Sarah had been feeling a bit under the weather for a few days, but was almost herself again this morning so we decided to head for the Northumberland coast for a few hours birdwatching. Our first port of call was Lynemouth, hoping to relocate the Water Pipit that Martin photographed on Friday. There were very few wagtails or pipits to be seen, and no sign of the Water Pipit, so we drove the short distance up the coast to Cresswell. The Avocets and Green Sandpiper seen earlier this morning had departed but we still had excellent close views of Skylark, Yellow Wagtail and White Wagtail. Alerted by a fellow birder to the presence of two Bottlenose Dolphins a few miles up the coast we headed to the spot described and found two Harbour Porpoises. Further north, we were looking for late-lingering Long-tailed Ducks and Slavonian Grebes. We found one of each but both birds were distant and not photographable. Another Harbour Porpoise appeared close inshore as we stood with the rising tide crashing against the rocks and Sarah’s videographic skills were tested to the limit with a small group of Sandwich Terns feeding just offshore. As we drove home, checking a Little Owl nest site on the way, we were handling an enquiry and booking for our Kielder Safari this coming Wednesday. Now that’ll be quite different to the last few days on the coast…
Author: martin and sarah
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The overlap
On Saturday we ventured into Kielder Forest, checking out some new sites for our forthcoming safari on March 24th. The weather was changeable, but we still found our first Sand Martin of the year, as well as Goosander, Mandarin, Merlin, Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and plenty of Redwing and Fieldfare.
Yesterday was WeBScount day, so we walked along the beach from Cresswell to East Chevington. It was so warm that hats and gloves weren’t required (for the first time in a long time). The beach was beautiful and clean and the weather was glorious; fluffy clouds against a deep blue sky above Druridge Bay. There were still plenty of birds as well, including a flock of 52 Sanderling charging up and down the edge of the surf like clockwork toys and 120 Wigeon resting on the sea. It won’t be too long before these winter visitors are on their way again but, for a few weeks now we’ll have the early summer visitors and the lingering wintering birds at the same time.
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Signs of Spring
06:30 – Martin woke from a good night’s sleep and sensed something different, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The most obvious thing was that the sky wasn’t the deep black of a winter morning, but it was starting to get light already. 06:30? When did this start to happen? Then the dawning recognition…bird song. That was it; robins, blackbirds, chaffinches, mistle thrushes and song thrushes – all belting out their very own ballads as they tried to woo the ladies. As daylight took hold, the scene around the feeding station wasn’t quite how it has been recently. The blackbirds were fighting instead of feeding, our resident collared doves were nibbling each other instead of the seed that we provide for them – the long-tailed tits were feeding, but just the two of them instead of the dozen or so that usually encapsulate the feeders in a heaving ball of pink fluff.
As we headed up the coast, the warm sunshine broke through the fluffy white clouds that were scudding across the sky, propelled by a wind that was chill enough to remind us that it is still the winter. A sprinkling of snowdrops decorated the roadside verges, another sign of new life after the heavy snow of recent weeks. And then, after a very productive and enjoyable photographic session near Bamburgh, on the journey home we passed fields of very small lambs. Does any creature revel in new life as much as these little balls of white wool as they dash headlong around the fields?
