Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Author: martin

  • Bird Watching Magazine Reader Holiday Day 3: 09/07/2011

    On Saturday morning our destination was Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland and another poor weather forecast ( a bit of a running theme during the holiday…) suggested that we may well get wet.  An addition to the mammal list for the trip raced across the road ahead of us; a Stoat – an endearing predator and one of NEWT’s favourite animals.

    We arrived in Amble for our sailing around Coquet Island with Dave Gray’s Puffin Cruises; as Dave manoeuvred the excellent Steadfast into the harbour, the rain arrived from the northeast.  The sailing around the island produced excellent views of Roseate Terns, as well as Common, Arctic and Sandwich Terns, Gannets, Puffins, Razorbills and Guillemots.  As we sailed in a wide arc from the island to begin the journey back to the harbour an Arctic Skua was harassing terns away to the north.  Four more Arctic Skuas were followed by a real seawatching prize as a Pomarine Skua lumbered menacingly by before settling on the sea.    Our final Arctic Skua flew over the harbour just before we docked and I suggested that the Country Barn Coffee Shop at Widdrington would be the best destination once we were back on dry land.

    Refreshed, dried and ready to go we visited the NWT reserve of East Chevington.  The tern roost allowed close comparison of Common and Arctic Terns, but the bird described by one participant as ‘bird of the holiday’ was a superb male Marsh Harrier.  A juvenile harrier appeared briefly over the reedbed as well, but the male perched for several minutes on a fence post.  Just after we reached Druridge Pools, the heavens opened, lightning flashed, thunder rolled and 2 Wood Sandpipers bobbed along the edge of the main pool.  A trip to Cresswell, and the most northerly breeding Avocets in England, followed and we all enjoyed  views of a very obliging Brown Hare, Little Gulls and both Little and Great Crested Grebes.  Another excellent evening meal and entertaining conversation (including David’s comment about Captain Birdseye in a cape..a reference to my appearance during the Coquet Island trip), concluded our final night in Seahouses.

    As I put my coffee cup and glass of orange juice on the table at breakfast on Sunday morning I looked out over the harbour and the words “it’s a glorious morning” were quickly followed by “and there’s a Spoonbill!”.  Everyone rushed to the window to watch, as Northumberland delivered a fantastic finale to the holiday; poor weather forecasts, some stunning downpours, big seas, beautiful weather, iconic landscapes, excellent birdwatching…all in four days!

  • Bird Watching Magazine Reader Holiday Day 2: 08/07/2011

    Friday morning dawned dry and bright; again not exactly as predicted by the weather forecast!  After breakfast we headed south to Newton by the Sea, and the tern colony at the Long Nanny estuary.  The walk through the dunes was enlivened by a myriad of Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Dark Green Fritillaries as well as 2 strikingly attractive moths; Cinnabar and Narrow-bordered Five Spot Burnet, and Harebell, Pyramidal Orchid and Bloody Cranesbill.

    After the tern colony, with its ~1000 pairs of Arctic Terns and 40 pairs of Little Terns we headed north through Seahouses and towards Holy Island.  As we passed Budle Bay, Geoff spotted a Little Egret, still a relatively scarce species up here, and we stopped for a while to search the mudflats.  As well as wading birds, we found 3 Goosander.   A further stop before Holy Island provided an ideal picnic spot and the theme of passage waders continued with Golden and Grey Plover, Knot, and Curlew.  A walk around the iconic location of Holy Island produced Grey Seals, Red-breasted Merganser and breathtaking views from The Heugh.  We were scanning the mudflats around the mouth of the South Low when a nearby Oystercatcher began calling in alarm.  The cause of that alarm appeared just a few seconds later and we watched the Peregrine Falcon as it raced low across the mud before perching obligingly.

    Against the backdrop of another iconic location, Bamburgh Castle, we scanned the Eider flock just offshore.  A lone drake Common Scoter was proving difficult to pin down, but the arrival of a flock of 60 scoters allowed everyone to enjoy good views and appreciate the variation in the bill pattern of the drakes.  Just before returning to Seahouses, we stopped to scan Monk’s House Pool; a Pintail was picked out by Roy, and 2 Common Sandpipers were walking along the edge of the pond.  8 Golden Plover flew by and a male Stonechat perched close by on a fence post.

    An after-dinner excursion produced 2 Brown Hares, a Roe Deer and her fawn in the gloom, and the first rain of the trip…

  • Bird Watching Magazine Reader Holiday Day 1: 07/07/2011

    I met with Geoff and Jenny, Roy and Lorraine & David and Linda on the Wednesday evening in the bar of the Bamburgh Castle Inn and, after introductions and drinks, we went upstairs to the conservatory for dinner.  A steady stream of Gannets was heading north and I outlined the plan for the coming days; modified in light of the weather forecast!

