Our second day out with the winners of last year’s Birdwatching Northumberland competition, was a day in Druridge Bay. It provided a real contrast with our earlier trip to the Harthope Valley.
After collecting Jean and Andy from the Bamburgh Castle Inn we headed down to Embleton to collect Helen, our third client on this trip, pausing for a few minutes to watch a very obliging Brown Hare in a field near Chatton. As we toured our usual sites the weather was more like the caribbean than Northumberland 🙂 Tufted Ducks, Shovelers, Herons, Mute Swans, Lapwings and Coots were around the coastal pools, Sedge, Reed and WillowWarblers, Whitethroats and Reed Buntings were singing from hedgerows, sedges, reeds and willows and Fulmars were arcing gracefully along the cliffs at Cresswell. On a woodland walk along the River Blyth we heard more than we saw (as you would expect in mid-May) with Nuthatch, Chiffchaff and Great Spotted Woodpecker all being particularly vocal. Eventually the two days of the Birdwatching Northumberland prize were over and I returned all of our clients to their respective holiday accommodation.
The day wasn’t finished for NEWT though; as dusk approached we were out on the coast, at separate locations, checking for Otters. I did have one brief sighting, and on the journey home we began the process of redeveloping our Otter Safaris to make them an even better experience than they already are.
Yesterday was the first of two days out with the winners of last year’s Birdwatching Northumberland prize draw. After collecting Andy and Jean from the Bamburgh Castle Inn our destination was the Harthope Valley in the Cheviots. It’s one of our favourite locations; stunning landscape, interesting geology and, of course, excellent wildlife. As we reached the start of the valley we stopped to check on a Dipper nest, and there was one of the adults sitting on a rock in the river, so close that we didn’t need binoculars. Further upstream we watched a pair of Grey Wagtails, eventually locating their nest in the tangled exposed roots of a riverside tree, before setting off in search of Ring Ouzels. It wasn’t too long before we heard a singing male, but he remained stubbornly out of sight. As we climbed higher up the valley the song seemed to be coming from somewhere else and careful scanning of the area revealed our quarry, perched on the remnants of a dry stone wall. A pair of Red Grouse, with at least 7 chicks, were very obliging and a pair of Whinchat were flitting around in the heather. After lunch we were treated to more Grey Wagtails, including a bird singing and displaying high overhead, and these were a real highlight of the day, a singing Dipper, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Cuckoo, a plethora of Willow Warblers and the shivering trill of a Wood Warbler. Andy was keen to take a photograph of a Green Tiger Beetle and, eventually, one sat still for long enough to allow him to get close to it.
Green Tiger Beetle
The non-bird highlight of the day though came as we walked back to the Land Rover; a pair of Slow Worms locked in a mating embrace. A remarkable end to an excellent day captured on camera by Andy, who kindly sent me the images to add to our blog.
This embrace can last for up to 10 hours!That doesn't look comfortable
There are times in the winter when I’m mainly office-based and what I really look forward to, during what often seem like interminably long days, is the arrival of the Spring and increasing numbers of ‘client days’.
On Tuesday morning I headed to Newbiggin to collect John and Christine, clients from last year’s Beginners Birdwatching ‘Seabirds and Waders’, who were back in Northumberland for a birdwatching morning in Druridge Bay. The weather was erratic to say the least, with bright warm sunshine, a bitterly cold northeasterly wind, sleet and even snow it was a morning to be wrapped up warm. The birding was as excellent as we would expect in mid-May; the morning’s highlights included a male Ruff in full breeding plumage, eight elegant beautiful Black-tailed Godwits, a pair of Garganey and some incredibly close views of Whitethroats as they warbled their scratchy song from hedgerows, trees and telegraph poles.
This morning brought something completely different; a Lindisfarne Safari with our first Spanish clients. Alfredo and Nieves had managed to get across from Ibiza, despite the disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano, and were looking forward to a day birdwatching on Holy Island and the north Northumberland coast. The weather was changeable again but, as yesterday, we stayed dry. A flock of 80 Ringed Plover on Holy Island were very vocal as they repeatedly flew overhead, 2 Little Egrets in Budle Bay flew by calling and a Little Gull and a White Wagtail at Monk’s House Pool were both nice surprise finds. Eventually we found ourselves bathed in warm sunshine as pairs of Arctic Terns displayed high overhead against the azure sky and, looking inland, we could still see a lingering snowfield on the Cheviot. Alfredo and Nieves both have a broad, and quite detailed knowledge of natural history, and Alfredo is a keen, and skilful, photographer. I only have a very limited grasp of Spanish but through a combination of Spanish, English, Latin and a shared love of natural history and photography, any language barriers were easily transcended.
