Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Category: Choppington Woods

  • The little fir tree

    As Chair of Governors at our local First School, I had an invitation to attend the Christmas production this afternoon.  It was a heartwarming tale of a little fir tree who was teased for being so small but eventually found his place as a Christmas tree in a children’s hospital.  The characters included several fir trees, angels, snowflakes, raindrops, sunbeams, doctors, nurses, foxes, owls, rabbits and a woodcutter…as well as kings, shepherds, Mary and Joseph.

    Which brings us nicely to the little fir tree on our patio.  I haven’t had as much time to work on my bonsai display as I would have liked this year (one of the perils of running your own business…) so most of the trees have developed dense, lush foliage.  I have been regularly trimming any over long shoots so they’re all still quite compact.  The display sits midway between six feeders in the apple tree and two feeders on the garden wall, so it’s a regular perch for many of the birds that are visiting.  As the weather has turned towards wintry, the number of birds in the garden has increased to the point where it’s almost impossible to watch everything that’s going on.  Sarah was at home this morning and we spent a little while just watching the comings and goings.  The highlight was two Willow Tits together but there were 15+ Coal Tits, 5 or 6 Bullfinches, 10 Chaffinches, 4 House Sparrows, 4 Greenfinches, a couple of Goldfinches and little groups of Blue and Great Tits.  Birdwatching begins at home…and once we get some cold, frosty or snowy weather, my bonsai display should produce some excellent photo opportunities as well.

    A cold, wet mid-December night might not seem that promising in terms of wildlife but we had something new for the garden about an hour ago when a Winter Moth Operophtera brumata landed on the outside of the kitchen window.  Our little southeast Northumberland garden now has records of about 250 different species of moth.  It helps that there’s a 76ha woodland behind us though.

  • Things that go Squeak in the Night

    A second new event launch in two days was yesterday evening’s activity. Martin went along to The Swan at Choppington mid-afternoon to set out all the cables and extension leads to enable us to run a moth trap amngst the bushes around the pub lawn. As Martin and Chris were setting it out, the heaven’s opened and they both received a good soaking.

    By 6.30 the clouds had all cleared and the evening promised good weather. Sparkling wine on arrival for our guests was followed by an explanation of moth-trapping (and a beauty parade of Thursday night’s catch – most of which were very active after warming up following day in our fridge). A short Landrover journey took us to the path we were going to walk and, after a brief history of Choppington Woods, we set off along a birdwatching route that we could probably lead blindfolded. A Jay flew across our path and a flock of 42 Swallows swirled overhead. As dusk descended, the first bat of the evening appeared; a Common Pipistrelle that everyone managed to see as it flew in and out of the trees. Back to The Swan, and a meal of the usual excellent standard was followed by a moth-trapping session. Although windy and cold, we still managed to catch a few moths, including the first Small Fan-foot for Choppington Woods. Into the pub again, and everyone was ready for dessert. Our next ‘Things that go Squeak in the Night’ is on Thursday 17th September and there are still places available. With the earlier sunset we’ll have by then, there’s always the possibility of seeing foxes and hearing owls before we retire to the warmth and comfort of The Swan.

  • The future naturalists

    In the late nineties and early noughties, when I was a committee member of the Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club, the issue of the ‘next generation’ of birdwatchers, and the recruitment of new members, was often discussed. Like many organisations, the average age of the club’s membership was increasing by one every year (which isn’t that surprising; you would need an awful lot of new, young members to affect that particular statistic). Committee attitudes varied from genuinely concerned through not thinking there was an issue to, and I still find this one hard to believe. not wanting new, inexperienced, birdwatchers to join at all.

    We frequently hear wildlife ‘celebrities’ bemoaning the fact that young people aren’t interested in wildlife. Are they right in that assumption? I had chance to consider this last week – August is a busy time for family bookings for NEWT (not surprisingly) and we had an Otter mini-Safari, with a family who had sons aged 12 and 15, and a Druridge Bay mini-Safari, where the family had a 9-year old son and 6-year old and 2 year-old daughters. Both trips were very succesful; Otters performing right in front of us on the first one and a wide range of spiders, wasps, bees, moths, butterflies and damselflies on the second….and all of the children were enthusiastic. On Thursday evening, we helped to lead a Bat Walk in Choppington Woods. The walk was fully booked, with 16 participants, and this was mainly families. Despite having to wait for the first bats to appear, enthusiasm levels stayed high and eventually we had them hunting close to us. Two of the children managed to locate a slight gap in the trees and discovered that this was where the bats were hunting. With a bat detector, and the keen eyesight of the young, they were enthralled for nearly 2 hours. There is a generation of young naturalists out there; we just need to work out how to engage, encourage and support them.

