Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Category: Birdwatching

The whistling wind

Saturday’s Whale and Dolphin Cruise from Seahouses turned out to be an excellent few hours of birdwatching off the Northumberland coast.

As we left the harbour, the swell of the tide had the boat rocking gently up and down. A mile or so later and we were in what I think of as ‘proper’ pelagic conditions; choppy sea, lots of whitecaps, an eerie wind whistling around the boat…and birds everywhere. The atmosphere when the North Sea is like that is filled with anticipation. A Pomarine Skua, athletic, muscular and menacing harrassed Kittiwakes, our first Great Skua of the trip (the first of several) lumbered by, Arctic Skuas flew along the wave troughs and the fragile, delicate figure of a Long-tailed Skua headed north in the rapidly strengthening wind. Fulmars soared effortlessly by, small groups of Gannets, those masters of efficient flight, featured throughout the trip and Sooty Shearwaters, a real seawatcher’s bird, entertained as they circled the boat. Added to that there were Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Manx Shearwaters and Herring, Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls and Arctic, Common, Sandwich and Roseate Terns. With so many whitecaps, and some ‘interesting’ swell, we weren’t fortunate enough find any cetaceans, but one participant summed up offshore wildlife so well “You’re on a boat, it’s an experience, enjoy it, you never know what you’ll see.”

13/09/2011
Out to sea

After a week in which I carried out 2 offshore surveys for the Northeast Cetacean Project, and attended a meeting of the PAW Marine Wildlife Enforcement Working Group, it was fitting to end with an 8hr pelagic off the coast of southeast Northumberland and Druridge Bay. Birdwatching from a boat off our coastline has to be one of the most enjoyable ways to spend a Saturday in early September, and this was no exception.

Most of the birds were concentrated well offshore and we had excellent views of Gannet, Great Skua, Kittiwake and Fulmar (including one of my favourite birds, a ‘blue’ Fulmar). ‘blue’ Fulmar may be just a colour morph of our regular Fulmar but it’s an exciting bird on a pelagic, so I made sure everyone knew it was there, and we enjoyed several fly-bys and it kept diving into the melee while we were ‘chumming’. Great Crested Grebe, Arctic Skua, Sooty Shearwater and Manx Shearwater all passed by but didn’t linger, a single cetacean was seen distantly and we engaged in some more ‘chumming’ just off Newbiggin with the intention of providing close views of Mediterranean Gull for all on board.

05/09/2011
A matter of timing

Being in the right place at the right time is so critical to everything we do; if we’re searching for Otters we need to be there when they rise from their slumber and become active, if Badgers are the target for the trip then arriving the correct length of time before sunset is important, and if we’re visiting Holy Island then timing is a real key to success.

I set off up the A1 with Jo on board, and collected Paul from Bamburgh. The plan for the day was a simple one; spend a few hours birdwatching on Holy Island, then leave as the tide was rising and check sites down the coast towards Bamburgh. From the top of the Heugh, we scanned across the sandflats whilst listening to the ghostly moaning of a group of Grey Seals. An Arctic Skua was harassing the roosting terns and gulls, Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwits were probing along the water’s edge, Grey Plover, many of them still in their incredibly beautiful breeding plumage, seemed to be everywhere that we looked and a Kestrel chased a Peregrine through the dunes around Snook House. Back on the mainland we found a Whimbrel in a group of Curlew, our second Peregrine of the day beat a menacing path along the shoreline and there was a real surprise in the shape of 5 Pale-bellied Brent Geese. Budle Bay produced a Little Egret, a flock of 150+ Grey Plover and a distant feeding frenzy of Gannets that could be seen above the breaking surf. Finally, as the tide begin to crash against the dunes in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, we watched as a flock of Knot, Turnstone, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Sanderling and Dunlin braved the onrushing waves for longer than the human visitors to the beach 🙂

31/08/2011
Crossing the causeway

In what appeared to be worsening weather, I drove north to Bamburgh to collect Lyndsey and Petter for their Lindisfarne Safari…and then things improved dramatically, with warm sunshine tempered by a cool southerly breeze 🙂 We started in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, with Common Eider on the water, Turnstones on the rocks and Sandwich Terns and Gannets fishing just offshore. A stop at Budle Bay revealed a Greenshank amongst the masses of roosting Redshank and we continued to Holy Island itself. Waders continued to be the theme of the afternoon, with Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Curlew and Lapwing all either roosting or feeding on the mudflats close by and Whimbrel calling as they passed through. As the tide fell, Grey Seals could be seen hauling themselves out of the water, ‘bottling’ in the afternoon warmth, swimming along with a remarkable turn of pace for such big animals, and splashing around like kids in a paddling pool.

