Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Yesterday was a long birdwatching day on the southeast Northumberland coast. I drove across to Haltwhistle to collect Judith and Doug, and was impressed by the big flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare around their farm. Once on the coast we found a flock of Dark-bellied Brent Geese bathing in a pond newly-created by Sunday’s rain, watched a swarm of Goldfinches and Twite flying around the dunes and then enjoyed groups of Wigeon, Teal and Mallard as they drifted about on the pond. We were just about to move on when I noticed the Cormorants getting agitated and they all quickly departed. “Let’s give this another minute or two” was the right strategy as two otters appeared in the centre of the pool. One eventually swam by just a few metres from where we were sitting, allowing everyone to take in the graceful, sinuous twisting and turning as they hunted for fish.

Next was a journey along a stretch of the River Coquet. More Cormorants were busy decimating the fish population and one suddenly panicked and bolted across the river. There was a swirling pattern on the water, and something beneath the surface was leaving a very noticeable swim-line. Then it surfaced; a Grey Seal, away from it’s usual open water habitat. All the while this was happening we were all entranced by a young Peregrine as it persistently dived towards a bush full of Rooks. Every time it flushed them it separated one off from the flock and chased it, although never making a serious attempt to terminate the chase with a kill. Eventually it departed and the corvids settled into the riverside bushes, free from molestation.

Our final site for the day would, hopefully, produce some interesting birds going to roost. A family party of Whooper Swans flew in and a small group of Pintail were amongst all of the other wildfowl. Starlings arrived in big groups and swirled around overhead. Two Long-eared Owls were a real bonus; sitting on fence posts and staring straight at us with those piercing orange eyes. The grasses and the reeds around the edge of the pond were all lit by a sublime golden pink/orange glow and the moonrise above the dunes was simply stunning as a skein of Pink-footed Geese flew south.

Finally, I returned two very happy clients to Haltwhistle, where the monnlit night was filled with the calls of Redwing – a sound that epitomises the autumn.

It’s not often that we get to do a lot of birdwatching together but yesterday was an exception.

The late-breaking news on Thursday night about the Eastern Crowned Warbler in Trow Quarry, South Shields, was exciting but we couldn’t be sure when (or if) we would have a chance to go and see the biggest avian star of this autumn (at least the biggest so far…). The stumbling block was a hospital appointment at 08:50 on Friday. We could have gone into the deep south for dawn, and then travelled to the hospital after that, but we decided to wait and go once our other commitments were dealt with. Thankfully, the surgeon made a very quick decision (perhaps she knew how twitchy I was getting?) and we were free to join the crowds overlooking the trees in Trow Quarry. The bird appeared soon after we arrived and what a stunning bird it was. With a Yellow-browed Warbler for company, the differences between the two closely-related species were very obvious. As the crowd swelled, we departed…back into Northumberland and to Holy Island in search of more rare warblers. After the drive up the A1 we crossed the causeway, checked the bushes behind the car park for the Radde’s Warbler that had been there on Thursday (no luck though), then along the Crooked Lonnen for a Barred Warbler that had been seen yesterday morning (no luck there either, although one birder did his best…by misidentifying three consecutive Redwings!). A walk through the dune slack on the Snook revealed Alan Gilbertson, who had seen a Pallas’s Warbler a few minutes earlier. We settled into a gap in the dunes between two sets of trees, and I began to arrange my tripod and camera. Just at the point when the tripod head separated into it’s component parts, like a Manfrotto Meccano set, Sarah followed some movement in the tree behind my head and calmly announced “there it is”. Less than 20ft away and I was unable to get my camera on it. Never mind, we lifted our binoculars and took in the beauty of the ‘seven-striped sprite’. The ECW may have been the rarest bird we’ve seen this year, but there are very few birds that can rival Pallas’s Warbler in appearance.

This morning the forecast rain hadn’t arrived so we set out early, grabbing a bacon butty for sustenance, and headed to Druridge Bay. Checking a flock of tits and ‘crests, in the cold, wind and light drizzle, revealed the prize we were searching for; a Firecrest, one of those few birds that really can rival Pallas’s Warbler.

So, two days out birding together, a good haul of cracking birds…and a few thoughts for future blog topics have taken root in my mind as well.

Although there are some unpleasant connotations to the word ‘snipe’ these two definitions are related directly to the bird and it’s habits;

Snipe n. One of nearly 20 wading birds in the Genus Gallinago, Lymnocryptes or Coenocorypha

Snipe v. To shoot at usually exposed individuals from a concealed point of vantage

Snipe are secretive, cryptically patterned birds that, unlike most other waders, spend their time tucked in amongst reeds and rushes. Occasionally, if there’s a nice bit of exposed mud with cover close by, they may venture into the open and allow prolonged observation. In the spring their ‘drumming’ display is an extraordinary spectacle above the damp fields where they breed. A ‘sniper’ was someone skilled enough to shoot a snipe.