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More BTO Atlas work
We went up into Harwood today, to undertake our late-winter visit to two of the tetrads we’re surveying for Bird Atlas 2007-2011. The weather was fine, with big fluffy clouds against a beautiful blue sky, and quite warm; at least it was quite warm while we were out of the wind… The winter is a great time for a walk in the forests of Northumberland, although the density of birds is somewhat limited. A pair of Mistle Thrushes caught our attention and, as we scanned the area for more birds, a pair of Stock Doves were up and displaying, a single Skylark flew overhead and a Buzzard soared above the trees. With a strong breeze and excellent visibility we expected to find more raptors, and two Kestrels hovering over an area of clearfell were a good addition to the list. Inland winter birding is often characterised by periods of nothing, interspersed with sudden concentrations of birds, and today was no different; after a long time with nothing to add to the list we came across a field that held 50 Fieldfares, 12 Redwings, 6 Mistle Thrushes, half a dozen each of Chaffinches and Goldfinches and a single Song Thrush. A pair of Stonechats ‘chacked’ angrily at us and flicked their tails as we had the temerity to cross their clearfell territory. The best was yet to come though; as we walked along the forest rides a Great Spotted Woodpecker flushed from close by and we rounded the edge of a plantation…and our ears were assailed by the maniacal screaming of a male Goshawk who had been sunning himself near the top of a spruce tree and didn’t take too kindly to being disturbed. His escape route was across a clearfell so we enjoyed the best views we’ve ever had of this phantom of the forest. When our Kielder trips begin on March 24th, this will be one of our target species; powerful, secretive but always impressive.
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Off the beaten track
We went for a walk around our local woods this morning but decided to change from our usual route. An inspired decision as we found pine cones nibbled by squirrels and also located the trees where the crossbills that sometimes visit our garden were feeding. There have been a few reports recently of ‘small’ deer so we checked the plantation where they have been seen, but we couldn’t find any tracks or signs of them. A pile of woodpigeon feathers suggested a Sparrowhawk had eaten recently and we continued on our way. With the trees bare of leaves we counted at least 4 squirrel dreys and found what seems likely to be a Sparrowhawk nest as well. A squirrel sat above our heads, chattering angrily at the disturbance to his domain. Then we left the footpaths and set out to explore amongst the trees. A pile of chewed feathers showed evidence of the carcass having been eaten by a fox and we went deeper into the gloom of the denser part of the wood. Sarah was just photographing a fungus when we noticed movement through the undergrowth…and two Red Squirrels came charging headlong towards us. At the last minute they sprinted straight up the trunk of the tree that we were next to. So many secrets, so close to home. Seeing the familiar in a new light is really invigorating.
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Big Garden Birdwatch
This weekend is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. The easiest, most comfortable bird survey you are ever likely to be involved in. Our routine is always to fill all of our feeders the evening before then, after an extra hour in bed, make bacon or egg sandwiches for breakfast and settle down at the patio window for an hour watching the feeding station and all of the trees and bushes around the garden. As we started the count a flock of 12 Long-tailed Tits descended on the peanut cage. Not a bird we get on this survey every year, so a good start. Blue, Great and Coal Tits arrived and our next task was to try and count the maximum number of each species present at one time; not the easiest thing to do when they grab a seed from the feeder and hide amongst the branches to eat it. Greenfinch and Goldfinch have been very scarce in the garden this winter (worryingly, a number of our clients are reporting a similar situation from around the country) but both did eventually appear. Willow Tit is a bird that will not appear on many garden lists so we were pleased when one joined the masses. Sadly we didn’t find a Song Thrush, and it now seems to be completely absent from our garden. Having suffered a national decline of 63% over the last 30 years, the Big Garden Birdwatch is an important tool in monitoring the fortunes of this species, famous for the ‘thrush’s anvil’ on which it breaks open snail shells. With just two minutes of the survey remaining, bird number 63 (and species number 16) put an end to any further additions to the list; a female Sparrowhawk scythed through the feeding station and everything scattered. It really is easy to participate in this survey. Click the link above and, if you don’t manage to count your garden birds tomorrow, there’s always next year.
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It must be getting warmer…
…the sea’s starting to thaw.