    An 06:30 start on Thursday morning appealed to three of the group, so we set off to walk around Seahouses Harbour and along to the golf course.  Lorraine had dreamt the night before that we found a Bluethroat.  Not just any Bluethroat though; a Fork-tailed Bluethroat (something that doesn’t exist…although we spent the rest of the holiday looking for one!).  The heavy swell and breaking waves gave the sea an imposing look, and the strong, cold southeasterly wind and dark clouds all around added to the atmosphere.  With high tide approaching, wading birds were concentrated onto just a few exposed rocks; among the Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Curlews were a single Ringed Plover and 5 summer-plumaged Knot, their peachy-orange underparts showing why, in some parts of the world, they’re known as Red Knot.  A Whimbrel flew by and Linnets, Pied Wagtails, Rock Pipits and a reeling Grasshopper Warbler were all added to the day list and we headed back to the inn, and breakfast.  No less than 6 Rock Pipits were outside the window during breakfast and an all too brief probable Hummingbird Hawkmoth whizzed by.

    The main question was whether our all-day birdwatching trip to the Farne Islands with Glad Tidings would go ahead; the weather forecast wasn’t promising, and the sea looked foreboding.  I was optimistic though – by our planned departure time the tide would be ebbing and should take off some of the swell.  Sure enough, we boarded Glad Tidings III just after 10am and headed towards the islands.  Gannets soared majestically above the swell, Puffins raced by on whirring wings and our passage wader list grew with the addition of Grey Plover and Purple Sandpiper.  Grey Seals bobbed around, watching as we passed by on our way to Staple Island.  Enjoyment of the breeding auks, Shags, Kittwakes and Oystercatchers was enhanced by the wild feeling of the islands, as waves smashed into the cliffs and fountained high above the birds.  Transferring to Inner Farne at 1pm, we were the first group onto the island for the day.  The Arctic Terns gave us their usual warm welcome and we spent the afternoon enjoying the fascinating bird behaviour that can be witnessed at close range.  The group were keen to fix the separation criteria for Common and Arctic Terns firmly in mind, so we spent some time looking carefully at lots of birds and considering individual variation.  We spent a lot of time watching Puffins as well; not an identification problem, but endearing and fascinating!  With mobs of Black-headed Gulls waiting to rob the adult Puffins as they return with beaks filled with Sand eels, the Puffins have quickly developed strategies to deal with this; circling back out over the sea until the gulls have moved away from your burrow is an obvious one, but the one that is most fascinating involves a Puffin running into another  bird’s burrow, waiting until the gulls have moved and then running to another burrow – sometimes visiting as many as 5 or 6 sanctuaries before reaching their own chick.  In an increasingly heavy swell, the journey back to the mainland was quite an experience.

  • Farne Islands 04/07/2011

    By Monday morning, our car could almost have driven itself to Seahouses 🙂  I collected John and Anthea from their holiday accommodation at St Cuthbert’s House and we had a tour of the North Northumberland coast before boarding Glad Tidings IV and sailing to Inner Farne.  The tern colony was as wonderful as ever.  I felt a little bit let down though, as not one of the terns managed to hit my head!  Arctic, Common and Sandwich Terns were all studied to fix identification criteria firmly in mind and Puffins were, as always, well appreciated.  The hour on the islands passed in no time at all, and soon we were heading back across to Seahouses.  The Farne Islands are still one of the most extraordinary places I’ve ever visited, and that I get to visit them with such nice clients is a real joy.

  • Otter magic

    Sunday was my third consecutive collection from Seahouses.  By the time I collected Chris and Jayne a sea fret had rolled in.  As we drove south, we left it behind and found ourselves in bright sunshine.  After an afternoon of birdwatching around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland, including 5 stunning adult Little Gulls roosting together, we settled down to search for Otters.  With the strong sunlight reflecting off the water it was difficult to see but, just as the sun sank behind a row of distant trees, all of the ducks began to look edgy.  Sure enough, our quarry appeared soon after; twisting and turning, diving and leaping, before vanishing into the sunwashed reeds 🙂

  • Hot, hot Holy Island

    I collected Alan, Carole and Mitzi from Seahouses for their Holy Island mini-safari in the sweltering heat.  Through the haze over the mudfalts, we could hear the eerie calls of Curlew and then a flock flew by.  Amongst them we could hear the tittering whistle of a Whimbrel, and picked the bird out amongst it’s larger cousins.  Golden Plover were back on the coast already as well; the moorland breeding season is a short one.  After a tour of the sites along the North Northumberland coast, we had our final stop, at Harkess Rocks.  As we scanned the raft of Eider and Common Scoter in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle one bird stood out from all the rest;  the Black Scoter, first found in April, and still lingering off our coast.  What I wouldn’t give for a nice Surf Scoter or King Eider as well:-)

  • Highs and lows

    When I collected Charlie from Springhill Farm campsite, for a day’s birdwatching around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland, I could never have guessed that the day would bring such extremes of emotion and experience.