We’ve got Northumberland birdwatching tours for the rest of the week and then on Saturday it’ll be time to chill out with a glass of wine, a BBQ and our National Moth Night event at Lee Moor Farm, near Alnwick. All are welcome, so give us a call on 01670 827465 if you would like to come along for an evening of wildlife watching fun, suitable for young or old, beginner or expert.
Occasionally I find myself pondering that question. On Wednesday I left home early to drive to Seahouses and collect Carolyn and Brian, two clients who we first met last year. As we headed up the coast through Bamburgh and towards the Lindisfarne NNR for a day of birdwatching, we stopped at each promising area. Before we reached Holy Island itself we’d already had excellent views of 4 Harbour Porpoises, good views of three Whimbrel (alongside a Curlew for comparison) and a Brown Hare as well as the growing numbers of House Martins and Swifts. A Sedge Warbler perched helpfully on top of a stunted Hawthorn as he belted out his song, a Whitethroat was elusive before eventually showing off the bright white throat feathers that give it it’s name and a Wheatear hopped along a drystone wall. On the island we watched a Heron as it preened whilst hidden in a reed bed, listened to another Sedge Warbler and tried to locate a calling Water Rail. Skylarks and pipits were unobtrusive in a sheep field that also contained at least 6 Wheatears and, once we’d left the island we watched over 1000 Grey Seals as they relaxed in the bright sunshine.
After dropping Carolyn and Brian back in Seahouses, I headed home, packed my bag and drove down the A1, out of Northumberland, to my sister’s house. 04:30 Thursday morning and I was on the road again, this time travelling to King’s Lynn. Two days of being a student were relaxing and enjoyable, studying the acoustic signals used by cetaceans being my own personal highlight, before the north beckoned. Finally, just before 10pm yesterday, I arrived back at home, headed to the ‘beer fridge’, sat down to a delicious Chinese meal with Sarah and then collapsed into bed. With tomorrows “Beginners Birdwatching; Songs and Calls” being close to home we don’t have a really early start so this afternoon is a chance (something that’s going to happen less and less over the next few months) to catch up with e-mails, ‘phone calls and product planning/development. It’s the great paradox of running your own business; many people choose that option in order to have more free time…but if your business is successful there’s a period, certainly during rapid growth/expansion, when 9 to 5 doesn’t look so bad after all. Would I go back to that? What do you think? 😉
After a cold, wet day surveying one of our inland tetrads for the Bird Atlas, we had a very early start on Sunday for our Dawn Chorus walk at Lee Moor Farm. Ian was, as always, an entertaining host for the event and we walked around the farm, enjoying the songs of Willow Warbler, Song Thrush and Sedge Warbler, excellent views of Brown Hare and Roe Deer and then a delicious breakfast. Our next event at Lee Moor is a bat walk, moth trapping demonstration and BBQ on Saturday May 15th.
Monday saw us out on Atlas work again, this time much closer to home as we are covering the tetrads that are immediately north and south of our house. The highlight was a reeling Grasshopper Warbler, and the closest Tree Sparrows to home that we’ve found so far.
Yesterday was our first Farne Islands Safari of the year. With excellent views of Sandwich, Common and Arctic terns, Eiders, Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins, Shags, Gannets, a very obliging Wheatear and Grey Seals it was everything we would expect the Farnes to be. There’s a good reason that the islands will be the venue for days out with 3 of our photography clients over the next few weeks.
Now, it’s Wednesday morning and I’m just packing the Landy ready for a migrant hunt on Lindisfarne with 2 of our returning clients. Wish us luck 🙂
Our monthly WeBS count should have been done a couple of weeks ago although, with weekends from mid-March through to mid-September fairly well occupied, this morning was the first chance I’d had to do the count. With today’s tide times, and a mid-morning meeting with a potential sponsor for NEWT, I left the house just after 6am and drove to Cresswell. Our usual method of covering the 3.75 miles of our survey section is to take 2 cars, leave one at East Chevington and then drive to Cresswell in the other, leaving us with a walk north along Druridge Bay. As a solo survey it’s a 7.5 mile round journey, and good exercise on the sand. As I headed north on a deserted beach, the southwesterly wind brought icy, stinging rain. Nearly 100 Common Eiders were just offshore, 5 Common Scoter were just beyond them and a summer-plumaged Red-throated Diver brought a splash of colour. A Sand eel had managed to become stranded almost 20m above the receding tideline so I did my good deed for the day and returned it to the sea, although it initially resisted my efforts to pick it up 🙂 Sandwich Terns were flying backwards and forwards along the shore, giving their creaky, rasping call, and a summer-plumaged Sanderling was feeding alongside 2 Ringed Plovers.
