiar and comforting, and a place to clear my mind. We’ve walked them countless times over the last 18 years and the benches, interpretation boards, boardwalk/dipping platform and well-surfaced paths were the result of a successful funding bid that I presented back in 2009. We know which intersections of the footpaths and tracks will produce the pungent scent of Red Fox, temporarily overwhelming the sweet earthy smell of Autumn decay and the heady perfume of Himalayan Balsam, which areas of the wood will have Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tit and where to search for Red Squirrel and the other inhabitants of this reclaimed colliery site. Woodpigeons were gathering in treetops frosted orange by the setting Sun and, applying the shape, shadow and shine elements of concealment I chose a position on the shaded side of an Ivy-covered hedge. Willow Tits and Coal Tits gave quiet alarm calls as a Sparrowhawk flew along the hedge and a Kestrel hovered over the field in the half-light. Jays were crossing between plantations, Roe Deer ventured out from cover to forage close to the field edge, Redwings arrived to roost and the chacking calls so typical of pre-roost Blackbirds penetrated the crisp, cold air under a clear blue sky layered over the pastel pink of the Belt of Venus away to the east as I had a feeling that there was something close by. A brief whirr of wings so I turned my head slowly…and found myself eye to eye with a handsome cock Pheasant 🙂
A connection with nature allows us to disconnect, even if only for a short while, from our connection with everyday life. It’s good for body and soul and so many of our clients comment that one of the things they most enjoy about their days out with NEWT is just how relaxing it is to be taken away from work and the stresses of life. Applying that to myself is working well too 🙂
Eye of the storm; Lindisfarne Safari 27/09/18
by martin on 28/09/18 09:47, under Lindisfarne
Yesterday’s Lindisfarne Safari was a trip of returning clients; Diane, who’d been on a Cheviot Valleys Safari in June and Paul and Pauline who’d enjoyed a successful Otter Safari last November…
A flock of Golden Plover trying to fly against the stiff breeze were almost low enough to be between rooftops and treetops in the village but Paul and Pauline assured us it was far less windy than it had been on Wednesday 🙂 Rock Pipits and a Linnet were drinking from a small pool and, off the eastern edge of the island there were lots of Grey Seals splashing close to shore. Curlews flew low over the fields and the distant calls of geese carried to us on the wind. A Grey Heron stalked along the sheltered edge of a reedbed with an aural backdrop of the insistent cheeping of Mute Swan cygnets. Kestrels were making the most of the breeze to hang motionless over the fields back towards the village and we headed across to the mainland. On the rising tide Curlew, Little Egret, Dunlin, Grey Plover and Common Redshank were feeding along the edge of rapidly swelling channels in the mud. As the tide pushed closer to the shore Wigeon, Pale-bellied Brent Geese, Pintail and Common Redshank flew north, as the eerie moaning of Grey Seals carried across the mud through increasingly damp-looking air, before suddenly heading south in big flocks as the wind swung from south round to north east, started to pick up a bit and a surreal combination of aquamarine water, black cloud, luminous white cloud and patches of ground bathed in beautiful low-angled sunlight heralded the arrival of the rain…
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