The North Pennines may not have the highest species density of any of the areas that we visit but, in terms of peace, tranquility and solitude, it takes some beating.
On Friday morning I drove to Corbridge to collect Lesley and David, two of our Prestige clients, for a day of birdwatching around Northumberland’s remote border. As we headed southwest the landscape became wilder and with less of any obvious human influence. Curlew, Lapwing, Golden Plover and Snipe may be common sights on the coast in the winter but, on remote moorland in the spring, they’re transformed into something other-worldly.
Some of the North Pennines flowers are quite stunning as well; Mountain Pansy, Scottish Asphodel, swathes of Cotton Grass waving in the breeze and, my own favourite, Spring Gentian. we found no less than 20 gentians, including a group of 11 at a spot where last year there were only 4. As we used a hand lens to admire the remarkable structures of lichens on the rocks in a deep narrow gorge, the bird species that are typical of that habitat type entertained us; a family of Dippers were feeding in the fast-flowing water, with the juveniles clearly hesitant to take the plunge, Grey Wagtails were flycatching and a Ring Ouzel flew from a pile of boulders. The afternoon continued with a family of Red Grouse and then a small group of Black Grouse. As is often the case these were all Blackcock, engaging in some half-hearted lekking in the afternoon sunshine.
After returning Lesley and David to their holiday cottage, stumbling across a Hobby mobbed by hirundines on the way, I headed home, then out to a 30th birthday party (Happy Birthday Kerry!), then to The Swan before going home, checking everything in readiness for Saturday’s 2 Safaris, and hitting the pillow.
Today was the first of two Prestige Tours organised as a 40th birthday surprise. With our destination being the North Pennines, the tour where we cross the border from Northumberland into Upper Teesdale, the mist, drizzle and general murk first thing this morning didn’t look too promising. Sometimes, though, the less promising days prove to be the really memorable ones…
Checking one of our favourite Black Grouse sites there were no birds in the field close to the road. However, after watching that site for the last two years I guessed that the birds were probably at a lek site away across the moor. Sure enough, we soon found three birds sitting around, another two flew in a few seconds later and then the lek started. The cold wind and icy rain was barely noticeable as the birds postured around the clumps of rush. More sightings of Black Grouse followed, including birds at two sites where I hadn’t seen them before; one of them producing excellent views of a Blackcock sitting near the road, and a rather more shy and retiring Greyhen. Across in Upper Teesdale the views of Blackcock got even better, and were accompanied by drumming Snipe and displaying Curlew.
The walk to Cauldron Snout can seem bleak and devoid of wildlife but it is there; watching from amongst the heather were Red Grouse, some more Red Grouse, stunning Golden Plover and even more Red Grouse. Meadow Pipits flitted back and forth, Snipe were calling, Curlew were singing their eerie song over the moorland and Lapwings demonstrated that their display flight and calls both defy belief.
One of the best days we’ve had in two years of NEWT.
I spent the last three days guiding a familiarisation trip around the northeast, showcasing the landscape, wildlife and birdwatching of Northumberland, the North Pennines and Tees Valley for two wildlife officers and the development manager from ORCA (Organisation Cetacea).
My main input was to the 2nd and 3rd days, as I had another booking for the 1st day so only joined the group late in the afternoon on a rather wet Northumberland coast.
Day 2 dawned bright and dry at home but, as I passed Morpeth, it looked wet and misty ahead. The main road to Rothbury had been closed by flooding so a detour via the moors and past Cragside was necessary. We met up with Gill Thompson, the Northumberland National Park ecologist, and parked at Lordenshaws for a walk up Simonside. It was cold, snowy and exhilarating and we walked up to the start of the ridge. Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Red Grouse were all seen as we climbed.
