I collected Alan, Carole and Mitzi from Seahouses for their Holy Island mini-safari in the sweltering heat. Through the haze over the mudfalts, we could hear the eerie calls of Curlew and then a flock flew by. Amongst them we could hear the tittering whistle of a Whimbrel, and picked the bird out amongst it’s larger cousins. Golden Plover were back on the coast already as well; the moorland breeding season is a short one. After a tour of the sites along the North Northumberland coast, we had our final stop, at Harkess Rocks. As we scanned the raft of Eider and Common Scoter in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle one bird stood out from all the rest; the Black Scoter, first found in April, and still lingering off our coast. What I wouldn’t give for a nice Surf Scoter or King Eider as well:-)
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…
On Sunday I collected Helen from her parent’s house in Swarland and we crossed the causeway onto Holy Island. A good walk around the island provided excellent views of Wheatears, displaying Lapwings, a cacophony of Grey Seals and a very inquisitive Stoat. Helen spotted it and, once it ducked out of sight, I enticed it back out by pishing. Thrift and Bladder Campion were both in bloom and, once we were back on the mainland, we enjoyed a Whitethroat as it song-flighted from tree to tree.
Our final port of call was Stag Rocks. A scan seemed to reveal little other than a raft of Eiders but there, amongst the black-and-white ‘Cuddy Ducks’ was a smaller dark bird; the vagrant Black Scoter, still there and still applying his transatlantic affections to a female Common Scoter.
Tuesday’s wildlife walk was slightly different. I met up with Jude and her parents at the Beal Road end car park and we drove across the causeway. 48 hours after our previous Lindisfarne trip, and the Wheatears had moved on. A recent arrival though, was a Sedge Warbler. Skylarks provided a continuous backdrop to our walk and a pair of Roe Deer were bounding through the fields, leaping fences and apparently keeping an eye on us. 4 hours passed quickly and it was time to head home…and get ready for Wednesday’s Kielder Safari.
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 🙂
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.
During the winter months, our mini-safaris are concentrated on the coast and we always keep a close eye on the weather. Sometimes that doesn’t work out though, as the Northumberland coast frequently seems to have it’s own microclimate that doesn’t match either the forecast, or the weather, a few miles inland.
When I arrived at the mainland end of the Holy Island causeway to collect Sharon and Andrew, I was surprised to discover that it was a sublimely beautiful morning. A bitingly cold wind was scything across Fenham Flats but the forecast rain was nowhere to be seen.
Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwit were beside the causeway, and flocks of smaller waders were wheeling around in the air near the island. Winter wildfowl are a feature of the Northumberland coast and, with drakes in near full breeding-dress, Teal and Wigeon are particularly breathtaking. Pale-bellied Brent Geese were alongside Dark-bellied Brent Geese, allowing an easy comparison, Lapwings were gloriously iridescent in the bright sunlight and a Peregrine caused panic before beating a path towards the mainland. 12 Common Seals were an unexpected bonus and a covey of Grey Partridges scurried across a field as we walked by. Common Buzzards were perched on hedgerows and the number of Kestrels we found was astonishing; at least 8 birds in just a few miles of birdwatching on the coast.
After just over 3 hours of birdwatching in near-perfect conditions it was time to return to our starting point and then onwards; Sharon and Andrew heading back across to Holy Island and me heading to Rothbury to Chair a meeting between Northumberland Tourism, Northumberland County Council and the Chairs of Northumberland’s Tourism Associations. The stunning morning really emphasised in my mind the importance of the meeting in the afternoon; Northumberland has some outstanding birdwatching, wildlife and photography opportunities during the winter (and throughout the rest of the year as well) so we need to make sure that we keep shouting as loudly as we can about them.
After postponing our Seal and Seaduck Special last Saturday (sea conditions were ideal, but it would have been really irresponsible to encourage anyone to drive on Northumberland’s roads at the time) we arrived at Seahouses Harbour yesterday morning ready for our final boat trip of the year.
Everyone was well wrapped-up and we were soon boarding Glad Tidings VI. As we sailed out of the harbour a veritable battery of long lenses was produced in readiness for the anticipated wildlife. With a skipper and crewman with excellent eyesight and wildlife-spotting skills, 2 NEWT guides, and clients with sharp eyes as well, the boat was soon being manouvered to offer the best possible opportunities to view or photograph the wildlife. After 13 years of organising offshore wildlife trips we know the importance of the skipper to the success (or otherwise…) of the trip and, with Craig and William, we were in excellent hands.
The first half of the trip concentrated on the Farne Islands themselves. A lot of the Grey Seals had well-grown pups, quite a few of the adults were moulting and there were a couple of cow seals still heavily pregnant.
