Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Category: Northumberland

Breaking the ice

With Sarah back at work, we finally had some time to go out together on Saturday morning. Watching a procession of cars skidding and sliding along the road outside our house, we decided to leave the Landy on the drive and go for a walk around Choppington Woods. First though, there was an icicle that had been developing steadily over the last two weeks and should have made a good image. Unfortunately it was above our bedroom window so required an uncomfortable, and potentially risky, manouvre.

Rack of icicles above our window

The start of the interesting icicle can be seen along the branch on the right of the image. In total it was over 2 feet long, and dangling above Sarah’s car…

Apparently, in some countries it's illegal to let icicles develop on your property

The first golden light of the day began to selectively illuminate some of the trees around our garden, so I took a quick shot before we went to see if we could find the same light in the woods.

Our patio, golden light and eleven bird feeders

Sarah has, for some time now, been the guinea-pig for the ‘how to take your camera off auto’ approach that we’re employing on our beginners photography courses this year. It’s a good job we’re both so relaxed about things, as a teacher-student relationship between husband and wife has so many potential pitfalls 🙂

We found that golden light that we were searching for and, as photographically beautiful light often does, it offered just a few seconds of opportunity.

A fleeting chance

As we continued our walk, finding tracks of Red Fox, Roe Deer and Otter, Sarah decided to turn her hand to portraiture. Now, I’m much happier behind the lens (and I’ve photographed quite a few weddings, and more baby portraits than I care to remember) but this wasn’t too bad an experience.

As happy as a Polar Bear in snow…

11/01/2010
Snowbound

OK, not quite, but since December 31st we’ve had about a foot of snow in total. I cancelled our Otter Safari on Tuesday for safety reasons. That decision proved to be the right one as we had heavy snowfall on Tuesday afternoon, making the roads even more hazardous than they already were. I drove to Wallsend to collect Sarah from work, and the 13 miles took 80 minutes – and that was mainly on 3 of Northumberland’s major roads (A1068, A19 and A1058). Cars were sliding from one lane to the next and I’m amazed that I didn’t witness any collisions. We’ve been using the Landrover for the last couple of weeks so when Sarah wanted her car to drive to work yesterday we had to dig it out of the snow. I can’t recall having to do that in the 17 years that we’ve lived up here.

For the last day and a bit I’ve had a throat infection so I’ve stayed in the house. That hasn’t been a huge burden though as it’s allowed me to spend a lot of time watching (and filming) the birds around our feeding station. For as long as I can remember, birdwatching has been something that’s always been an option when I’m unwell. The Brambling that Sarah found on Sunday is still around, Long-tailed Tits are visiting much more frequently than they ever have before, the Blackbird count has risen to 9, at least 5 Robins are trying to hold dominion over the patio and flocks of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll are patrolling the edge of Choppington Woods and the bottom of our allotment. Yesterday even a Goldcrest joined the chirping masses around the apple tree. With niger seed, peanuts, fat balls, mixed seed and windfall apples our garden is like an all-you-can-eat buffet. The one notable absentee from our usual list of visitors is Great Spotted Woodpecker, although we did see one in the woods on New Year’s Day. Has one of our neighbours set up a more attractive feeding station? We’d better raise our game, just in case.

07/01/2010
Snowy Sunday

Yesterday we took advantage of the bright sunny weather to visit Druridge Bay and check out a couple of sites in preparation for an otter/badger Safari on Tuesday. We had been out on Saturday with the same intention, but the 35mph+ northeasterly winds, and treacherous road conditions led to an early return home…

As we drove past Cresswell, Sarah spotted a family of Whooper Swans in a roadside field. As they seemed fairly settled, Sarah decided to capture an image of them in the snow. Luckliy we did this there and then, as there was no sign of them when we passed by there an hour later.

Whooper Swans near Bell's Farm

Checking all of the unfrozen water that we could find in southeast Northumberland did eventually produce a brief sighting of an Otter.

