Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Yesterday was a twice-postponed bespoke photography trip to look at the techniques involved in capturing autumn colours at their finest.  I collected Norman from his home in Throckley and we headed towards the Northumberland coast.

Landscape photography tuition is something I really enjoy delivering.  Just a few simple camera settings can make a huge difference, although not as big a difference as some nice light…

Autumn colour is a transient, and unpredictable, thing but we managed to get lots of trees in oranges, reds and yellows for Norman to try out a range of new techniques.  At our first site, we enjoyed views of a Red Squirrel, and a young Common Buzzard, as we searched for the best viewpoint along the river, and for a brief spell there was enough sunlight to lift the colours from pastel shades of the riverbank.  As we neared the finish of our day, at Howick Gardens, a thick blanket of cloud cover put paid to thoughts of a glorious sunset.  Redwings called as they passed overhead on their way to roost, and we headed off ourselves as daylight faded.

I had 2 days in the North Pennines late last week; a one-to-one photography day and a birdwatching trip.  Separated by just 48hrs, the days could hardly have been any different.

The photography day took place in gales that were so strong, I had to choose the direction of the car carefully when parked so that we could open the doors, and plan the route as we went along so that Michael would be in a position to get shots from his side of our mobile hide, with as little interference as possible from the weather.  As well as serving up Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Golden Plover, Curlew and Short-eared Owl I had a stint as photographer’s assistant, holding my Cubelite in place so that it acted as a diffuser and windshield as Michael enjoyed having some of the area’s flora in front of his macro lens.

2 days later and I collected Mandy, Sara and Stevan from Jesmond and headed west again.  As we crossed the remote moorland roads and walked in Upper Teesdale, we found Snipe, Curlew, Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Wheatear all displaying.  We had excellent views of 2 Greyhens and a Blackcock was dozing in the afternoon sunshine.  Common Sandpipers were flitting about across the water and the Mountain Pansies were glorious in the sunlight.  All too soon, it was time to head back towards civilisation.

We put a lot of effort into finding locations for species that our clients are keen to photograph and we can apply decades of experience and fieldcraft…but we can’t control the weather.  As we left the lowland coastal strip of Northumberland on Sunday, gaining altitude in a search for Black Grouse at some of our favoured spots in the North Pennines, the rain started to patter on the car windows.  As the wind strengthened, and the pattering turned to a shower, this added another factor to our considerations; 1) find birds, 2) position vehicle so that a) client has a clear shot and b) lighting angle is good, were joined by c) rain isn’t drenching client   With all of those achieved it just remained for Arthur to fill his memory cards with those species that the North Pennines produces such close views of; Black Grouse, Red Grouse (with chicks), Curlew, Common Snipe, Lapwing, Golden Plover (with chicks) and Short-eared Owl being the stars of the day.  As we drove a steep remote road towards Weardale we even had excellent, and close, views of the often elusive Greyhen, and throughout the day we found several groups of Blackcock (including 7 in one field).  To be honest, if we could control the weather…I’m not sure we would

All of the areas we visit with our clients have something special about them, but the North Pennines is often our choice for a day out on our own.  The area is vast, with open landscapes, big skies and narrow valleys, and there’s always a feeling that this is somewhere really special.

A 7am start heralded the first part of the prize (a trip into the North Pennines to photograph Black Grouse) for the under 13 category winner in the Northumberland Wildlife Trust photography competition.  Driving through dense fog all the way to beyond Haydon Bridge didn’t inspire confidence, but visibility at our first stop revealed a flock of Golden Plover, Curlews displaying over the moors and a Brown Hare.  As we headed over a road that I always expect to produce memorable sightings, we weren’t disappointed; Jonathan spotted a bird perched on a dry stone wall, and it turned out to be a Greyhen.  Now, we see lots of Blackcocks on our North Pennines trips, but greyhens much less often.  This one was sitting there with a purpose, as 2 Blackcocks were lekking in an adjacent field.  Strutting, cooing and displaying their undertail coverts they somehow added an even more ethereal note to the sun-bathed moorland surrounded by mist-filled valleys.  The air was drenched with the song of Skylarks, Snipe were calling, Lapwings were doing that thing that they do (I’ve tried to put it into words…but I can’t do it justice!) and a nearby field contained at least 16 Wheatears.  On over the moors, Red Grouse bobbed their heads up and down, watching our progress, and we had the closest views of a Blackcock that I’ve ever had; iridescent and imperious in the morning sunlight.  It may be just about the best place in the world

Sunday and Monday illustrated the range of things that NEWT do on a regular basis.

