Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Category: Druridge Bay

  • The delights of dusk

    There have been times, during the 3 and bit years of NEWT, when it’s almost seemed like working 9 to 5 (although with the difference that you never really know how any given day will turn out).  Gradually though we’re shifting to early starts or late finishes, and it’s really paying off for our clients.

    I collected Mike and Sue from their accommodation at The Swan, ready for an Otter Safari around Druridge Bay and Southeast Northumberland.  Clients who were both teachers in the area of North Lincolnshire, where I spent my childhood, showed once again, just what a small world it is.  After a few hours birdwatching around some of our most reliable otter sites, and dodging the rain showers, the evening developed into a stunning sunset.  As a group of ducks scattered into an almost perfect semicircle I concentrated on the centre of that circle…and an Otter surfaced exactly where I was looking.  After just a minute or so, it vanished into a reedbed….and we waited.  Sure enough, a second example of synchronised scattering indicated where it had re-emerged from the reeds.  Then we were treated to 20 minutes of madness as the otter raced across the water, porpoising and breaching!  All of this was set against a backdrop of clouds of Swifts, hawking insects above the water, slowly morphing, as Swifts gradually departed and denizens of the night appeared, into a cloud of Noctule and Common Pipistrelle Bats.  Almost perfect…

  • A gift from heaven

    I’ve always known that I tend to be very lucky when out with clients but last week, when we welcomed our first ever clients from Cyprus, that luck took an unexpected form.

    I collected Jane, Aristos, Eva and Nassos from Newcastle and we headed coastwards in the blazing sunshine.  Our birdwatching along Druridge Bay included what was, for our clients, a very welcome opportunity to get to grips with that difficult species pair of Common and Arctic Tern.  Reed, Sedge and Willow Warblers were all singing, Tufted Ducks and Gadwall were displaying and, as the afternoon progressed, it was time to focus on our two main targets for the day; Red Squirrel and Otter.

    Now, there are many ways that I’ve found Red Squirrels for our clients in the past…but being hit by flying squirrel poo was an entirely new one 🙂  Looking from the squishy mass on the back of my hand up into the trees I could see the waving orange tail of our quarry.  Eventually it came down the tree, raced up and down a few trunks and leapt from canopy to canopy before launching itself to the ground and out of sight.

    When your luck’s in, it’s in…and, as sunset approached and I commented about the state of alert of the ducks and geese, Jane spotted an Otter.  For 35 mins everyone sat mesmerised as it twisted and turned in the water, catching fish with almost every dive and munching away at the surface before sliding under the water again and eventually out of sight.

    With sightings like these, it’s no surprise that we’re getting booked up rapidly for the next few months.  Give us a call on 01670 827465, and join us on a search for Northumberland’s wildlife.

  • Juggling act

    We’ve just finished what has almost certainly been our hardest week since we started NEWT; organising and guiding a 7-night Northumberland birdwatching holiday for no less than 18 clients.

    The Bamburgh Castle Inn was our accommodation base for the week and the upstairs conservatory, with it’s excellent views over the harbour, Farne Islands and Bamburgh Castle, was reserved for our dinner each night of the holiday.  Many, many thanks to Sean and his team for the entire week 🙂

    The unseasonal high winds weren’t going to get the better of us, and our original itinerary for the week was shuffled/re-jigged/abandoned as we took some calculated risks to ensure that our planned boat trips to the Farne Islands and Coquet Island both went ahead.  They did, and we’re eternally grateful to Billy Shiel’s Farne Island Boat Trips and Dave Gray’s Puffin Cruises for the incredibly professional way that they handled our clients.

    I asked the group for their highlight of the week…and got a lot of answers; A mixed flock of waders, resplendent in breeding plumage, along the coastline of Druridge Bay.  An Otter, lazily fishing in a coastal pool. Sailing around Coquet Island as the sky darkened and all of the terns flushed from the island when the RSPB warden walked up the slipway.  A pair of very pink Roseate Terns mating.  Walking through the dunes at Newton in the howling gales of Monday afternoon.  Staple Island and Inner Farne.  Red Grouse wandering through the heather on our day in the Cheviots.

