Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Category: Northumberland

  • People watching; Red Squirrel Bespoke Safari 03/06/2014

    I love watching wildlife, always have done since I was very young and I love watching wildlife with our clients.  Sometimes though, people are just as interesting…

    I collected Richard and Jan from their b&b in Chatton and we headed down through the centre of Northumberland in search of the Red Squirrel.  Our first stop was one of our regular sites for squirrels, but didn’t produce the goods this time.  Next was what a friend described as the best ‘guaranteed’ site for Red Squirrel in Northumberland…no joy here either, although it looked perfect.  We weren’t the only people in the hide – a couple came in and he set up his camera while his wife tried to keep their dog quiet.  Then she dropped his tripod on the hide floor.  Unfortunate, and could happen to anyone, but likely to reduce the chance of seeing a squirrel.  Then it happened again, careless, but still not helping the cause of wildife watching.  Her husband didn’t even flinch as the tripod crashed to the floor and, when it happened for a third time, we were all wondereing if it was his wife’s way of trying to get his attention.  If it was she was failing spectacularly 😉 At that point we gave up and headed across towards the coast, where I’d planned to have our lunch stop at another site that has worked well for us on previous Red Squirrel trips.  Sure enough, as soup and sandwiches were consumed, a squirrel came down from the canopy in search of it’s lunch 🙂  It made off with a peanut and was soon back for more.

    After achieving our main aim for the day we spent the rest of the afternoon around Druridge Bay.  Avocet, Spoonbill, Little Egret, Bearded Tit, Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Great Crested Grebe and much more made for an excellent afternoon birdwatching. following on from a morning of squirrelwatching and peoplewatching 🙂

  • Zzzzzzzzzz; Badger mini-safari 31/05/2014

    After dropping John, David and Sheila back in Alnwick after their bespoke photography trip to the Farne Islands, I met up with Sarah to have something to eat and then I was on my way to Alnmouth to collect Zoe, Richard, Ella, Luke and Charlie.  This was their second trip with NEWT, following an evening mini-safari in late May last year.

    One of the species from last year’s trip put in an impressive appearance again, as we watched a Barn Owl hunting along one edge of a pool, while an Avocet fed at the other side, Reed Buntings seemed to be everywhere we looked and a small group of Little Gulls looked tiny alongside nearby Black-headed Gulls.  Soon, light levels had faded to the point where it was time to head off in search of our main quarry for the evening.  Positioning ourselves in a spot that looks over an area where Badgers are regularly seen, we sat quietly.  Almost immediately myself and Ella noticed something black-and-white moving in the vegetation opposite us.. That turned out to be a false alarm though as it revealed itself to be a Magpie 🙂  Things were quiet, although distantly I could hear the alarm calls of Blackbirds, Robins andWrens.  Then another gentle sound just on the edge of hearing; ZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz.  It was warm and humid so it wouldn’t be a great surprise to encounter lots of insects…although these Z’s were coming from Luke and Charlie!  That’s how relaxing it is to just sit and watch for wildlife…

    Out of the corner of my eye I caught some movement away along the track.. Had I imagined it?  Maybe it was a dog walker having an evening stroll?  No more movement…and then a Red Fox trotted across the clearing in front of us.  A second fox followed soon after, and then a Badger, big and ghostly pale, as an attempt was made to wake the boys without making too much noise 🙂  Another fox, this time a cub, sat watching us for a few minutes, and Luke spotted that there was a Badger in the undergrowth just beyond it.  More fox sightings followed, and then a final Badger, as the light reached a point where even the sharpest of eyes would struggle to penetrate the gloom.  The drive back to Alnmouth had one last good mammal for us, as a Brown Hare loped along the road a few metres ahead of the car 🙂

  • Choosing your battles; Farne Islands bespoke photography trip 31/05/2014

    Last Thursday should have been a bespoke photography trip to the Farne Islands, but a discussion with William on Wednesday evening confirmed what the forecast had been suggesting for a few days – heavy easterly swell would make it impractical to sail.  I was out and about in the drizzle so Sarah got in touch with John, David and Sheila and we rearranged the trip for Saturday instead.