Sunday saw me leaving the office at 03:30 and driving to Alnwick.  Highlight of the drive was a Barn Owl, hunting alongside the A1 near Eshott.  After collecting Helen and Steve, two of our returning clients, we headed to Bamburgh, and a rendezvous with the sunrise.  Landscape photography tuition was first on the menu, followed by some macro photography around the rock pools at low tide.  All the while, the crowds were building further along the beach in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, enjoying views of the Black Scoter just offshore.  Once the sun was well above the horizon, and the shadows were getting too harsh, it was time to drive back to Alnwick.

A walk around Choppington Woods in the afternoon produced plenty of butterflies, Small White, Large White, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Comma, and the unexpected patch tick of Hooded Crow.  We weren’t finished yet though, and  an evening excursion in southeast Northumberland produced excellent views of 2 of our favourites; Tawny Owl and Badger.

Yesterday morning, the day dawned overcast and calm; ideal for our latest Northeast Cetacean Project Transect Survey.  I met up with Maeve, Claire, Rachael and Steve at Royal Quays and we set out on just about the flattest sea I’ve ever seen.  Even 4 miles offshore it was glassy calm.  Cetacean sightings were down compared to the February/March surveys, with a pod of 4 Harbour Porpoises being the only sighting of the day.  Avian highlights were our first Manx Shearwater  and Pomarine Skua for the year, and lots of Puffins throughout the day.

Now it’s Tuesday morning and I’m getting ready for 9 tours with clients in the next 11 days.  Hopefully I’ll find time to blog…

…with the sound of Meadow Pipits.

Yesterday morning I decided to set out from home nice and early, so that I could spend a few hours in the North Pennines before exhibiting at the Tourism Fair in Hexham.

Birdwatching in Northumberland’s southwestern reaches is (almost always) about quality rather than quantity.  Although it may seem sacrilegous, I prefer the dawn chorus on the moors to the one in our woodlands and gardens.  Meadow Pipits (in almost overwhelming numbers after the dearth of sightings during the winter), Skylarks, Curlew, Lapwing, ‘drumming’ Snipe and the beautiful haunting calls of Golden Plover all contribute to a near sensory overload.

Raven and Merlin were both top-quality birds for the morning (both, frustratingly, between my position and the Sun, so only allowing record shots).  Two species that always bring a particular quality to birdwatching, and photography, in the North Pennines are the two perpetually controversial/contentious species; Red Grouse and Black Grouse.  We’ve been taking clients to see and photograph these two species since we first started NEWT, and the opportunity to wander the moors with my camera yesterday, enveloped by birdsong, was the sort of experience that our clients appreciate so much.  Our North Pennines Safari Days rarely fail to encounter both grouse species, and we organise bespoke photography packages and holidays in the area as well, so give us a call and join us on one of our tours to this remarkable area of southwest Northumberland.

Saturday evening saw me in the far southwest of Northumberland, with a potentially tricky assignment…’in 2 hours, show a visiting journalist, and her husband, the best birdwatching in the North Pennines‘.

So, we stealthily approached four of our favourite Black Grouse sites, enjoying unbelievably close views of 9 Blackcocks,  travelled across bleak, exposed, moorland roads, marvelling at the luminosity of the red eyebrows of an almost endless succession of Red Grouse, watched Curlew, Oystercatcher  and Lapwing displaying and gazed, awestruck, at the incredible beauty of breeding-plumaged Golden Plover.  The 2 grouse species were so close that Jo-anne was able to practice her wildlife photography using a small compact camera with a quite limited zoom.  The big open landscapes, and birds perched on tussocks in the heather, lend themselves well to an ‘un-British’ style of wildlife photography; one that I’m planning to work on whenever the time, and opportunity, arises this year.

I’d planned the route to take in a Short-eared Owl breeding site at sunset.  They’ve been a bit thin on the ground (and in the air) at some of their traditional Northumberland wintering sites so it was a long-shot, and meant going beyond the 2 hour time limit although, unsurprisingly, this went down quite well with our guests   Fortune favours the brave and, after 2 hours of guided birdwatching that, I’m assured, delivered what I’d been asked to, the ghostly shape crossing the moors in the twilight, and the cryptic plumage and staring yellow eyes as the bird perched obligingly on a fence post just metres away from us, was rightly described as  “the icing on the cake”.