    All too soon, the week was over and I led a brief foray into the North Pennines for a few of the group as they headed south.  There, in the driving rain and howling gale, a Black Grouse sat hunched in the bracken – looking even more annoyed than they usually do 🙂

    The week wouldn’t have run so well without the quality of service from all of the other companies we worked with, but I want to say a massive thank you to Sarah.  Client care, liaison with suppliers, running the NEWT office for the week and realising what I was going to ask before I had even asked it were all taken in her stride and made the week work.  Thank You 🙂

    We’re already dealing with enquiries for group holidays in May 2012, so get in touch to find out what we can offer you and your group; whatever time of the year, whatever the size of your group…

  • Putting in the effort

    Early afternoon on Tuesday I collected Julian and Andrew from their accommodation at The Swan for an afternoon of birdwatching and general natural history in Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.  After a busy afternoon that produced sightings of Barn Owl (an incredibly obliging bird that we watched hunting for nearly 20minutes), 4 Brown Hares and a Temminck’s Stint amongst a myriad of other birds, flowers and wildlife we headed towards a small pond, dusk, destiny and a date with that elusive predator…

    With an 80% success rate searching for Otters since early April (in 4 trips with clients, one trip for the NEWT guides) I was fairly confident…then it got darker, and darker, and darker…and still no sign.  A chance break in the clouds reflected in the water surface and visibility improved for a few moments.  I’d been concentrating on a pair of the oft-derided Canada Geese for a few minutes, because they were standing very alert, when they began cackling.  A quick scan along the water’s edge…and was that an otter, distantly in the gloom?  or were my eyes playing those tricks that you often have in the last light of the day?  As it surfaced again, before swimming right by, I reflected on the effort that we’d all been putting in, in the failing light, and the reward for that effort as it’s final act before vanishing into the darkness of a reedbed was to feed just a few metres away, with it’s tail waggling about above the water.

  • Comfort zone

    I’ve been a general naturalist since an early age, but birdwatching has been the thing that has always gripped my imagination.  As a wildlife guide though, is that really enough?  That’s a question that seems to arise occasionally on internet forums.  I decided at an early stage of NEWT that I needed a much broader and deeper knowledge, so I spend a lot of time studying things that once upon a time (I’m ashamed to admit) I would have ignored, or even not noticed.  Every day that I spend with clients, I make an effort to learn from them, whilst imparting my own knowledge, skills and understanding of what we encounter.

    On Thursday I led an afternoon of guided birdwatching around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.  The blazing sunshine when I collected Karen from Newbiggin made it almost impossible to see anything in the bay but, as each small gull flew by, we checked for the identification features that would provide us with a Mediterranean Gull.  All proved to be Black-headed Gulls, and we headed north up the coast.  As we stood by the River Coquet, discussing how to separate Carrion Crow, Rook and Jackdaw in flight, I saw the tell-tale ghostly wings of a Med Gull as it drifted down towards the water’s edge.  Jet black hood, pristine white wingtips and, as perfect as if it was scripted, sitting next to an adult Black-headed Gull allowing easy comparison.  Some of our favourite birds followed; Marsh Harrier, Nuthatch, Heron and at least 17 Whimbrel.  During the afternoon I learned a feature of Wood Sorrel that will ensure I never misidentify it (again…).  Karen, you were right 🙂

    Friday was something very different as we were headed inland to the Cheviots for a day searching for summer visitors.  After a few hours with a spectacular roll-call of the wildlife of the valleys, including Brown Hare, Roe Deer, Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Wheatear, Spotted Flycatcher, Red Grouse, Curlew and Lapwings (with chicks), we followed the track up a steep sided valley in search of a bird that Sue hadn’t seen before (and really wanted to).  As the sky darkened, the wind strengthened and chilled, and the first drops of icy rain began to fall, I spotted 2 distant birds flying down the valley.  I didn’t have any doubt about the identification so, when they eventually settled on the tops of the heather, I aimed the ‘scope in their direction and Sue enjoyed her first views of the ‘Mountain Blackbird’.  Ring Ouzels may often be seen on passage in the spring and autumn, but high in a remote valley, where you think the elements could give you a good working over at any time and the habitat supports so few species, is simply the right place to see them.  Another lesson learned; memorable sightings make you forget about the weather 🙂

  • Pressing on

    It started with a question from Sheelagh Caygill at Northumberland Tourism “Martin, we’ve got a journalist staying in Northumberland during the Easter holidays.  He’s interested in wildlife.  What could you do for him and his family?”

    Which is how,  yesterday afternoon, I found myself trying to deliver the interesting wildlife double of Black Grouse and Otter, combining the ‘quality over quantity’ birdwatching opportunities of the North Pennines with the close to home familiarity of Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland .  Once the article is published, I’ll link to it…

  • Those lazy, hazy days…of early spring

    I’ve often said that what really makes our tours so enjoyable is our clients, and yesterday was no exception.

    I collected Dave, Rachel, Emily and Thomas  from their holiday cottage in Bamburgh and we drove down the Northumberland coast.  The warm sunshine, and layer upon layer of birdsong, was more like late spring or early summer, and 8-year old Thomas was soon constantly attached to his camera viewfinder; a wildlife photographer of the future I think 🙂  Emily kept us all entertained with suggestions as to how native Northumbrians will evolve and why several common flowers should be renamed.