Late August, sunny weather, masses of visitors on Holy Island…and the wildlife is still as good as ever 🙂

26/08/2011
If at first…

I had a feeling of deja vu just after the Bird Fair, when Alex and Richard joined us for a Prestige Tour on Richard’s birthday. My brief was the same as last year; birdwatching, photography and Otters, and I had no doubt that it was going to be a real pleasure. Last year the Otters eluded us, but we’ve found new sites since then, and changed the route, and timings, of our Otter Safaris to take that into account. A very obliging Grey Heron allowed consideration of composition…and why you shouldn’t set your camera to one of it’s pre-programmed modes 😉 A Common Snipe was a good subject to investigate why autofocus may sometimes be inferior to manual focus, and a very heavy shower produced a degree of contrast between sky and water that illustrated our discussions about camera metering systems.

Small groups of Whimbrel and Golden Plover were heading south, and we set ourselves close to one of our regular Otter sites as the day wore on. All of the wildfowl started heading in one direction…away from the Otter that was making its way menacingly across the water 🙂 It vanished into the reeds, then reappeared before sliding away into the darkness again; leaving behind lots of terrified ducks, 2 very happy clients and a relieved guide 🙂

26/08/2011
Birdwatching Northumberland at the Bird Fair

Once again the Birdwatching Northumberland stand at the Bird Fair proved very popular; particularly each afternoon, when visitors were able to sample Lindifarne Mead, Alnwick Rum and a selection of Allendale Beers. We collected most of the alcohol from Northumbrian Gifts just before heading south, and arrived at Rutland Water in time to assist with getting the stand ready.

Hanging the backdrop

Almost there

Sarah and Janet, flying the flag for Northumberland

How to transform a display table…

…into a 'mini' bar

They're only here for the beer 😉

It was really good to meet up with so many of our existing clients during the 3 days, and we made lots of new clients as well 🙂 Martin’s 2 talks were both very well attended; 118+ (the clicker counter wasn’t working properly!) for ‘Northumberland’s Winter Wonderland’ on Saturday, and 142 for ‘Northumberland through the Seasons’ on Sunday. With holiday bookings, pelagic bookings and several prestige tours booked since the weekend this was our most productive Bird Fair since we became part of the Birdwatching Northumberland consortium in 2008. Almost as enjoyable as meeting visitors who are interested in Northumberland, is working as part of a well-established team. With most us stopping at the White Lion in Whissendine, a remarkable combination of English Country pub and Indian Restaurant (one of the consortium members has a bit of an obsession with Eggs, Peas and Potato…), the evenings were filled with excellent food, good ale and some very enthusiastic discussions. Looking forward to 2012 🙂 Finally a big thank you to Iain for his organisation, banter…and wielding of the sweeping brush 🙂

26/08/2011
Go(at) on, make my day

Yesterday saw something we haven’t done before; a mid-August Kielder Safari.

Andrew, Nick (on his 3rd trip with NEWT), Stephen and Georgina all arrived at our starting point within minutes of each other. Under a deep blue sky, with some big fluffy white clouds, conditions looked perfect and we set off for the western reaches of Northumberland.

Common Buzzards were seen en route, a good sign that conditions were right for raptors. The thing that makes our Kielder Safaris so special is the access we’ve been granted by the Forestry Commission, allowing us to take our clients on a drive along remote tracks that are not open to vehicle access by the general public. With so little disturbance, the wildlife along the tracks is often very approachable. A family party of Common Crossbills perched obligingly in trees just ahead of us, and kept flying down to the track to eat grit, Siskins, Chaffinches and a Spotted Flycatcher were all watched as they went about their business close by and a Sparrowhawk twisted, turned and swooped through the trees just a few metres away, hot on the tail of a flock of Siskins and Chaffinches. Perhaps one of the most extraordinary moments of the trip was something I’ve never seen before, in over 40 years of birdwatching; as we watched a juvenile Common Buzzard soaring above a remote steep-sided valley, Andrew noticed a second bird further along the valley. The juvenile flew in that direction and the second bird, an adult buzzard, flew up towards it, rolled on it’s back in mid-air and passed prey up to the juvenile. I’ve seen that happen so many times as courtship behaviour in all of our harrier species, but I’ve never seen a food pass between Common Buzzards, and to see it executed so gracefully by this broad-winged raptor was breathtaking. We continued on our way with Wheatear, Stonechat, Kestrel, Raven, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Mandarin all joining the day list.

