Category: Birdwatching

  • One plus one makes three; Cheviot Valleys Safari 07/06/18

    Having arranged all of our clients for last Thursday’s Cheviot Valleys safari to meeting at the same location I arrived in Powburn and collected Vicky, Dave and Babs, Diane and Ruth before heading along a grassy verge buzzing with bees and hoverflies and bejewelled with Common Blue Damselflies and Red and Black Froghoppers.  Ruth proved…

  • A glorious afternoon; Lindisfarne Safari 19/03/17

    I arrived in Berwick to collect Juan and Erika from the railway station for their tour of Lindisfarne and the North Northumberland coast and a first for NEWT – clients from Argentina! We headed down the coast in some unforecast rain and in the mighty shadow of Bamburgh Castle we watched Purple Sandpiper and Turnstone…

  • Northumberland in the win(d)ter; Winter Wonderland holiday 19-22/02/17

    Day 1. 19/02/17. I arrived at the Bamburgh Castle Inn for the start of our Winter Wonderland holiday, then met up with with Christine, John, Linda and Rosie in the bar and outlined the plan for the next two days while we enjoyed a fantastic meal. Day 2. 20/02/17.  Our first full day was targeting…

  • Ringing the changes; Druridge Bay 18/04/2015

    Saturday saw Roger returning for a second day out with NEWT, after Kielder in May 2012, and, as he was stopping at The Swan, we chatted on Friday evening about the possible options. Although Druridge Bay was still planned to be the focus of part of the day, we decided to start with a quick…

  • Good Friday, great Friday; 03/04/2015

    After two unsuccessful searches for Otters in the last week, I decided to spend some time this morning out in the field on my own.  Time to track down the elusive predator and get a handle on current activity patterns… A cold north-easterly and persistent rain maybe aren’t the best of conditions to be sitting…

  • Feeding time; Beginners Photography Workshop 28/02/2015

    Saturday was the first of three ‘Beginners Wildlife Photography’ workshops that I’m leading for the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, and the morning had started grey and gloomy, progressed to sunny with beautiful blue skies by 09:00 and then was back at grey, gloomy and threatening to rain by the time the workshop started.  After waiting a…

  • New Year, quality wildlife; Otter Safari 22/01/2015

    During quiet periods of the year, we keep going out and checking excellent wildlife sites all around Northumberland.  Although we can never predict exactly what we’ll see, and where, those days out on our own are the basis of successful days out with clients… I arrived at Church Point to collect Gordon and Michelle and…

  • Mud, glorious mud; Lindisfarne Safari 28/11/2014

    The Northumberland coast in the late autumn is a birdwatching destination that I’ll never tire of.  Even in weather that could best be described as inclement, there’s a wealth of wildlife to enjoy. I collected Mike and Janet from the Dunstanburgh Castle Hotel and we headed north for a day birdwatching around Lindisfarne and the…

  • Charming; Bespoke Birdwatching 10/11/2014

    Even after 40+ years birdwatching, there are times when I’m not sure whether the thing that excites me the most is a lone rarity, a life or death interaction involving one of the predators we encounter, or an impressive flock of something common… I collected David and Dot from Gosforth and we made our way…

  • Battling the elements; Otter Safari 06/11/2014

    Last Thursday was Sue’s second Otter Safari with us this year, after an unsuccessful search in early July…a trip that was followed by five consecutive successful Otter Safaris for other clients!  I was really looking forward to this trip – Sue is great company and pleasure to be out birdwatching with – but the added…