Yesterday we were fortunate, on a hastily arranged mini-safari to see both Common Snipe (the breeding bird of British moorland) and that master of disguise the Jack Snipe, alongside one another. It was a real identification masterclass opportunity and we watched them for quite a while. Whenever the Jack Snipe stopped feeding, it also stopped the bizarre bobbing motion that makes it look as though it’s legs are on springs. As soon as it was still it blended in with the bankside vegetation and it was a struggle for everyone to pick out where it was resting.

When I returned home at the end of the evening, Sarah reminded me about the last Jack Snipe that we saw together.

After a morning working in the office, I packed the Landrover and drove to Newbiggin by the Sea to collect Mary, Peter and Mark. Although an Otter Safari, other wildlife and birdwatching are always a feature and, in the blustery southeasterly winds an adult Mediterranean Gull was floating above the car park so we watched it and discussed separation from Black-headed Gull. Up the coast and the search for Otters began in earnest (although an egg-laying Garden Tiger moth was a spectacular diversion by the side of the path). We didn’t have to wait long; I was just describing where to watch for them, when a sudden panicked movement of Gadwall caught my eye. I focused on the spot where they had previously been sitting…and the tell-tale fleeting glimpse of a sleek dark back sliding beneath the surface wasn’t long in coming. After what seemed like an age it surfaced and began swimming and feeding close to the bankside. Eventually it was just a few metres from us, being watched by eight people and a dog. It was a bit of a no-brainer to predict the appearance of the otter’s two siblings…and within seconds there they were. For over an hour we watched them all, including the young male Otter stalking a Gadwall (which did manage to flee at such a rate that the Otter lost interest). As the rain began to intensify we checked the other coastal pools before heading back down the coast to Newbiggin by the Sea. And the good news is that the level of water in CresswellPond is falling…

It was still daylight as we settled into position; both of us standing with our backs against tree trunks to minimise the obvious human silhouette. Blackbirds were alarming frantically; probably the first stirrings of the Tawny Owl, that was soon hooting mournfully from the branches directly above our heads, had triggered their agitation. A Nuthatch suddenly began trilling nearby, the first one we’d heard in this particular piece of woodland. Crows and Rooks cawed as daylight faded and the woodland was lit by the eerie light of the moon, filtered through a thin layer of cloud. The eyes start to play tricks on the mind at this time of day – was that a movement in the undergrowth? is that shape a tree stump or something much more interesting? Then it happened; a flash of white in the gloom. Then nothing…no, wait, there it was again – this time appearing from behind a tree trunk on a bend in the track through the wood. Sprinting up the track straight towards us; not the Fox that we’ve seen on all our previous visits to this site, but a Badger cub. Hurtling at breakneck speed. What’s it doing? That question was soon answered…it was coming to investigate me. For 10 seconds I was within inches of the cub as it sniffed my legs. Not sure whether it was going to bite me or scent mark my feet, I moved my head fractionally because it was so close that I couldn’t see it. Then it was off, back down the track. The movement had revealed my identity. I should probably be offended that it didn’t seem too concerned by my scent…something gleefully pointed out by Sarah, who’d had a grandstand view of the proceedings from 10 feet away.

This morning we had a mini-safari to Kielder. Our clients were local and had received Northern Experience Gift Vouchers from their daughter, with the main aim of the trip being to reveal some of the hidden gems for birdwatching in Northumberland’s biggest forest. Although it was warm and sunny near the coast, as we headed inland it started to cloud over. There are a lot of rivers and streams throughout the border forests and we were soon watching a male Grey Wagtail as he bobbed his tail up and down from his vantage point on a mid-stream rock. Oystercatchers angrily chased Crows around the fields and a pair of Siskins were resplendent in their striking black and yellow plumage. We settled to watch over the forest from a vantage point and sure enough, as the sun began to break through the clouds, Common Buzzards began soaring with the lift provided by thermals. One strayed over the territory of a pair of crows and soon found these angry black birds snapping at his tail feathers. Other buzzards began rising and one was in view for a few minutes as it hovered repeatedly over an area of clearfell. A Sparrowhawk flew by and, all around us, Coal Tits, Goldcrests, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Chaffinches and Willow Warblers were singing. A Little Grebe was chased by a female Mallard and responded by swimming across the reservoir and singing. A pair of Oystercatchers were tending a nest, and Mallard ducklings skittered in and out of the vegetation by the water’s edge. As we headed back towards Bellingham I pulled over at the side of the road, where there was just a large enough gap between the trees to afford a view of the river. Swallows, Sand Martins, House Martins and Pied Wagtails all hunted the abundant flies just above the water and a pair of Mandarins with a duckling swam by.