Perhaps the best of the day though came near the end; as we drove across the Forest Drive, a large mammal crossed the track ahead of us. Looking like a dark Roe Deer on steroids, the nanny Wild Goat was soon followed by a billy goat and 2 kids. We’ve seen Wild Goats with clients on our trips before, but never at such close quarters.

We’ll be visiting Kielder again on 31st August and 2nd September, so give us a call on 07908 119535 to find out how you can share the experience of the border forests, and the unknown quantity of those remote tracks, with us.

18/08/2011
British Birdwatching Fair 2011

It’s that time of year again, and NEWT will be at the British Birdwatching Fair for the next 3 days as part of the Birdwatching Northumberland consortium.

The consortium partners (Northumberland Tourism, Northumberland National Park Authority, Northumberland Coast AONB partnership, North Pennines AONB partnership, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, National Trust and Northern Experience Wildlife Tours) have, between them, an extraordinary wealth of knowledge about Northumberland and the North Pennines and we’ll be sharing that advice and knowledge with anyone who comes to visit our stand (Marquee 1, Stand 53-54).

To find out even more, why not attend one of the lectures that Martin is giving;

Saturday 20th August, 10:30am, Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre, ‘Northumberland’s Winter Wonderland’

Sunday 21st August, 10:30am, Lecture Marquee 2, ‘Northumberland through the Seasons’.

This year’s Bird Fair will also see the launch of the Northern Experience Holidays brochure for 2012, highlighting our range of wildlife, photography and birdwatchig holdays. Come and get your copy before they all go!

18/08/2011
It’s ‘otter in August…

We’re just about at the point where our 3hr evening safaris will be starting before 6pm; early August and the evenings are drawing in already! Guided birdwatching, and a search for one of our favourite predators, always has an exciting atmosphere when it happens as darkness approaches.

On my way to collect Niki and Haydn from Warkworth, I stopped off for a few minutes beside the River Coquet – corvids and pigeons were swirling in the breeze, giving an autumnal feel to the evening.

With clients safely in our vehicle, we headed down the coast through the post-industrial landscape of Druridge Bay and the (only just) industrial heartland of southeast Northumberland. East Chevington was our first stop, producing sightings of 2 very obliging Common Snipe in the roost of Lapwings. A flock of Curlew heading south were travelling with 2 Whimbrel and a Bar-tailed Godwit and the 2 juvenile Marsh Harriers were much appreciated as they quartered the reedbeds, flushing Mallard, Gadwall and Teal.

We continued our journey through southeast Northumberland and, as the first drops of rain began to pepper the surface of the water, an obvious edginess among a flock of Gadwall heralded the arrival of the star of the show; gliding along, sleek, dark and menacing, the Otter showed well, although briefly, as it headed across the open water and into the reeds opposite. Then it was time for us to do the same, and depart into the deepening gloom of the evening.

15/08/2011
Dodging the showers

Things weren’t looking too promising as I headed up the A697 to collect Ian and Barbara from their holiday accommodation at The Coach House; rain, mist and fog were all conspiring to reduce visibility. Once we were on our way towards Holy Island things improved though, and our walk on the island was in reasonable weather. Plenty of Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwits were along the water’s edge and little parties of Guillemot and Red-breasted Merganser were spotted on the relatively calm sea. Back on the mainland, things took a turn for the worse and the rain hammered down, making the mudflats seem to be boiling. The numbers of Curlew grew and grew, all demonstrating just how vigorous their feeding technique is. As everything began to disappear into the rain, the eerie calls of Grey Seals came echoing across the mud. Eider, Common Scoter, Puffin, Shag, Cormorant, Guillemot and Razorbill were all on the sea in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, Turnstones were doing just what their name suggests, 2 Little Egrets were in Budle Bay and 3 Common Buzzards were soaring around as the sun finally began to beat down on the northern edge of the Cheviots as we returned to Crookham at the end of a day of changeable weather, and good birdwatching.

12/08/2011