Author: martin

There’s something so special about the squeak and crunch of snow underfoot. Whether you’re 4 or 40,18 or 80, so many of your senses can be triggered by it. It started snowing here at about 08:30 yesterday and eventually stopped at 16:00, by which time there was about 4″ depth on our patio. I went outside to fill the squirrel feeders…and forgot about the sheet of ice that was still lingering from last week’s snow. So, my sense of balance wasn’t quite cooperating. I made quite an impressive snow angel, if I say so myself. Last night was the monthly meeting of the Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club and, despite the inclement weather and difficult road conditions, the lecture theatre was nearly full. Not surprising really; the speaker was Phil Curtis, former Hen Harrier nestwatch co-ordinator for Northumberland. It’s almost impossible to put into words, the contribution that Phil has made to protecting and monitoring Hen Harriers. His passion and drive have fuelled the rota at the well-publicised Northmberland nest for the last 3 years and, without it, we may not have seen young harriers successfully fledging. It’s fairly difficult to describe the catalogue and pattern of persecution that these birds have been subjected to in the north of England as well. I’m looking forward to starting our inland trips for this year as Hen Harrier is always a possibility.

Anyhow, the sun is shining in a clear blue sky and everywhere is still blanketed in crisp white snow, so it’s time to go for a walk I think. Then back home to plan next week’s activities, including a special family offer for the end of the half-term week.

In a week when the often contentious issue of Red Squirrel conservation/Grey Squirrel eradication has made the news again I’ve been spending a lot of time watching our local Red Squirrels. In the last hour we’ve had two Reds running up and down the trees in our garden and one had gone out of sight somewhere on the patio. Out of sight? Not exactly; as I looked out of the window, there was a squirrel sitting in the middle of our patio table watching me through the window. Then squirrel number 2 appeared and they had a bit of a chase around the garden before each settling at the tops of two adjacent bonsai trees. Imagine that, a Red Squirrel as big as a tree. Greys wouldn’t be so much of a problem then…but we’d have something else to be concerned about instead 🙂

Now this promises to be about as controversial as it gets; a plan by Natural England to re-introduce the Hen Harrier into lowland farmland, heathland and upland areas such as Dartmoor, the New Forest and Exmoor within the next two years. They’re remarkably beautiful, graceful birds and always lift the spirits during a spring walk on the moors. Northern Experience Wildlife Tours are planning to include visits to suitable habitat for Hen Harriers this year, in the hope that we can show our clients the ‘grey male’ and the ‘ringtail’. But, here’s the controversy; Hen Harriers in England are in a perilous position after decades of persecution. Less than 20 pairs nested in England in 2008, and the majority of those were concentrated in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire. The persecution shows no sign of abating so I’ve got to ask the question (awkward as it may be); if we can’t protect the Hen Harriers we’ve got now, how will we protect the introduced birds?

The massive disruption of the last few days had passed us by; snow to the north of us and snow to the south and we’d just had a few heavy frosts, but then we woke this morning to a good covering of snow (not on us of course – although Sarah can tell some real horror stories about the elements and memorable camping holidays). The 20-minute journey taking Sarah to work actually took 70 minutes and it then took me an hour to get up to Ashington for a meeting with our web developer and designer (another journey that shouldn’t have taken longer than 20 minutes).

When I eventually got home the feeding station was a mass of frenzied activity. The cold isn’t a huge problem for our garden birds, but if they can’t find food because of a covering of snow or a heavy frost then it soon becomes a matter of life or death. Keeping the feeders filled, and accessible, is incredibly important just now. High-energy foods, like sunflower hearts, sultanas, peanuts and mealworms, can make a real difference. There’s great enjoyment to be had watching the Coal, Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches and Bullfinches as well but it’s easy to forget that they’re in a fight for survival. The resilience they display could be a lesson to all of us.

Although I love all times of the year, winter is always special. Frost and snow transform the landscape, and the chill of the icy air catching the exposed bits of my face as I walk through a darkened wood once the sun has gone down brings a sense of connection that other seasons don’t seem to have. The other thing about the winter is that it brings birds that we rarely, if ever, see at any other time. I could see Crossbills at any time of the year, by going to the conifer forests that they inhabit. But, if I wait, Autumn brings them to our local woodland and in the depths of winter they start to appear in the trees close to our garden.

I was out with a production company yesterday, filming a DVD about the local nature reserve behind our house, the community group which is so passionate about it, our hopes for the future of the reserve and the importance of the industrial heritage of this area. At one point they asked me to describe the special wildlife of Choppington Woods, and I mentioned our wintering Crossbills. Less than 5 minutes later, as we were shooting a ‘walk and talk’ piece, a flock of 12 Crossbills landed in a tree next to us! It couldn’t have been scripted better.

This morning I looked out of the office window and there they were again , this time in my garden. Even before I lifted my binoculars I had a good idea what they were. They just had that ‘big’ look about them. After spending much of the day at a meeting about a series of activities we are organising for the nature reserve, I returned to the office and settled back to work. Just as dusk began to settle there was another shape in the tree, but this was too big to be a Crossbill, too slim for a thrush. Up went the bins and there was the unmistakeable spiky hairdo of a Waxwing. Another winter visitor from northern forests, and a cracking bird to find in the garden. Then it was away, presumably to roost in the most densely vegetated area of the wood. Yes, there’s lots to love about the winter.