Druridge Pools was remarkably photogenic; a handy dog-walker added to the photo opportunities and Teasels are really attractive covered in snow or frost. There was a noticeable movement of Skylarks along the coast as well; 200+ as we walked from the Oddie Hide back to the car.

Druridge in the snow

More attractive than when they're in flower?

Once we were back at home, Sarah was watching the comings and goings at the feeding station when she called through to the living room “Brambling!”. I ran to the window just in time to see it fly over our neighbour’s garden and out of sight. I set the camera up ready and eventually it appeared at the end of our garden with a flock of Chaffinches. Then it vanished again…and appeared in our neighbour’s garden. Another disappearing act and, after what seemed like an eternity, it flew in from the churchyard on the opposite side of our house. That wasn’t the end of the story though, as it hid in the thickest tangles of our apple tree for over an hour before offering up a reasonable shot.

A cracking winter garden visitor

Now I’m back at the desk in my office, collating survey data, preparing newsletters and catching up on e-mails…but I can still see the birds at our feeding station, and a rather optimistic Sparrowhawk displaying over Choppington Woods. A New Year but some old friends; Birdwatching, Northumberland and a dSLR.

04/01/2010
All is quiet

The world around us was cloaked in white as we walked home from The Swan early this morning. A Tawny Owl was calling from the woods, but there was little other sound – muffled as it was by the snow. By the time we woke up, there was a lot more snow than there had been when we finally fell into bed. To shake off the lingering after-effects of Old Year’s Night we decided to take a walk around Choppington Woods, wrapped up warm and armed with a camera. Photography, rather than birdwatching was our main aim, and that was fortunate as there were a lot more birds in our garden than we encountered on the walk; Great, Blue, Coal and Willow Tits, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Bullfinch, Robin, Wren, Dunnock and Blackbird were around the feeders and, bird of the day, a Common Buzzard flying north over our allotment. Snow can make a relatively mundane landscape into a photogenic delight, but exposure calculations can be tricky and we spent a lot of time checking compositions and looking for obvious ‘lead-in’ lines. As we made our way back towards home 350 Pink-footed Geese flew south overhead. Moving ahead of more wintry weather maybe?

The view from our patio 01/01/2010

Willowburn Pasture and a frozen flood

Following in a Moorhen's footsteps

Choppington Woods pond from the new boardwalk

Sarah scanning the trees

Footpath and fence along the Willow Water

01/01/2010
Sloe and steady

After the completion of the thaw yesterday we woke this morning…to a fresh covering of snow 🙂 Now, I make no secret of the fact that I love wintry weather. I’m invigorated by it, my photography is inspired when we’re in the grip of bone-chilling temperatures and a blanket of snow on the ground fills me with joy. I struggle to understand the media apoplexy that greets snowfall each winter. Well, that’s the usual response if that snowfall is anywhere other than Northumberland…

I often wonder what the national media thinks lies between Leeds and Edinburgh? Today was no exception. The national weather forecast on the BBC was concerned with snowfall in the northeast of Scotland. And that was it as far as snowfall was concerned…my only problem was that as we drove up the A1 just north of Morpeth there was a good couple of inches of freshly-fallen snow on the road and we were in a blizzard that brought near white-out conditions. Sarah took this shot using my ‘phone.

Nowhere other than Scotland eh?

The lorry that you can see ahead of us spent most of his journey veering across the carriageway as he lost traction. The cars I could see in our rear view mirror were having similar problems. And us? We were in a proper vehicle 🙂 No problems, just a steady drive to make sure we were a safe distance behind the lorry. That’s the thing about wintry conditions, as long as people understand that things are different there probably isn’t a need for the panic and the mayhem.