    Our picnic spot, overlooking Druridge Bay, produced an interesting observation.  As we watched a roosting flock of Turnstones, Oyestercatchers and Purple Sandpipers I could see a raft of birds well offshore.  Closer inspection revealed nearly 100 tightly rafted Pink-footed Geese.  Perhaps the mystery of where they roost when we can’t find them at their usual winter haunts is close to being solved?  It’s going to make our winter roost counts for the IGC a bit difficult though 😉

    As the red orb of the sun sank behind the slate grey clouds we settled into position by a coastal pool.  3 Roe Deer wandered through a nearby field, Common Pipistrelles hawked insects in front of us (described as “awesome” by Thomas), Mute Swans and Greylag Geese paddled serenely across the pool and the whole scene was given a surreal air with thick layers of mist hanging just above the water.  Still my favourite time of day…and there really isn’t anything better than sharing it with our clients 🙂

  • Familiarising

    Last week saw a repeat of a familiarisation trip we led in late March 2010, as the ORCA wildlife officers, who will be on board the DFDS King Seaways over the summer months, had a couple of days with us to familiarise themselves with Northumberland and the wildlife and birdwatching opportunities that it has to offer.

    One major difference was the weather; this year it was warm and sunny…a marked contrast with last year’s trip, when the weather threw everything it could at us.

    After a very nice meal at Longhirst Hall on Thursday evening with the wildlife officers, and Jude Leitch from Northumberland Tourism, I collected Richard and Isabelle on Friday morning and we headed north along the coast.  With a relatively calm sea, we enjoyed a cruise around the Farne Islands on Glad Tidings V.  Rafts of Puffins, the raucous calls of Guillemots and Kittiwakes, Grey Seals lazing in the sun and 2 Common Terns displaying and calling high over the islands were all well appreciated.  Once back on dry land we drove down the coast to Low Newton, to have lunch at the Ship Inn.  As we turned off the main road an unexpected bonus appeared in the shape of a ringtail Hen Harrier, mobbed by crows before heading inland.  More birdwatching along the coast followed, including a visit to Holy Island, before an outing at dusk on the North Northumberland coast that produced sightings of a Roe Deer and 2 Otters.

    Saturday started with an interesting discussion during breakfast “what’s the difference between a whale and a dolphin?”, then we travelled down the coast, birdwatching in Druridge Bay, before it was time to deliver Richard and Isabelle to the waiting ship.  Good luck to them both, and may they find many cetaceans this summer 🙂

  • Subjected to the elements

    Our Druridge Bay/southeast Northumberland mini-safari at the end of last week ‘enjoyed’ a range of weather conditions;  after collecting Richard and Maureen from Blyth, we set off for the Coquet estuary.  Howling winds and sheets of rain didn’t deter us though, and using the car as a birdwatching hide we had excellent views of Grey Herons, Cormorants, Goldeneye, Redshank and Wigeon.  A real highlight of the morning was a young male Marsh Harrier, hunting the coastal reedbeds.  With a range of waders and wildfowl to fill the ‘scope, and the weather improving to bright sunshine, the morning was all too soon over and I was on my way home to wash and clean the car ready for our next trip.

  • It’s Sunday, so it must be Lindisfarne

    After enjoying an all too brief view of the ‘super Moon’ on Saturday as I drove eastwards across Northumberland on my way home from the North Pennines, we’d got something completely different in the booking diary for Sunday; guided birdwatching on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.  Having Sarah along as an additional guide was a real bonus as well.

    Gillian and Roger are existing clients, and this time we’d got other members of the family along as well – Roddy, Lucy and Alec.  We’ve done plenty of family trips with young children, but a request to see “Seals, Lions and Tigers” from a 2-year old was a new experience for us!  We managed one of those three 😉

    Black-tailed Godwit (a stunning bird, well on it’s way to breeding plumage), Pale-bellied and Dark-bellied Brent Geese, Oystercatchers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Red-breasted Mergansers and Long-tailed Ducks were all well appreciated.  Gillian picked out a tiny dark dot, high overhead, as a Skylark sang his evocative melody, and Roger spotted a Goldcrest, with a very very gold crest, as we ascended The Heugh.  18 Whooper Swans flew over the island, accompanied by a single Bewick’s Swan.  With that species so scarce in Northumberland during the winter, we wondered if it was the same bird that we first found, a few miles down the coast, in late December.  All too soon, it was time to return the family to the starting point of the tour and make our way down the Northumberland coast, along Druridge Bay and back to the office.