  • Signs of Spring

    06:30 – Martin woke from a good night’s sleep and sensed something different, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The most obvious thing was that the sky wasn’t the deep black of a winter morning, but it was starting to get light already. 06:30? When did this start to happen? Then the dawning recognition…bird song. That was it; robins, blackbirds, chaffinches, mistle thrushes and song thrushes – all belting out their very own ballads as they tried to woo the ladies. As daylight took hold, the scene around the feeding station wasn’t quite how it has been recently. The blackbirds were fighting instead of feeding, our resident collared doves were nibbling each other instead of the seed that we provide for them – the long-tailed tits were feeding, but just the two of them instead of the dozen or so that usually encapsulate the feeders in a heaving ball of pink fluff.

    As we headed up the coast, the warm sunshine broke through the fluffy white clouds that were scudding across the sky, propelled by a wind that was chill enough to remind us that it is still the winter. A sprinkling of snowdrops decorated the roadside verges, another sign of new life after the heavy snow of recent weeks. And then, after a very productive and enjoyable photographic session near Bamburgh, on the journey home we passed fields of very small lambs. Does any creature revel in new life as much as these little balls of white wool as they dash headlong around the fields?

  • Footprints in the Snow

    I returned home yesterday lunchtime, after having put in a few extra hours at work, to see that there was still a covering of snow in our garden. Martin had spent the morning watching a red squirrel bury hazelnuts in the garden and he was able to point out the tiny squirrel footprints to show where they had been. Along with the prints of blackbirds and other garden regulars there were some large bird footprints. Without a second thought we assumed that one of our neighbour’s chickens had come to take advantage of a free breakfast of spilled bird seed under our feeders.

    I was definitely ready for some fresh air in the afternoon and we decided to head out to see if we could find some more footprints in the snow before it all melted. Unfortunately, despite an icy chill in the air the snow was beginning to disappear and the only footprints that we could find were those of the many folk that had beaten us to it and their trusty four legged companions. We did have some excellent views from a local vantage point but as the afternoon wore on we were ready to head home for a warming mug of hot chocolate.

    As I was waiting for the kettle to boil I looked out into the garden as the feeders provided the local finch and tit population sustenance to make it through another sub-zero night. Then the owner of the large footprints in the snow wandered into view. Definitely a new addition to our garden bird list, and whilst by no means an unusual or rare bird, one that neither Martin nor myself would have predicted to be in our garden. Not one of our neighbour’s chickens but a Moorhen!

    We would love to hear of any unusual birds that you have seen in your garden over the recent cold spell; let us know by e-mailing us at: blog@newtltd.co.uk

  • Off the beaten track

    We went for a walk around our local woods this morning but decided to change from our usual route. An inspired decision as we found pine cones nibbled by squirrels and also located the trees where the crossbills that sometimes visit our garden were feeding. There have been a few reports recently of ‘small’ deer so we checked the plantation where they have been seen, but we couldn’t find any tracks or signs of them. A pile of woodpigeon feathers suggested a Sparrowhawk had eaten recently and we continued on our way. With the trees bare of leaves we counted at least 4 squirrel dreys and found what seems likely to be a Sparrowhawk nest as well. A squirrel sat above our heads, chattering angrily at the disturbance to his domain. Then we left the footpaths and set out to explore amongst the trees. A pile of chewed feathers showed evidence of the carcass having been eaten by a fox and we went deeper into the gloom of the denser part of the wood. Sarah was just photographing a fungus when we noticed movement through the undergrowth…and two Red Squirrels came charging headlong towards us. At the last minute they sprinted straight up the trunk of the tree that we were next to. So many secrets, so close to home. Seeing the familiar in a new light is really invigorating.

