Ethereal Safari in the Border Forest

I left home this morning in fairly heavy fog. The forecast was for inland areas of Northumberland to have bright, sunny weather during the day so I wasn’t too concerned. However, as I headed up towards Whitelee, to collect our clients for today’s Kielder Safari, my confidence began to wane. Two Snipe flew across the road in front of me as I passed the entrance to Whitelee Moor NWT Reserve so,once we were heading south again, that was our first stop. At least three birds were calling but failing to reveal themselves in the quite ethereal mist. Down the A68 and the fog worsened but we still managed to get excellent views of Lapwing, Curlew and a very surprised Buzzard that was sitting in a roadside field. As the visibility improved we had close views of a Goshawk as it glided menacingly between plantations and several Buzzards began soaring as temperatures rose. While we were close to Kielder Water the weather turned warm and sunny. Red Squirrel foraging around a tree close to the road was a popular sight, as was a drake Mandarin; remarkable to think that this native of China and Japan now has a population close to Northern Europe’s largest man-made lake in central Northumberland. Birdwatching in Kielder is never dull; there may not be a vast number of species, but with Goshawk, Mandarin, Crossbill and Goosander among others there’s a lot of quality. The final leg of our journey was across the Forest Drive and back to Whitelee – still shrouded in mist and where those Snipe were still playing hard to get.