It was our pleasure today to take award-winning photojournalist Lee Karen Stow on a tour of the north Northumberland coast. It really was so cold that along the Holy Island causeway there were extraordinary ice formations where the incoming tide had frozen. Patches of snow amongst the Spartina were an unexpected sight as well. As the tide approached, the wading birds were all frantically feeding and allowed a very close approach. Pale-bellied Brent Geese moved along the shoreline in rippling waves and Wigeon, Teal, Red-breasted Merganser and Pintail were all part of the wildfowl throng. Common and Velvet Scoters were alongside Slavonian Grebe and Common Eider on the sea, and Oystercatchers, Grey Plovers, Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers were gathering on the rocks as the tide lapped up. After a warming lunch of soup and a sandwich we headed south, looking for flocks of birds, gathering together for the night. Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans were feeding in roadside fields and a mixed flock of Whooper and Mute Swans made a precarious landing on the frozen pool at East Chevington. Further south, at Cresswell, waders flocked together in the middle of the frozen pond and ducks hid amongst the reeds. A mass of Wood Pigeons swirled overhead, and as we headed north again towards Alnwick a corvid roost of Jackdaws and Rooks was gathering. Amazingly, as the birds assemble in a pre-roost on the ground, all is silent, but as they move off towards their night time tree-top roosts they chatter loudly, no doubt informing each other of the day’s adventures. As night drew in we all thought of warming mugs of tea and coffee, warm slippers and a good night’s sleep.
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Pillow talk
05:55. Another 5 minutes until the alarm goes off, but we’re already awake…and in the churchyard across the road so are the Tawny Owls. This morning it sounds like a very clear territorial dispute between 2 males. Each tremulous hoot was answered by another bird slightly further away. Listening to Tawnies is one of the great pleasures of life – whether it’s the birds in our garden, the ones that start their nightime serenading while we’re out checking our fox and badger sites, the one that usually starts our winter bird race list or the male that on a May bird race responded to an imitation of it’s call by flying in to investigate and perched on a horizontal branch just above head height and only 20m away from us. Although the ‘ke-wick’ and ‘hooo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooo’ calls are typically given by the female and male respectively that isn’t always the case; the male uses the sharp contact call and the female can hoot, although it’s much coarser than the resonating beauty of the male’s song.
Easy to hear, but difficult to see, although in May our Kielder trips will include a demonstration of Tawny Owl chicks being ringed (when there is a brood of the right age). In the meantime, why not listen near your local woodland and enjoy the aural world of the ‘Brown Owl’?
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The icy grip of the old year
We’re just back in from a very, very cold trip up to Alnwick. Along the side of the A1, Buzzards perched immobile – perhaps frozen to their perches by the -3C temperature of midday. Bizarrely, the overcast gloom and sub-zero temperatures were accompanied by no frost whatsoever. A wander round Hulne Park was intended to clear the system. Red Squirrels could be seen raiding the feeders at the entrance, and a host of woodland birds clammered around. Buzzards could be heard with their eerie mewing but the gloomy conditions precluded a view. As we strolled through the park and the woodland gave way to pasture flocks of birds were the definite theme: wood pigeons, starlings, jackdaws and partridges were all gathered with their friends and relatives; just the thing for New Year’s Eve.
As the icy air chilled our bones we headed off for a hearty lunch in a warming inn, passing flocks of starlings and redwings on our way. Warmed, watered and fed we made our way back home, pondering on what 2009 might bring.
We wish all of you very warm wishes for the New Year and enjoy your celebrations, whatever they may be!
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Holy Island
The first of our post-Christmas walks was on Holy Island this morning. As we gathered in the car-park a Sparrowhawk flew through, causing panic among the Starlings. A Wren was foraging in the bottom of a bare hawthorn, paying us no heed as it searched for the food it would need to survive another cold night on Northumberland’s north-east outpost. Stonechat, Herons and Teal enlivened the next section of the walk, and a Jack Snipe was an excellent find. Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Oystercatcher and Pale-bellied Brent Geese all looked superb through the telescope and we hardly noticed the bracing easterly wind whipping in off the North Sea. Walking off the excesses of Christmas and watching wildlife with good company really can’t be beaten. Then there was the Red Fox that was enjoying a post-lunch nap in a field by the road as we drove back down the coast. Tomorrow we get to do it all again, meeting in the car-park at the mainland end of the causeway at 10:00. It’ll almost certainly be different, because that’s just the way that wildlife is…