With legs stretched and lungs filled with clean sea air I finished my walk and headed home. All the while I was thinking about my early birdwatching days when I would get up before dawn and cycle to what I’d identified as promising local birdwatching spots. Sometimes they produced the goods, sometimes they didn’t…but there was always that sense of having the world to yourself. Sometimes, birdwatching in Northumberland can feel like that in the middle of the day 🙂
After a couple of days in the office (although I’m not complaining; I spent those two days finalising details for two new projects and taking bookings for group photography trips and a Northumberland birdwatching holiday) it was good to get out with clients this morning. Our three clients became just one though, due to the Icelandic volcano, and I collected Ellen from Newbiggin by the Sea for a tour of southeast Northumberland and Druridge Bay. We started with a search for Mediterranean Gulls. None of the nice, ghostly white-winged adults were around but there was a 2nd year bird amongst the Black-headed Gulls. It made a good identification subject, as the lack of obvious white wings meant that it was possible to focus on structure rather than just plumage, although the obvious wing-bar ensured that a discussion of wing topography was easy to relate to what we could see flying in front of us.
Under deep blue skies with fluffy white clouds this was a beautiful morning, although the bitingly cold, howling northwesterly meant that hats and gloves were in order. At Cresswell we admired our bird of the day; a stunning male Black-headed Wagtail. I’d never seen one before, and as Ellen is from the southwestern US it was a lifer for her as well. The geographical connection to where I spent 6 months in 1999/2000 focused conversation on two of my favourite topics; birdwatching and Mexican food. Summer visitors were evident, with Swallow and Sand Martin flying over all the coastal pools, Willow Warblers singing their silvery, descending cadence sheltered from the wind, a nervous Common Sandpiper just a few metres away from us and, best of all one of the best looking ducks to have ever dabbled around Druridge Pools, Garganey, was another lifer for Ellen. A pair of Stonechats perched in a bare hawthorn were a welcome sight, after a winter that will have surely decimated their population. The three hours passed incredibly quickly and I dropped a happy birdwatcher in Morpeth to continue the next leg of her journey through Northumberland.
Today was the first of two Prestige Tours organised as a 40th birthday surprise. With our destination being the North Pennines, the tour where we cross the border from Northumberland into Upper Teesdale, the mist, drizzle and general murk first thing this morning didn’t look too promising. Sometimes, though, the less promising days prove to be the really memorable ones…
Checking one of our favourite Black Grouse sites there were no birds in the field close to the road. However, after watching that site for the last two years I guessed that the birds were probably at a lek site away across the moor. Sure enough, we soon found three birds sitting around, another two flew in a few seconds later and then the lek started. The cold wind and icy rain was barely noticeable as the birds postured around the clumps of rush. More sightings of Black Grouse followed, including birds at two sites where I hadn’t seen them before; one of them producing excellent views of a Blackcock sitting near the road, and a rather more shy and retiring Greyhen. Across in Upper Teesdale the views of Blackcock got even better, and were accompanied by drumming Snipe and displaying Curlew.
The walk to Cauldron Snout can seem bleak and devoid of wildlife but it is there; watching from amongst the heather were Red Grouse, some more Red Grouse, stunning Golden Plover and even more Red Grouse. Meadow Pipits flitted back and forth, Snipe were calling, Curlew were singing their eerie song over the moorland and Lapwings demonstrated that their display flight and calls both defy belief.
One of the best days we’ve had in two years of NEWT.
After a Druridge mini-safari on Tuesday, which included a visit to the Common Crane near Eshott, yesterday was something completely different with a Kielder Safari.
After collecting Ruth and Diana from Stannington we took the scenic route up through Knowesgate to Bellingham, in the wilds of west Northumberland. That’s the point where we deviate from the public roads and follow a track that’s off-limits to the public. Along the way we saw a few Buzzards, but a superb male Goshawk, and an incredibly skittish Red Fox, were the highlights of the drive through the forest. Around the reservoir there were Crossbills and Siskins everywhere. Lunch just over the border in Scotland was followed by more birdwatching and the spectacle of a Common Buzzard catching, dismembering and consuming a vole. With lots of other buzzards up in the air whenever the sun came out, there was plenty to see. A stunning drake Mandarin brought a splash of garish colour to the afternoon and a long-distance ‘scope view of last year’s Osprey nest revealed a small white blob – probably the head of one of the pair that have returned to the site. As we headed back towards civilisation a large flock of Fieldfares and Redwings near Bellingham was a reminder that the winter is only just behind us.