  • Big Garden Birdwatch

    This weekend is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. The easiest, most comfortable bird survey you are ever likely to be involved in. Our routine is always to fill all of our feeders the evening before then, after an extra hour in bed, make bacon or egg sandwiches for breakfast and settle down at the patio window for an hour watching the feeding station and all of the trees and bushes around the garden. As we started the count a flock of 12 Long-tailed Tits descended on the peanut cage. Not a bird we get on this survey every year, so a good start. Blue, Great and Coal Tits arrived and our next task was to try and count the maximum number of each species present at one time; not the easiest thing to do when they grab a seed from the feeder and hide amongst the branches to eat it. Greenfinch and Goldfinch have been very scarce in the garden this winter (worryingly, a number of our clients are reporting a similar situation from around the country) but both did eventually appear. Willow Tit is a bird that will not appear on many garden lists so we were pleased when one joined the masses. Sadly we didn’t find a Song Thrush, and it now seems to be completely absent from our garden. Having suffered a national decline of 63% over the last 30 years, the Big Garden Birdwatch is an important tool in monitoring the fortunes of this species, famous for the ‘thrush’s anvil’ on which it breaks open snail shells. With just two minutes of the survey remaining, bird number 63 (and species number 16) put an end to any further additions to the list; a female Sparrowhawk scythed through the feeding station and everything scattered. It really is easy to participate in this survey. Click the link above and, if you don’t manage to count your garden birds tomorrow, there’s always next year.

  • Pillow talk

    05:55. Another 5 minutes until the alarm goes off, but we’re already awake…and in the churchyard across the road so are the Tawny Owls. This morning it sounds like a very clear territorial dispute between 2 males. Each tremulous hoot was answered by another bird slightly further away. Listening to Tawnies is one of the great pleasures of life – whether it’s the birds in our garden, the ones that start their nightime serenading while we’re out checking our fox and badger sites, the one that usually starts our winter bird race list or the male that on a May bird race responded to an imitation of it’s call by flying in to investigate and perched on a horizontal branch just above head height and only 20m away from us. Although the ‘ke-wick’ and ‘hooo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooo’ calls are typically given by the female and male respectively that isn’t always the case; the male uses the sharp contact call and the female can hoot, although it’s much coarser than the resonating beauty of the male’s song.

    Easy to hear, but difficult to see, although in May our Kielder trips will include a demonstration of Tawny Owl chicks being ringed (when there is a brood of the right age). In the meantime, why not listen near your local woodland and enjoy the aural world of the ‘Brown Owl’?

  • The magical hour

    We’re sitting quietly, dressed in full camo, overlooking a badger sett. Red Squirrels are leaping through the nearby hawthorns, oblivious to our presence; we’re privileged to watch as they quietly snuggle down into their dreys, close to our lookout position. Daylight is drawing to a close and Blackbirds, Goldcrests and Coal Tits suddenly increase their volume of conversation. Perhaps it’s a final reassurance to each other that they are still together as a flock before settling down for the night. Our dark-adapted eyes reveal at least two Woodcock, leaving the camouflage of the woodland floor and heading into the night to search for food. The sharp ‘ke-wick’ of a Tawny Owl cuts through the descending mist and the quavering ‘hoo-hooo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoooo’ reply is echoed by a distant rival. As we reach the point where our own visual acuity is no longer enough to resolve either shape or movement, even with the assistance of the finest optics that Leica and Zeiss have to offer, we melt into the night – leaving the wood to the Badgers, Foxes, Deer, owls and other denizens of the dark.

  • While Martin was out…

    Martin was leading an Otter and Red Kite safari today, and I wasn’t feeling well so stayed at home. No sooner was he out of the house than I looked out of the office window and saw a Red Squirrel in our apple tree! Normally they run around a bit and quickly disappear into the trees but this one hung around for half an hour, scrabbling about in the shrubbery, swinging on the bird feeders and checking out our squirrel feeder from every conceivable angle. Plenty of time to find Martin’s camera, check the settings, put in a blank memory card and then fill it with images of the squirrel 🙂 and, just for good measure, I took some decent shots of a Willow Tit as well. When Martin got back he was full of tales of Red Squirrels, Red Kites, kids swimming in one of our favourite otter spots and flocks of Jackdaws heading to roost (that seems to be developing into a bit of an obsession). So, I showed him the photos…