And no, the other sort of thermals weren’t necessary; Spring has come to the forest.

At least 4 pairs of Blackbirds visit our garden during the breeding season, even though none of them are actually nesting in the garden. Currently they’re all busy collecting any dry grasses and other vegetation in order to construct their nests. When the seasonal urge is upon them, they seem to lose any grip on reality (assuming that they have one in the first place that is). This morning, one particularly over-enthusiastic female blackbird was in our allotment trying to remove a branch that must have been several times her own bodyweight, never mind long enough to grace the nest of a buzzard. Nearly five minutes elapsed before she accepted the inevitable, flew onto our extension roof and took a beakful of moss instead. Jackdaws and rooks all seem to be flying around carrying sticks. Sarah grew up in a house with nesting jackdaws and recalls the time she was off school and one fell down the chimney and made an eerie, child-terrifying, scraping sound behind the fire. Woodpigeons and collared doves are spending more and more time in last year’s nest tree; a tree which has hosted woodpigeon, collared dove, blackbird, song thrush, greenfinch, goldfinch, chaffinch as well as robin, dunnock and wren in it’s lower recesses. How soon until we see the first of this year’s additions?

I’ve had a lot of involvement with community groups in the area where we live and this week I’ve had the chance to help make a difference both as owner and senior guide of Northern Experience Wildlife Tours and as Chair of The Friends of Choppington Community Woods. Both organisations have been partners in a week of activities based in Choppington Woods. Litter-picking, path marking, bird-box building, creative natural art and a nature walk have all featured in the last three days. Members of the community who wanted to help have come along and an impressive list of organisations have been involved; Wansbeck District Council (and their Play Ranger Team), Northumberland County Council, Groundwork Northumberland, Wansbeck Works, Choppington Welfare, the Healthy Living Centre and the Northumberland Wildlife Trust. The organisations that have provided the manpower to carry out the ‘make-over’ tasks deserve special mention; Air Cadets, Army Cadets and the Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service Community Safety Academy have all worked tirelessly to make the woods a better place for the local community (and anyone else who wants to visit them as well). I can’t really talk about the activities week without mentioning Fiona Wardlaw from Wansbeck District Council. Fiona’s project management has managed to bring together so many diverse groups that “The Friends of…” will be eternally grateful for the way in which the profile of ‘our’ woods has been raised. Thank you.

As Chair of FOCCW I’m busy with grant applications that, if successful, will enable us to make further improvements; habitat management, multi-user paths, a panoramic viewpoint, education packs for local schools and a boardwalk with a safe, secure pond-dipping area are all part of our vision for the reserve. And that’s what I do in my spare time…

The Nativity service is one that always puzzles me; I always feel a sense of serenity at the service but, for the main characters in the story, it must have been an incredibly stressful time. It could be an allegory of triumph of human will over adversity.

As we left the nativity service at the Church of the Holy Family, we couldn’t resist embarking on a wildlife search…after all, it was only 1am. Although serenaded by Tawny Owls, the other creatures of the night eluded us and we headed home to 2 days off work (not entirely true…we’ll be out and about finding and filming Northumberland’s wildlife). Then it’s back to work with a fully booked otter safari on 27th, another otter safari on 28th and Holy Island walks on 29th and 30th (an excellent way to enjoy our wildlife and walk off any excesses of the festive season).

All that remains now is to wish you all, wherever you are, a very Merry Christmas.

Saturday marked the culmination of the celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the Northumberland and Tyneside Bird Club, with a conference and evening reception at the Civic Centre in Newcastle. Luckily the winds were from the southwest, so there was no sudden exit of delegates due to a major rarity turning up in the county!

The afternoon featured four speakers;
Mike Hodgson spoke about the first 50 years of the club
David Parkin highlighted important scientific papers published by NTBC members during the last 50 years
Mick Marquiss described three of his recent studies; White-tailed Eagles and lambs, Marine-foraging Ospreys and Sparrowhawks and Bullfinches
Colin Bradshaw looked in some detail at what the next 50 years may hold for birdwatchers

All of the speakers were inspirational in their own way.

The evening entertainment included a buffet and a birding quiz organised by Graeme Bowman. The winners of the NTBC 50th Anniversary Photo competition were also announced (judging this was not an easy task…);

Birds as Art – Black-necked Grebes by Ian Fisher
Bird Behaviour – Moorhens by Steve Barrett
Flight – Arctic Tern by Peter Tapsell
Rarities – Lesser Grey Shrike by Ian Fisher
Open – Red-breasted Merganser by Roger Forster

Best Portfolio – Ian Fisher
Best Image – Moorhens by Steve Barrett

I can honestly say, hand on heart, that being part of the organising committee for the last 16 months has been really enjoyable for both myself and Sarah. Here’s looking forward to 2058…