We arrived at Lee Moor, and the covering of snow on the ground wasn’t managing to lighten the gloomy conditions a great deal; 09:30 and the sky was as darker than it had been at 8am. Our small group assembled and we set off around the farm trails. The birdwatching was good; a big mixed flock of Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and Tree Sparrows allowed a close approach, Kestrels and Buzzards passed overhead, a solitary Lapwing sat motionless in a snowy field and a covey of Grey Partridges flushed from a well-managed headland. Throughout the frozen woodland Brown Hares were regularly encountered and voles appeared from, then disappeared back into, their snow-holes. The covering of snow also made it easy to follow the tracks of Roe Deer and Red Fox. Back at the farm, Ian provided a delicious lunch of home-made soup, warm bread and mince pies. Then he produced a bottle of Sloe gin. It was a shame Martin was driving as he had 2003, 2004 and 2009 vintages! Sarah enjoyed it…and reminded us that we had a bottle in our drinks cabinet at home…

Lee Moor Farm

In the bleak midwinter

An 'interesting' footpath

Ian, a wooly hat and one of them old-fashioned film camera thingies

That’s it for 2009. Have an enjoyable Old Year’s Night and see you in 2010 🙂

31/12/2009
Along the valley

I must have driven the A69 between Throckley and Haydon Bridge over 1000 times. Working at that corner of the county for three years meant that I had the return journey at all times of year and in all weather conditions. It also meant that I could check out birdwatching sites along the route (at least whenever I set off early enough in a morning…or extended the journey home).

Today we drove that familiar route, traversing the county from east to west, with the snow-covered North Pennine hills away to the south, past Little Owl sites near Ponteland, a couple of fields with Roe Deer (where I first saw them in 2001), several Common Buzzard territories and a Peregrine territory, where there were two birds today – scattering Jackdaws and Lapwings as they went. Astonishing sight of the day was a Fulmar making it’s way E along the valley! I’ve seen them inland before (even our garden has 2 records – and a Fulmar shearing along the allotments is a pretty bizarre sight) but this was almost as far from the sea as you can get in the Northeast. Lapwings were dotted around the snow-covered fields, Fieldfares and Redwings were in the roadside hedges and Kestrels were hovering intently over the verge.

Eventually we arrived at our destination, Poltross Wild Bird Foods, where we caught up with Martin and Jose and had a chat about the ongoing battle to save the Red Squirrel. With a car boot filled with bird and squirrel food we drove back east and set about replenishing all of the feeders. Almost immediately the garden filled with birds, including 8 Long-tailed Tits and a dozen Chaffinches. The predicted return of bitterly cold weather is likely to lead to a daily re-filling of the feeders. Maybe we’ll even resurrect the Choppington Woods feeding station, although I think ourselves and all of our neighbours are providing an adequate supply…and the feeders are safer when they’re in our gardens 😉

30/12/2009
A change in the weather

The feeders in our garden have been busier in the last couple of days than at any time during this winter. No less than 6 Blackbirds have taken up residence, 3 or 4 Robins are posturing and defending territories, a steady stream of Blue, Great and Coal Tits, along with our 2 regular Willow Tits, are emptying the feeders rapidly and a flock of 8 Long-tailed Tits are putting in daily appearances. Chaffinch numbers are way down on previous winters, but Greenfinches are now almost ever-present during daylight hours and three pairs of Bullfinches are never far away. It’s interesting that, even on a very short-distance scale, there’s such a noticeable movement of birds from their ‘normal’ habitat (Choppington Woods) to the gardens around the edge of the woods whenever the weather turns colder. Birdwatching doesn’t get any easier than sitting in the kitchen, glass of port in one hand and a slice of Christmas cake in the other 🙂

First thing this morning everything was frozen solid again. However, by lunchtime when Martin took Dad to the railway station there was a noticeable thaw – even though the thermometer was showing the temperature having only just crept above freezing. Then it started to rain and most of the remaining patches of ice and snow vanished. The birds were still around in the numbers of recent days though and, if the weather forecasts are anything to go by, we’re in for some more very hard winter weather at the end of this year and the start of the new one. Wrap up warm.