    That turned out to be an excellent decision, with  Saturday dawning dry, bright, sunny and with only a hint of a breeze.  We arrived in Seahouses just after 09:00 and were soon onboard Glad Tidings II, with William at the helm, on our way to Staple Island, passing groups of Grey Seals lazing in the sunshine.  Staple can be a difficult island to land passengers on, but it’s always worth the effort.  Puffins with beakfuls of sandeels were next to the landing and many photographers from our boat didn’t make it any further on to the island for quite some time.  Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Shags, Guillemots and Razorbills are all good photographic subjects, Puffins are the real stars of the island but there were some very accessible female Eiders incubating too. A frequent mantra that I try to instill into our photography clients is to choose their battles carefully – whatever focal length lens you have, there’s always the opportunity to take stunning images.  Don’t frustrate yourself by trying to over-reach the performance of your equipment.  I had a camera with a 70-200mm lens in my rucksack – not a long focal length, but enough when you’ve got a subject quite close.  We explored bits of the island looking for a spot that offered Puffins in flight at reasonable distance, and the best bit of the morning on Staple came during our lunch break, when  Puffins were flying so close overhead that you could hear the whirring of their wings, and everyone sat back, relaxed and tried to second-guess which direction each Puffin was going to fly 🙂  With a lovely group of clients, the day was a real pleasure, and we were soon on Glad Tidings IV, transferring to Inner Farne for the afternoon.  Inner Farne offers similar to Staple, but with the addition of Common, Arctic and Sandwich Terns and we explored the island in search of photographic subjects.  The first three images below are my own.  Puffinin flight, Black-headed Gull tussling with Puffin, Arctic Tern and Common Tern images are all (c) J. Spence.  Many thanks to John for letting us use his stunning images in this blog post 🙂

    Beautiful weather, great clients and the ‘Galapagos of the North’ – what a great end to the month, although for NEWT the month wasn’t quite over yet…

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  • Timing; Druridge Bay 30/05/2014

    Friday afternoon was my scheduled walk for the Amble Puffin Festival, and conditions were better than last year – when  it was so windy that participants were struggling to stand up at the start of the walk!  Andy and Sam arrived just before 2pm and, as they were the only participants and writing an article about the festival, I tailored the trip so that they could both see the best of what Druridge Bay has to offer visitors to Amble, as well as making sure that Sam was back in Amble in time for her sailing with Dave Gray’s Puffin Cruises 🙂

    The key to a great wildlife experience is often timing.  We have our own schedules to work to, none of which are of any concern to our wildlife 😉  Given that, a distant raptor high above the skyline was just what I’d been hoping for.  The distinctive light flight action and shape of the bird were enough for me to quickly head to where I guessed the bird was also heading.  Sure enough, there he was, carrying prey and, just a few seconds after we arrived, his mate was flying just behind and below him.  The exquisitive choreography of a Marsh Harrier food pass has to be seen to be believed, and if we’d been just a couple of minutes earlier, or a couple of minutes later, we might not have seen it 🙂

  • A wet Wednesday in Warkworth; mini-safari 28/05/2014

    Drizzle and murk aren’t the usual conditions we enjoy in Northumberland, but Wednesday wasn’t looking promising as I drove up the A1 to collect Corin, Claire, Jean, Gene and Lily.

    The drizzle continued steadily as we watched over a beautful stretch of the River Aln.  Blackbirds and Chiffchaffs were singing, fish were rising at surface of the river and a Common Buzzard flapped away downstream.  We headed on, watching a buzzard carrying prey over the road ahead of us, to a site where we hoped to find an Otter.Initially all was serene, Shelducks were watching over their ducklings, Tufted Ducks, Gadwall and a Mute Swan were feeding quietly and a female Mallard was watching over her one remaining duckling (unsurprising given the frequent Otter activity in that pool).  Then there was a change; The Shelducks flew off, abandoning their brood (who all headed away from the edge of the pool and formed a dense cluster), the Mallard abandoned her duckling, which swam up and down plaintively calling and the four Tufted Ducks all turned to stare straight at the same stretch of reedbed.  Then they moved further away, forming a tight mixed flock in the centre of the pool with Mute Swans, Gadwall, Mallards and Greylag Geese.  The drama continued as the lone Mallard duckling swam close to a swan nest and was attacked by both adult swans, diving repeatedly as they struck at it with their beaks.  The swans, ducks andgeese dispersed, still watching the reedbed warily, the Shelducks flew back in, taking the brood under their wing for the night, the lone Mallard duckling contined swimming back and forth, calling for it’s parent and a Roebuck bounded through a reedbed.  Suddenly the air was alive with Swallows, Sand Martins andHouse Martins, indicating one thing…the evening hatch had started.   Zzzzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzzzzz; the incessant mechanical droning of hundreds, if not thousands, of flying insects,taking to the air in the warm humidity.  It was getting too dark to see any detail, but as the Mallard duckling swam in front of us, it’s mother returned.  Who doesn’t love a story with a happy ending 🙂

  • Moorland meanderings; North Pennines Safari 27/05/2014

    Northumberland may be a coastal county, but heading inland you soon encounter some big impressive landscapes.  I collected Gordon and Mandy, who were last out with us on a Druridge Bay trip in June last year, and we headed through the foothills of the Cheviots, down to the Tyne valley and then up into the North Pennines.

