Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Month: December 2011

  • Hopes for 2012

    In no particular order of priority, here a few things we’d love to see happening in 2012;

    1) An increase in the English breeding population of Hen Harriers.  One of the most contentious wildlife issues we have – but perhaps 2012 will see, at least, the beginning of the abandonment of entrenched attitudes and finally some positive news for the ‘grey males and ringtails’.

    2) The stunning cetaceans that spend time in our offshore waters being able to go about their business without suffereing unnecessary disturbance.  There are some excellent codes of conduct for cetacean watching and NEWT use these to inform and plan our offshore activities, and to advise the skippers and boat owners who we work with.  Martin will continue to raise issues of cetacean disturbance at meetings of the PAW Marine Wildlife Enforcement Working Group, but hopes that won’t be too often.

    3) The continued excellent promotion of Northumberland as a holiday destination.  Our county really is beautiful and you can ‘get away from it all’ without having to try too hard.  Whatever your interests – birdwatching, wildlife, photography, history and culture are just a few examples where the county excels – you’ll find something that will make you come back again and again.

    4) The recognition by the Government that all 127 recommended Marine Conservation Zones (rMCZ’s) need to be designated in order to achieve a coherent ecological network that will protect our seas for everyone and for the future.

    5) Health, wealth and happiness for our family, friends and clients 🙂

    Happy New Year everyone 🙂

  • It’s good to be back

    After a planned break from days out with clients, and regular exercise and ice-pack treatment for my knee, we had a mini-Safari on Wednesday afternoon.  Southeast Northumberland is our local patch, so I was getting back into the swing of things with something comfortingly familiar.

    I collected Alastair and Zoe from Church Point and we set out on an exploration of the River Wansbeck.  Stunning Red-breasted Mergansers and Goldeneye, and subtly attractive Little Grebes (amazing how many people still think of them as Dabchicks – a far nicer name!),  were diving along the edge of the river.  A handsome drake Goosander flew upstream and the first of the afternoon’s 4 Sparrowhawks drifted high overhead.  A flock of Long-tailed Tits, those noisy endearing pink and white fluffballs, made their way in procession from one side of the river to the other and Mallards began dropping out of the sky and following each other through the vegetation, quacking noisily.  As daylight faded a flock of Teal drifted backwards and forwards between a reedbed and open water, roosting Pheasants (my vote for most underrated bird in Britain) flushed from a Hawthorn hedge as we made our way back to the car in the dark, and it was time to return Zoe and Alastair to Newbiggin.

  • Taking stock

    I’ve spent most of the last 10 days in near confinement to the house, and the chance to deal with lots of things that don’t always get enough time when I’m fit and active.

    The reason for my confinement was a knee injury that I suffered back in March 2011 while we were offshore, carrying out a transect survey as part of the Northeast Cetacean Project.  I was the only surveyor standing up, as I was trying to photograph a Common Dolphin that had just passed across the bow, when we hit an unexpectedly large wave.  That collision was followed quickly by one between my knee and the back of the seat in front of me 🙁  Lots of pain initially but it quickly eased, and I put all the subsequent twinges down to the inevitable consequences of getting older.  Then, earlier this year, a client who just happens to be a nurse noticed that I was limping slightly and asked if I had any other symptoms…so, in late July I found myself having x-rays and an MRI scan, and trying to find a 2-week slot without any bookings so that I could have surgery.  Now I’ve got a knee that’s pain-free and has a greater range of movement than I’ve enjoyed for nearly 2 years 🙂

    I’m not renowned for being a good patient/invalid (as Sarah would attest), but my lay-off has let me focus on a number of things that have kept me from becoming too crotchety about having to stay in the house; last week we had our Grading Visit for the Green Tourism Business Scheme, so as soon as that was over we started looking at the suggestions made by the assessor.  We’re involved in several conservation organisations/projects and it’s really important to us that the environmental impact of our business is minimised as far as possible.  Thursday evening saw me in our office, with ice-pack on my knee, in a conference call about the Northeast Cetacean Project.

    As it’s December, Gift Vouchers have been prominent, and we’ve got a special offer until December 17th – Gift Vouchers at our standard trip price (without a charge for the Gift Card and postage).  I’ve used my ‘free’ time to make a few changes to the website; I’ve added next year’s Pelagic trips to our online shop, changed some of our site content, including adding our Green Policy and Responsible Visitor Charter and tidied up the layout of the Pelagics page so that trip reports are all listed together, and next year’s trips are all listed together.

    Just 4 more days and I should be able to drive again 🙂

  • Winter Wonderland 28/11/11-01/12/11

    Last week was our Winter Wonderland birdwatching holiday, although as I arrived at Saughy Rigg I wondered if Windy Wonderland would be a better name for it 😉

    The original itinerary involved the Solway coast on Tuesday and the North Pennines on Wednesday, but a quick discussion with our guests on arrival meant that our coastal day was switched to Northumberland to avoid the poor weather in the west.

    The plan worked well, at least until mid-afternoon when the weather caught up with us and we had a couple of hours of dodging the showers.  The waders and wildfowl that winter here featured throughout the day and Greylag, Pink-footed, Pale-bellied Brent, Barnacle and Eurasian White-fronted Geese were all enjoying the mild weather on the Northumberland coast.  3 splendid drake Goosanders  were blown across Druridge Pools before battling their way back against the wind, and a Roe Deer was grazing in the gap between 2 reed beds.  As so often seems to happen, some of the best wildlife of the day saved its appearance until the light began to fade.  First a Short-eared Owl, with a strikingly white face, quartering backwards and forwards along the margins of a field, then 2 Water Rails, those small, secretive denizens of the reeds, stepped gingerly into view; prodding and poking and squealing like piglets as they vanished back into the gloom.  Then, as flocks of geese descended to roost, a Bittern flew from the reeds and headed south.

    Wednesday brought another breezy morning, and we headed into the hills.  Remarkable numbers of Red Grouse chuckled at us as we watched from the comfort of the car, and 7 Black Grouse were the first of no less than 75 that we found during the day.  The weather closed in all around us and, after a quick check of a lough wher Teal, Wigeon and Lapwing were roosting and Goldeneye were feeding, we finished the day at one of our favourite evening venues.  An unidentified raptor flew low across the heather moorland and out of sight over a ridge, Red Grouse burst from cover before settling again a short distance away and a lone Short-eared Owl battled into a brutal headwind as the evening faded to darkness.

    Winter Wonderland is one (in fact, two) of the holidays on our itinerary for 2012, so give us a call on 01670 827465 for more details or to book your place.