29/12/2009
Skating on thin ice

After seeing my photos appearing in Martin’s blog posts for the last couple of days, I thought I’d turn my hand to writing today’s blog.

I started the day by taking my father-in-law for a birdwatching walk around Choppington Woods although, with everything frozen solid, there were very few birds to be seen. We did find a couple of distant Roe Deer but, on the whole, the walk consisted of a consistent attempt to not fall on the ice. With the partial thaw and heavy rain of yesterday, followed by another hard freeze overnight, all of the footpaths were covered with a treacherous layer of transparent ice. A couple we passed were complaining about their new walking boots not being any help to remaining upright.

Back at home, lunch was home-made vegetable soup, baked ham and a selection of cheeses. Just the thing in this weather. Martin had spent the whole morning in bed with a sore throat, ear-ache and a splitting headache; probably the outcome of having a puncture on the Landrover late last night and being outside in the bitter cold…without a hat or gloves! I have to wonder sometimes…

He did perk up a bit once lunch was ready though, and then spent most of the afternoon processing and backing-up the images from the last few days. Tomorrow the plan (weather permitting) is to try and photograph Kingfishers, and to get closer shots of Roe Deer. Good job we’ve got two cameras 🙂

28/12/2009
I prefer snow…

We set off for Holy Island this morning with a clear objective in mind for the journey – photograph a Little Owl. Many years ago one of my fellow photography students produced a series of excellent images of Tawny Owls and explained his technique for finding the birds. Needless to say, the hard work was done in the dark. Finding Little Owls in daylight isn’t uncommon although I’ve realised in the last couple of weeks that, especially when all the trees are bare of leaves, it’s easier to find them at night. We stopped off at one of the sites I’ve been watching regularly and there, in beautiful light for photography, was a Little Owl. Sarah has been developing (no pun intended) as a photographer, so I manouvered the Landrover into position as she took the shot…with my new D300s.

Who are you looking at?

The highlight of the remainder of the journey north was a large flock of Linnets, with a few Brambling mixed in, swirling backwards and forwards as a male Merlin darted across the field they were in. A covey of Grey Partridges sat tight just long enough for Sarah to fire the shutter again.

Partridges…nowhere near a Pear tree

As we neared Holy Island the rain began, and by the start time for our walk it was icy and heavy. Not the highlight of the day.

Well, with today’s images processed and added to our ‘Northumberland in the Winter’ presentation we’re on our way out now to entertain a group of holidaymakers who may need cheering up 🙂

27/12/2009
Winter walks

There’s little that’s better than going for a walk with snow on the ground. On Christmas Day I took dad for a walk around Choppington Woods, mainly so we weren’t under Sarah’s feet 😉 Today all three of us walked along the River Blyth and through the dunes in Druridge Bay. The traditional boxing Day pheasant shoots in the woodland of Druridge Bay provided an ‘interesting’ aural backdrop. I’ve had some fascinating conversations about hunting recently, with wildlife photographers and with friends who have hunted for several years. What some people may find surprising is that two apparently disparate groups have much in common; not least a love and appreciation of the countryside. Wildlife- and birdwatching with a camera may have a very different outcome (certainly for the wildlife) from hunting, with the only thing getting fired being a camera shutter, and the only things getting shot being images of wildlife, but there’s a lot we can learn as photographers and wildlife watchers, from the techniques employed by hunters. Wildlife crime may still be a major issue in many areas, but that’s a topic for another blog on another day.

With NEWT events on Holy Island, in the Harthope Valley and around Lee Moor Farm before the end of the year, and places to go and things to photograph on our days ‘off’ in-between, we’re looking forward to the last five days of 2009. Here are a few images from today:

It may be a cliche…

Captured in the split-second before it noticed me

Northumberland's iconic mammal

Dashing through the snow

Roe doe and Roe buck

26/12/2009