    We’d all packed waterproofs…but it turns out that the weather forecast isn’t always right 🙂  On a big, rolling landscape, under big, big skies, Common Snipe, Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher andLapwing were all displaying, the plaintive cries of Golden Plover carried across the moorland on a cool breeze, Skylarks soared overhead, delivering their rich repertoire against the backdrop of azure sky, Cuckoo and Merlin attracted the attention of angry Meadow Pipits asBlack Grouse fed contentedly in grassy fields adjacent to the moors.  Golden Plover andRed Grouse kept a watchful eye as their chicks scrambled up and over tussocks of heather and an impressive array of flowers, including Spring Sandwort, Mountain Pansy, Bird’s-eye Primrose and more Spring Gentians than we’ve seen in the last six years, provided interest at our feet.  It’s an experience that really has to be, well, experienced, in order to appreciate what the area has to offer.

    The North Pennines could almost tempt me to move away from the sea, almost 😉

  • Variety is the spice of life; Coastal safari 26/05/2014

    A brilliantly sunny Bank Holiday Monday is the only time you’re likely to encounter anything even remotely approaching crowds of people in Northumberland, but it does happen occasionally.

    I collected Marcus, Alison, Norman (Grandad) and Isobel from their holiday cottage in the shadow of the Wandylaw wind farm, and we set off for a day wildlife-watching.  With it being such a sunny morning, I thought it would be worth starting with one of our trickier animals; if it’s too cold they won’t be out and about, if it’s too warm they’ll already have slithered off somewhere cooler, and if they feel the ground vibrate as you approach they’ll beat a hasty retreat.  We know just the spot to see them when everything falls into place though; a warm, bare, stony patch of earth surrounded by tall grass.  At first we couldn’t see any sign, but I crept through the vegetation for a closer look.  Two Adders weren’t keen on this, and quickly slithered away into the long grass.  The third one was much more obliging though, and I motioned for Isobel to come a bit closer.  Incredibly, the snake remained coiled, and settled, for a few minutes.  It eventually lifted it’s head to fix us with a baleful reptilian glare for another minute before following it’s companions into the vegetation and out of sight.

    In the bright sunshine Kestrels hovered over roadside fields, Willow Warblers sang their silvery descending cadence, Chiffchaffs endlessly repeated their name, Chaffinches were proclaiming their territories (and Isobel had done a very impressive colouring of a Chaffinch picture), the scratchy rattle of Whitethroat song buzzed through the warm air, flotillas of goslings patrolled the water with their parents in close attendance and darting damselflies added a streak of azure to the lush green of the grass.  Down on the coast, dainty Avocets swept the water edge for morsels, Grey Plovers (probably my favourite wader, certainly when they’re in their summer finery) chased back and forth, Common andSandwich Terns roosted together, Fulmars rode the updraft of the warm breeze along the clifftops, Eiders were resplendent in the sunshine, and ‘wooly bear‘ caterpillars and cuckoo spitwere just the thing for a six year old to enjoy 🙂

    Most entertaining though, judging by the giggling, was a Rook that was rummaging through a bag of rubbish and found what it seemed to consider a suitable food item.  That item was a (full) dog-poo bag…  So disgusting that I almost titled the blog after it 🙂

     

  • Watching; Bespoke Safari 25/04/2014

    The first part of the Bank Holiday weekend was a washout, with our scheduled Dark Skies event, for a Hen Party in Kielder, falling victim to the weather 🙁 Sunday was a bespoke wildlife Safari for Claire and Sophie and, as I collected them from home in Gosforth, things were looking a bit more promising.  Away inland we could see a lot of general murkiness, so we headed for the Northumberland coast – planning to drop down to Druridge Bay as the afternoon progressed.

