Wading birds seem to hold a fascination for so many birdwatchers, from beginners all the way to birders with decades of experience, and Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland at this time of year is often very productive.
I collected Reg and Val (for their second trip within a week) and Nick from Church Point and we started with one of our favourite birds, and one that always impresses, Mediterranean Gull. With the strong breeze driving sand across our field of vision, there was a real wild feel to the experience of watching the birds as they withstood the elements.
Heading north along the coast we witnessed one of the oddest pieces of fieldcraft that I’ve seen with clients. Checking out a small subsidence pond, we were enjoying the sight of Dunlin, Ringed Plovers, Common Redshank and a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper all probing and prodding through the mud at the water’s edge. Another birdwatcher made his way stealthily to the wall along the roadside, and settled to watch the birds from a crouched position. Good fieldcraft, the birds continued feeding appearing completely unconcerned by his presence. Then, when he was ready to leave, he popped up like a jack-in-the-box flushing all of the birds! As the flock eventually settled back down, there was no sign of the Curlew Sandpiper. It’s an important lesson that fieldcraft skills should always be applied when retreating from your position as well as when approaching it 🙂
Cresswell Pond continued the wader theme, with some very obliging Common Snipe, Dunlin, Ruff and both Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits (standing alongside one another and allowing excellent comparison of the differences between these species).
At East Chevington, Reg spotted a distant bird perched on a fence post and commented that it didn’t look quite right for a Crow. Tucked down against the wind, the view through our telescope soon revealed that the bird was a juvenile Marsh Harrier. It remained perched for several minutes, regularly turning it’s head to reveal a lovely orange/cream crown contrasting with the uniform dark-brown of the rest of it’s plumage. Hundreds of Lapwings and Starlings were flying back and forth, twisting and turning against the very stiff breeze, Cormorants sat motionless and we headed back to Newbiggin at the end of our day.