I spent the last three days guiding a familiarisation trip around the northeast, showcasing the landscape, wildlife and birdwatching of Northumberland, the North Pennines and Tees Valley for two wildlife officers and the development manager from ORCA (Organisation Cetacea).
My main input was to the 2nd and 3rd days, as I had another booking for the 1st day so only joined the group late in the afternoon on a rather wet Northumberland coast.
Day 2 dawned bright and dry at home but, as I passed Morpeth, it looked wet and misty ahead. The main road to Rothbury had been closed by flooding so a detour via the moors and past Cragside was necessary. We met up with Gill Thompson, the Northumberland National Park ecologist, and parked at Lordenshaws for a walk up Simonside. It was cold, snowy and exhilarating and we walked up to the start of the ridge. Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Red Grouse were all seen as we climbed.
Steph, Kathryn and Martin on the ridge above Lordenshaws
Returning to the car we set off to drive across to Otterburn, round the base of Simonside. That ran into a slight problem as, although we were fine in the Landy, Gill’s car couldn’t get through one of the floods we encountered. I continued with the girls and Gill backtracked to Rothbury to find an open route to Otterburn. After an excellent lunch at Otterburn Mill we headed towards Kielder Water and Forest Park. A drive along a forest road that isn’t publically accessible produced excellent views of Roe Deer and Common Buzzard…in increasingly heavy snowfall. At the Kielder Castle visitor centre there was excellent information provided about Ospreys, Goshawks, Tawny Owls, Red Squirrels and Hen Harriers. We also visited the two wildlife hides at Bakethin and Leaplish. Crossbills were calling in the tree tops, Goldeneye were displaying on the reservoir and the feeding station was a hive of activity, with Chaffinches, Coal Tits and an elusive Treecreeper. As we returned to the dam wall and waved goodbye to Shona, it was time to head to Hadrian’s Wall. Gill provided an excellent description of the wall, it’s history and the geology of the area while we were at Steel Rigg. Then, after a long day out it was time to travel the short distance to Saughy Rigg Farm; our accommodation for the night and also where were having dinner, hosted by the Kielder Partnership. The welcome, accommodation, evening meal and breakfast at Saughy Rigg were as outstanding as ever and it was good to chat to Sian and Shaun (who were both students at Haydon Bridge High School when I was teaching there).
Yesterday was our North Pennines day. I went out for a walk at 6am, and it was a beautiful Spring morning; Curlews were displaying and the early rays of sunlight were highlighting the contours and crevices of the landscape at their very best. After a breakfast that would set anyone up for being stranded in the middle of nowhere, Black Grouse was clearly high on the wanted list and I’d devised a route that would take in my top 2 sites for this handsome bird. The first obstacle was a vintage Triumph, completely blocking the road with it’s front wheels in a ditch where it had hit a patch of black ice. We manouvered our cars (Stephen had been away at a meeting the day before so was now travelling behind us) and a van to safety, in case the Triumph started sliding once it was back on the road. Thankfully that was accomplished without any problems and we continued. We would have checked one Black Grouse site and then re-traced our route, but that patch of black ice on a sharp downhill bend led to a change of plan and we took the road from Allendale to Carrshield instead…
As we crossed the moor there was a thin layer of snow on the road, but there were tyre tracks coming from the other direction so we continued. Stephen was following our tracks and then, at the high point of the road, the Landy skidded on some hidden ice, juddered and stopped. Snow was drifting in faster than we could shovel it away and we couldn’t get any traction to free us from the drift. Other vehicles from either direction were getting into difficulty in less snow than we had and…to cut a long story short…the entire incident involved two Landrovers, a family estate car and a snow plough all stuck fast, a team of drivers busy shovelling snow, two snapped tow ropes and Steph and Kathryn using the supplies (and flasks of boiling water) from the back of our Landy to provide coffee and hot chocolate to keep everyone warm. (Note to self; keep two shovels in the Landy in future!).
Once we we free from the drift, and checked that everyone else was able to continue, we headed on and found two excellent Blackcocks by the side of the road. Across to Langdon Beck and our (delayed) rendezvous with Shane Harris from the North Pennines AONB Partnership. As we re-structured the schedule Shane said “can anyone hear hissing?”. Yes, after all the effort we’d put into trying to get some traction with our offside front tyre…it was punctured. Just a minor inconvenience really so, with the spare wheel on, we had lunch at the Bowlees visitor centre (where the weather was positively summery), walked along the river at Low Force and then drove all the way down the Tees Valley to visit RSPB Saltholme. Finally, I dropped the girls at Royal Quays, ready for their first sailing this afternoon.
As Stephen put it at the end of the trip “A real Northern Experience!”.