Grey SealGrey Seal and the Longstone LighthouseGrey Seals
Grey Seals
Shags were sitting around on the islands, Little Auks were bobbing about like corks in the increasing swell, and we had a brief view of a Black Guillemot as it flew from Gun Rock towards Inner Farne. Heading north we enjoyed the sunny (but cold) weather and scoured the sea just south of Holy Island. Plenty of Eider were sitting around, along with a pair of Scaup and several Red-breasted Mergansers but a Slavonian Grebe near Guile Point proved elusive. Red-throated and Great Northern Divers were seen but in much smaller numbers than we would normally expect. The journey back down the coast featured one of our favourite birds; Long-tailed Ducks were sitting around in groups of 10-15 and offering some excellent photo opportunities.
Long-tailed Ducks30 or 40 Common Scoters proved a bit more skittish and didn’t come near the boat. 2 Gannets were a bit of a surprise before we returned to the harbour.
Although the wildlife was very obliging perhaps the best thing about the day was the truly beautiful lighting conditions, a real bonus for wildlife photography and something that all of the photographers on board commented on. We can’t control the light, or the weather, but we keep taking clients to the right places at the right time…
It wasn’t a relaxing afternoon for the birds in Budle Bay yesterday, as a juvenile Peregrine worked it’s way back and forth, causing havoc as it went through. Further north, and looking towards Holy Island from the mainland, flocks of Wigeon and Pale-bellied Brent Geese were moving as the tide fell, and Redshank, Dunlin and Grey Plover all took advantage of the newly exposed mud. A Common Buzzard perched in a hawthorn hedge at the roadside flushed as we approached but then hovered lazily over the fields.
Looking the opposite way, from Holy Island back towards the mainland, dark steel grey clouds on the horizon were outlined in gold by the setting sun, Bar-tailed Godwits were feeding along the water’s edge and a quite stunning aural backdrop was provided by Grey Seals. As the sun slipped out of sight, Grey Herons became inky black silhouettes against the shimmering golden reflection of the sky and the air was filled first with the plaintive calls of Grey Plover and then with the high yapping of Pink-footed Geese. Skein after skein rose from the dark backdrop of the clouds on the horizon, appearing like swarms of bees against the dying embers of the day’s light. A Little Egret flapped by, a ghostly white heron vanishing into the night. Then, a grand finale to the afternoon’s birdwatching as the sky darkened, revealing a stunning array of stars, and the dark shapes of more Pink-footed Geese passed overhead, briefly cloaking the pin-points of light. Relaxing, sublime, awe-inspiring…
The first of our post-Christmas walks was on Holy Island this morning. As we gathered in the car-park a Sparrowhawk flew through, causing panic among the Starlings. A Wren was foraging in the bottom of a bare hawthorn, paying us no heed as it searched for the food it would need to survive another cold night on Northumberland’s north-east outpost. Stonechat, Herons and Teal enlivened the next section of the walk, and a Jack Snipe was an excellent find. Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Oystercatcher and Pale-bellied Brent Geese all looked superb through the telescope and we hardly noticed the bracing easterly wind whipping in off the North Sea. Walking off the excesses of Christmas and watching wildlife with good company really can’t be beaten. Then there was the Red Fox that was enjoying a post-lunch nap in a field by the road as we drove back down the coast. Tomorrow we get to do it all again, meeting in the car-park at the mainland end of the causeway at 10:00. It’ll almost certainly be different, because that’s just the way that wildlife is…
The road beneath our wheels was a clear sheet of ice as we proceeded cautiously, past several drivers who hadn’t. The day promised clear skies and sunshine, but the strong northerlies overnight had whipped the sea up to the point where taking a boat trip would have been foolhardy at best. Of course, we always have a Plan B…so as the tide receded we were by the Holy Island causeway with a Landrover full of clients. Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwit were all probing the soft mud as Pale-bellied Brent Geese and Shelduck walked along the water’s edge. Then, mayhem…waders in the air as far as the eye could see. Tight flocks of Dunlin and Golden Plover weaving this way and that. It could really only mean one thing…and there was that one thing – a Peregrine Falcon tearing through the maelstrom. Eventually it settled, sentinel-like, on the mud and the waders settled back down. At the other side of the causeway a flock of Twite were shuffling amongst the seaweed and we set out on a walk in the biting cold of this winter’s day. A Common Seal (not common at all in Northumberland) was feeding in the surf just offshore from the end of the Crooked Lonnen and a flock of Curlew, Oystercatcher and Lapwing lifted from a field as a Carrion Crow harassed each bird that gained the prize of a juicy worm. A few Grey Seals were seen as well and we left the island, stopping to eat our lunch at a site overlooking the mudflats.
Heading south down the coastal route we eventually arrived in Druridge Bay. As a stunning sunset developed Whooper Swans flew over our heads, softly calling to each other, and a Starling roost began to form. Small flocks flew by on their way to this evening rendezvous, eventually becoming bigger flocks, and then there they were; above the skyline, twisting and turning like one amorphous being. More and more birds joined the throng until there were probably 10000, circling and circling over the roost site until the climax of the dance and the final headlong dive into the reedbed.
Like Rooks going to roost, Minke Whales feeding on Herring shoals, a Peregrine Falcon stooping at prey…a Starling roost really is a must-see.