…the clever title I’d thought of for this blog post

Just at the moment the pace of life and work is starting to really accelerate.  Last week I had a day of meetings, a day in the office, a day distributing leaflets (and getting the graphics applied to our new vehicle), a day in the North Pennines AONB, and a day out with my camera close to the office.

The North Pennines day was interesting; giving a talk, and a guided walk, as part of the Know Your North Pennines training programme.  Birdwatching in hail, snow and howling wind all featured during the day.  The bit in the snow came while I was still on my journey to the training session; leaving home in plenty of time had given me the opportunity to check out some potential sites for Black Grouse photography.  I really wish I’d had my camera with me as I found a field with 6 adult Blackcocks in it.  We’ll be checking the site over the next few weeks, but it has the potential to produce even better photo opportunities than the sites where I photographed the birds pictured in this blog post from last year.

The morning spent close to home in southeast Northumberland had one focus; get a photograph of a Treecreeper.  Not any photograph though; the one I was picturing in my mind was with the bird vertical on a tree trunk, with a dark background.  I even knew exactly where I was going to get the shot – we’ve been baiting an area in some local woodland for quite a while now, and the effort we’ve put into choosing the location and baiting it regularly is starting to pay off.  With some exciting wildlife and landscape photography holidays coming up later this year, our clients can benefit from the work we’re doing year-round as well.

Red Squirrels were visiting our feeding station;

Nuthatches are always entertaining, active and vocal;

and the target for the morning put in an appearance   For whatever reason, it’s a species that I’ve struggled to capture to my satisfaction previously.  I’m fairly happy with this shot…but the shadows could have been lessened using a reflector.  At least that gives me an excuse to spend another morning at the feeding station

We just had an all too infrequent ocurrence; both of us at home and able to go out and about together for a whole weekend

On Saturday we decided to concentrate on our local area.  Southeast Northumberland offers some excellent wildlife and birdwatching opportunities and, with bookings for the rest of this year coming thick and fast, we’re checking over our Safari Day routes whenever we get the chance so that we hit the ground running once the season gets properly underway.

If our morning excursion is the shape of things to come then it’s going to be an excellent Spring   Little Owl, Roe Deer (including a handsome buck with velvet antlers, who watched us between the trees as we trained our binoculars on him), Red Squirrel, point-blank views of Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker and lots of fresh Otter spraint all combined into a memorable morning.

As dusk approached we were out and about again.  We monitor a few Badger setts regularly and the activity around the sett we checked on Saturday evening was exactly what we’d expect in early March.  Another successful outing

Yesterday we were doing something completely different (although birdwatching featured again, of course).  We set out for the southwestern border of Northumberland, and beyond, as we pre-walked the route that Martin will be leading for the North Pennines AONB ‘Know Your North Pennines’ course on Wednesday.  Journeying to Upper Teesdale gave us the chance to check out some of our favourite Black Grouse sites en route (you’ll be pleased to know that the species hasn’t vanished from Northern England!) and enjoy the sight of Lapwings displaying and flocks of Golden Plover  in the fields.  Our photography holiday in late October ‘Autumn Colours’ is based in the North Pennines and we finished the day with a visit to one of the area’s gems.

Low Force

On our photography tours I carry my camera with me, particularly when delivering photography tuition, but on our other trips I don’t; our clients deserve, and receive, my full attention.  When I’m out on my own I don’t always carry a camera either – sometimes it would just be inconvenient (scrambling up trees, crags and dunes isn’t always compatible with having a heavy camera bag on your back).  Occasionally, though, there are times when a camera would come in quite handy.  These are nearly always stunning sunsets, and a quick shot with my Blackberry records the scene…and is then forgotten about   I was downloading the images from the Outdoor Leisure Show yesterday when I realised that there were a few sunset shots sitting on the memory card;

First at the end of a stunning day birdwatching on the Northumberland coast in February ’10

And then a couple of images from May last year, after our clients had been safely returned to their b&b, showing how light (or the camera’s perception of it) changes so quickly; these two images were taken only a minute apart.