    As a wildlife tourism business we appreciate that the control of Grey Squirrels, in order to conserve our Red Squirrels, is a difficult issue for many people.  And so it should be; after all, that control involves the permanent removal from the population of Grey Squirrels.  We’ve shown Red Squirrels to lots of clients over the last three years, and we always explain the Red vs Grey issue in as much depth as we can.  It’s almost impossible to describe my feelings as we approached one of our favourite woodland glades, only to be greeted by the sight of a Grey Squirrel scampering up a tree trunk.

    The other end of the emotional scale came as we ate our lunch just south of Cresswell, and watched 3 adult White-beaked Dolphins, and a calf, breaching time and again.

    Two mammals, eliciting very different emotions.  Then again, watching wildlife should be an emotional experience…

  • Cetacean season

    As we approach July, there’s always a sense of anticipation when we’re close to the sea on a land-based trip, or at sea on one of our Northumberland Pelagics.  Good seawatching conditions over the next few months will see us gazing towards the east when the opportunity arises.  Seawatching may be one of the more specialised aspects of birdwatching, but it brings an element of unpredictability that can outweigh even our evening mammal trips.

    After good cetacean sightings in February and March, while carrying out transect surveys for the Northeast Cetacean Project (NECP), I was excited to receive 2 reports of land-based observations on Sunday and Tuesday;  a possible pod of 5 Orcas was seen heading south past Lynemouth on Sunday evening and then 4 White-beaked Dolphins were off the mouth of the River Wansbeck on Tuesday evening.  The second of these species is the one that we’re most interested in, after all it is the primary focus for the NECP, however Sunday’s report set the pulse racing; almost mythical off the Northeast coast, maybe the ultimate apex predator, right at the top of the list of our ‘most-wanted’.  Maybe this will be the year when we finally connect with it, and my dreams about our forthcoming Farne Deeps pelagics seem to involve something black and white 😉  We’ve still got spaces on those 2 trips so give us a call on 01670 827465 to book your place now.

  • An eventful evening

    Thursday was my 3rd consecutive late finish.

    Before setting off for a ‘Red Squirrel and Badger Safari’ I had a few admin things to get done including some more planning for the Birdwatching Northumberland stand at this year’s British Bird Fair (I’ve got 2 lecture slots at the Bird Fair this year!).

    After collecting our picnic from The Swan, I headed to Church Point to collect Vince and Karin for their second safari day this week.  Some unexpected birdwatching highlights included a Little Tern and a Cuckoo.  A group of Tufted Ducks staring at a reedbed, and a clearly annoyed Mute Swan staring at the same reedbed and hissing, suggested that we were close to an Otter but in the blazing sunshine it stayed in the shade of the reeds and out of sight.

    The first of the day’s targets was achieved with possibly the reddest Red Squirrel I’ve ever seen, simply stunning as it ran along the sun-dappled canopy, and then it was time to position ourselves close to our favourite Badger sett.  Would the badgers come close?  would they only appear when it was too dark to really appreciate what magnificent animals they are? all worries were eased when, in broad daylight, our first Badger of the evening came trotting along only 5m away, apparently oblivious to our presence.  Another 3 Badgers followed, as well as 3 Red Foxes, and Tawny Owls were calling from the trees around us.

    Of all of our tours, our evening mammal trips perhaps have the greatest unpredictability and the most remarkable ‘atmosphere’ of them all.  It’s still my favourite time of the day 🙂

  • The Otter unpredictability of wildlife

    After Tuesday’s Otter Safari, Wednesday brought another one, this time a Prestige Tour.

    Now, I know that you can never guarantee the wildlife that you’ll see on any day (not entirely true, I know…) but the sentence “what we really want is to photograph an Otter” adds a certain pressure to the proceedings 🙂

    I collected Pete and Christine and we began our otter search of Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.  After a near miss (wildfowl scattering in a pattern that we’ve come to recognise as strongly indicative of the presence of otters), we settled by a mirror calm pool and waited.  As we marvelled at the remarkable weather condition of bright sunshine and heavy rain, a heightened sense of alertness amongst the ducks increased my confidence that ‘mission accomplished’ would be the outcome of the trip.  That confidence wasn’t misplaced and we enjoyed 25 minutes of an Otter twisting, turning and feeding.  As a stunning sunset developed we waited to see if there would be a reappearance.  There was, and with the cover of twilight the star of the show became more enterprising in it’s hunting technique; stealthily approaching ducks and their ducklings.  After a couple of failed sorties it returned to feeding on small fish and another 30 minutes of action.