Here’s an example of someone getting too close; a man was caught trying to smuggle pigeons into Australia in his trousers! Whatever next? Ants in his pants? I’ve met a few pigeon fanciers in my time but this takes the biscuit…On a serious note the man could face up to 10 years in prison and a £50000 fine if he is prosecuted for wildlife smuggling, and quite rightly so. Australia as a country has already suffered one of the stupidest introductions of a non-native species; Cane Toads were introduced to control the populations of two native beetles that were thought to be a threat to sugar cane – another non-native species – but weren’t actually fast enough, or able to jump high enough, to catch these beetles. As they are deadly poisonous, Cane Toads have spread across Australia, killing any native predator that thinks they are an easy meal. As a species we have a responsibility to protect and preserve our environment and the wildlife we share it with, but all too often that responsibility seems to be abandoned.

Getting close to nature; that’s what Northern Experience is about; taking people out and finding the often elusive wildlife that we have in Northeast England and the Scottish Borders. Birds, mammals and flowers all feature at various points in the calendar and we take an unashamed delight in the world around us. And I don’t carry wildlife around in my trousers 🙂

With the day starting grey and wet I decided to spend some time browsing the internet for stories with a wildlife-related theme. The story that seems to have generated the most interest and discussion in recent days is the departure of Bill Oddie from Springwatch to ‘take a breather” and “recharge my batteries” in the words of the man himself.

Love him or loathe him (and the same could probably be said for Springwatch/Autumnwatch as well) he’s done an awful lot to promote wildlife/birdwatching to a wider audience. He may be gruff and dour but he’s a vastly experienced birdwatcher and I for one will be watching with interest to see who the BBC replace him with. The success of the programme was really emphasised back in October when we were on a Seal Safari and the two 10-year olds on the trip knew the ‘names’ of all the animals featured in the last 2-3 years…and the names of the cameramen as well! Breaking the disconnect between man and nature is the way to ensure we take good care of our planet so that future generations can enjoy what we have now.

…means another excellent Safari Day with Northern Experience! Well, it certainly didn’t herald the imminent arrival of bad weather. At dawn this morning the sky was a deep orange/red but I wasn’t worried; after all, we always make the best of whatever the elements have to offer. I collected Linda and Penny from Morpeth and we started the day with a walk along the River Blyth. A pair of Goosanders allowed us a prolonged look; a real ‘oooh’ moment if you’ve never seen one before. As we scanned the trees for a Nuthatch that was calling ahead of us, Linda spotted a Red Squirrel creeping through the ivy on a nearby tree. Eventually it sprang away through the canopy and we continued our walk. Two more squirrels appeared and one was quite content to sit and eat while we watched it. Nuthatch, Treecreeper and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were all magnificent in the dappled light under the trees.

Out to the coast and a windblown search for Mediterranean Gulls at Newbiggin. Awkward to find amongst the blowing sand on the beach, but very obvious once the gull flock was in the air above us, two or three birds could be found amongst the masses of Blak-headed Gulls. Heading north we stopped and ate lunch overlooking the North Sea, which had some frightening-looking surf. Visiting the coastal pools up through the bay, we’d just identified Wigeon, Teal, Scaup, Goldeneye and Pintail in a flock of resting ducks when everything scattered and a male Peregrine carved his way through the panicking birds. A very flighty flock of Twite were giving us the runaround when they found themselves on the receiving end of an unwelcome (not by us, of course) visit from a Merlin. A mixed flock of Mute and Whooper Swans were studied at leisure before we headed to where I thought they would come to roost at dusk. Hundreds, if not thousands, of gulls were also settling to roost for the night and several ducks allowed the testing of the ID features discussed earlier in the day. The Moon and Venus both appeared through the breaks in the darkening clouds (was this the ‘red sky…’ premonition coming to pass?) and, through a 60x eyepiece on the ‘scope, were as stunning as always. Then the atmospheric calls of the Whooper Swans cut through the gloom and they began descending onto the pools. As we scanned through them a darker bird flapped laboriously against the wind, rising above the skyline and then falling again. Binoculars raised…and there was a Bittern! That skulking, camouflaged winter visitor that can be so difficult to see was flying along in front of us. Linda and Penny both managed to train binoculars on iit before it vanished in to the night. Speechless…actually, I wasn’t. I was just about as excited as anyone can be about anything.

Our Lindisfarne Safari yesterday started with very promising weather; arriving at our Church Point rendezvous the cloud was starting to break and this was combined with spectacular waves rolling into Newbiggin Bay and crashing against the breakwaters. As we travelled up the coast things started to look bleaker – a flat, dull, overcast layer of cloud settled in and, by the time we reached the Holy Island causeway, the first drops of rain started to fall. We had found a large flock of birds along a hedgerow on the way; 50 or 60 Tree Sparrows and a good handful of Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings. If there’s anyone left who still thinks that the birds we have in Britain are dull then they should have been with us yesterday and seen a Tree Sparrow sitting alongside males of the other two species.

Scanning the mudflats at the causeway there was an obvious lack of birds. Curlew, Redshank and Bar-tailed Godwit did eventually wander by but it was clear that local knowledge was really going to come into play if we were to find the flocks of waders and wildfowl that the Lindisfarne NNR is famous for. Second location and a few more birds…then, third time lucky as 100’s and 100’s of Knot probed their way across the mud in front of us, godwits, plovers, Dunlin and hordes of Wigeon and Pale-bellied brent Goose were soon spotted and we all mused on just how hard life must be for these birds.

It was time to have a look at that crashing sea and, after adding Purple Sandpiper and Sanderling to the day list, we enjoyed excellent views of Common and Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Eider and Slavonian Grebe.

The day had one last surprise for us as well; a Barn Owl that flew across in front of the Landrover in Lesbury village before weaving its way up somebody’s driveway and between the houses. Syd was almost speechless as he hadn’t seen one in the wild for nearly 20 years. There really couldn’t have been a better ending to the day.