After a planned break from days out with clients, and regular exercise and ice-pack treatment for my knee, we had a mini-Safari on Wednesday afternoon. Southeast Northumberland is our local patch, so I was getting back into the swing of things with something comfortingly familiar.
I collected Alastair and Zoe from Church Point and we set out on an exploration of the River Wansbeck. Stunning Red-breasted Mergansers and Goldeneye, and subtly attractive Little Grebes (amazing how many people still think of them as Dabchicks – a far nicer name!), were diving along the edge of the river. A handsome drake Goosander flew upstream and the first of the afternoon’s 4 Sparrowhawks drifted high overhead. A flock of Long-tailed Tits, those noisy endearing pink and white fluffballs, made their way in procession from one side of the river to the other and Mallards began dropping out of the sky and following each other through the vegetation, quacking noisily. As daylight faded a flock of Teal drifted backwards and forwards between a reedbed and open water, roosting Pheasants (my vote for most underrated bird in Britain) flushed from a Hawthorn hedge as we made our way back to the car in the dark, and it was time to return Zoe and Alastair to Newbiggin.