    Glorious, yet chillingly breezy weather was waiting for us at Bamburgh and we watched Eider and Common Scoter as they bobbed about in the swell.  We checked the wake of very passing boat for any sign of Bottlenose Dolphinsand continued south down the coast.  Willow Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings andWhitethroats were singing all around and Little Grebes were diving for prey before bobbing back to the water’s surface.  Our picnic stop featured Fulmars arcing just above the clifftops a few metres away from us and a viewpoint over the River Wansbeck revealed lots and lots of ducklings; Gadwall, Mallard, Shelduck all had broods of between eight and eleven – although this prime source of Otter food didn’t seem to have attracted the attention of any Otters.  A Roe Deer on the far bank appeared than quickly vanished again as it made it’s way through the bushes, and Swifts, Swallows, House Martins andSand Martins feasted on the buzzing clouds of insects overhead.  As daylight faded we arrived at one site to find a Mallard and a Grey Heron both staring intently into a hole that we’ve long suspected of being an Otter holt.  More Mallards, and the three of us, joined the staring contest but the adversary that eventually flushed the heron, and had the Mallards waddling away at a rate of knots, remained unseen as bats began flitting past our ears.

  • All adding up; Bespoke wildlife tour 20/05/2014

    Even after 20 years living in Northumberland, I’m sometimes still amazed at what can be seen in one day, with seven mammals in a day in June 2010 showing what’s possible with planning and just a bit of luck 🙂  Sometimes you just have to hope that the weather’s helpful though…

    I collected Mike and Jane from Greycroft and we set off towards the foothills of the Cheviots.  Our first targets for the day were reptiles…and it wasn’t looking promising; thick low cloud and a cold breeze really aren’t the ideal conditions for these cold-blooded predators.  Nevertheless, we made our way along a track with several likely sunning spots.  All were devoid of reptiles, but an hour later, as we were surrounded by the songs of Blackcaps, Garden Warblers, Sedge Warblers andChaffinches, it turned slightly brighter and the temperature rose (from ‘chilling’ to ‘almost warm’!) so I suggested it was time to retrace our route.  Almost as if scripted, the most likely looking spot had an Adder laid in it 🙂  It slithered away into the grass and out of sight as we headed on our way.  Our next destination was the southeast Northumberland coast and Druridge Bay.  Despite a concentrated session checking their regular hang-outs we didn’t manage to find any Red Squirrels, although it was cold and windy which doesn’t help.  Birdwatching our way up the coast produced Fulmar soaring along the cliff tops as we ate our lunch,  House andSand Martins hawking insects, Dunlin andGrey Plover feeding up on their way north, and a Grey Heron that had found a rich vein of Eels.  It caught, and consumed, four in less than an hour!  Jane spotted a Roebuckas we drove alongside the fields, and then another two by the River Coquet.  Our final stop was in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, with Common Eider just offshore, as well as waddling up the beach, and a small group of Common Scoter just beyond them.

    With a rich variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, flowers and other wildlife, Northumberland in May really is an excellent destination for the keen naturalist.  I like it almost as much as I like the winter 🙂

  • Damp, dark woodland; Badger safari 17/05/2014

    During Thursday’s Otter Safari, we were chatting about the different mammals that can be encountered in Northumberland and Albert asked whether we had many Badgers in Northumberland.  I described their distribution, and how we go about finding and watching them, and before the evening was finished we’d arranged a Badger mini-safari for Saturday.

    On my way to collect Albert and Elisabeth I was listening to commentary on the FA Cup final and suffered the heartbreak of Aaron Ramsey’s extra time winner for Arsenal (there’s a big cat, not found in Northumberland, that’s very close to my heart!).  We made our way to our regular Badger site, and settled into position.  Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Robins andWrens were all calling as daylight faded, and then the Tawny Owls started hooting and ‘ke-wick’ ing.  At one point there were at least three owls calling, including one close to our spot, and one perched tantalisingly hidden in the canopy high overhead.  As on so many of our Badger trips, the first mammals to appear were Red Foxes – with an adult and two cubs running about on the hillside opposite us, occasionally pausing to stare across the valley with gloom-piercing eyes.  One Badger appeared as well; probably the largest that I’ve ever seen, running along the same track that the foxes had been on, before making it’s way along a trail through the vegetation and into the gloom.

    Sitting with clients who have a real appreciation of mammals, on a damp woodland floor, as daylight fades and the world becomes one of owls, foxes, badgers and inexplicable noises, is one of my favourite things…and for a few hours it even took my mind off ‘that’ goal 🙂