Steph, Kathryn and Martin on the ridge above Lordenshaws
Returning to the car we set off to drive across to Otterburn, round the base of Simonside. That ran into a slight problem as, although we were fine in the Landy, Gill’s car couldn’t get through one of the floods we encountered. I continued with the girls and Gill backtracked to Rothbury to find an open route to Otterburn. After an excellent lunch at Otterburn Mill we headed towards Kielder Water and Forest Park. A drive along a forest road that isn’t publically accessible produced excellent views of Roe Deer and Common Buzzard…in increasingly heavy snowfall. At the Kielder Castle visitor centre there was excellent information provided about Ospreys, Goshawks, Tawny Owls, Red Squirrels and Hen Harriers. We also visited the two wildlife hides at Bakethin and Leaplish. Crossbills were calling in the tree tops, Goldeneye were displaying on the reservoir and the feeding station was a hive of activity, with Chaffinches, Coal Tits and an elusive Treecreeper. As we returned to the dam wall and waved goodbye to Shona, it was time to head to Hadrian’s Wall. Gill provided an excellent description of the wall, it’s history and the geology of the area while we were at Steel Rigg. Then, after a long day out it was time to travel the short distance to Saughy Rigg Farm; our accommodation for the night and also where were having dinner, hosted by the Kielder Partnership. The welcome, accommodation, evening meal and breakfast at Saughy Rigg were as outstanding as ever and it was good to chat to Sian and Shaun (who were both students at Haydon Bridge High School when I was teaching there).
Yesterday was our North Pennines day. I went out for a walk at 6am, and it was a beautiful Spring morning; Curlews were displaying and the early rays of sunlight were highlighting the contours and crevices of the landscape at their very best. After a breakfast that would set anyone up for being stranded in the middle of nowhere, Black Grouse was clearly high on the wanted list and I’d devised a route that would take in my top 2 sites for this handsome bird. The first obstacle was a vintage Triumph, completely blocking the road with it’s front wheels in a ditch where it had hit a patch of black ice. We manouvered our cars (Stephen had been away at a meeting the day before so was now travelling behind us) and a van to safety, in case the Triumph started sliding once it was back on the road. Thankfully that was accomplished without any problems and we continued. We would have checked one Black Grouse site and then re-traced our route, but that patch of black ice on a sharp downhill bend led to a change of plan and we took the road from Allendale to Carrshield instead…
As we crossed the moor there was a thin layer of snow on the road, but there were tyre tracks coming from the other direction so we continued. Stephen was following our tracks and then, at the high point of the road, the Landy skidded on some hidden ice, juddered and stopped. Snow was drifting in faster than we could shovel it away and we couldn’t get any traction to free us from the drift. Other vehicles from either direction were getting into difficulty in less snow than we had and…to cut a long story short…the entire incident involved two Landrovers, a family estate car and a snow plough all stuck fast, a team of drivers busy shovelling snow, two snapped tow ropes and Steph and Kathryn using the supplies (and flasks of boiling water) from the back of our Landy to provide coffee and hot chocolate to keep everyone warm. (Note to self; keep two shovels in the Landy in future!).
Once we we free from the drift, and checked that everyone else was able to continue, we headed on and found two excellent Blackcocks by the side of the road. Across to Langdon Beck and our (delayed) rendezvous with Shane Harris from the North Pennines AONB Partnership. As we re-structured the schedule Shane said “can anyone hear hissing?”. Yes, after all the effort we’d put into trying to get some traction with our offside front tyre…it was punctured. Just a minor inconvenience really so, with the spare wheel on, we had lunch at the Bowlees visitor centre (where the weather was positively summery), walked along the river at Low Force and then drove all the way down the Tees Valley to visit RSPB Saltholme. Finally, I dropped the girls at Royal Quays, ready for their first sailing this afternoon.
As Stephen put it at the end of the trip “A real Northern Experience!”.
With Spring drawing ever closer, and our North Pennines Safaris starting in just over a month, we decided to spend Sunday checking all of our regular Black Grouse sites. Although the winter may have been expected to do some real damage to the population, we managed to find 24 Blackcocks and 9 Greyhens, split between 4 sites. Birdwatching in the North Pennines, whether in Northumberland, County Durham or Cumbria, is always a pleasure and accompanied by a sense of wilderness.
A Common Buzzard perched by the roadside allowed just a second to capture this image before it was off and away over the trees.
Common Buzzard, Allendale, Northumberland 14/02/10
On the way to Upper Teesdale we found a ‘new’ site for Black Grouse, one which should, with patience, produce some excellent photo opportunities. Across at a traditional lek site, one enthusiastic male was letting fly all on his own, while 7 Greyhens watched him, presumably with a mixture of boredom and pity.
Do you come here often?I told you already, I'm not interested.
As the weather deteriorated and visibility decreased, we stopped to check another site which has held 3 or 4 birds in the last couple of years. As we drove along the road a Blackcock flew across in front of us and vanished behind a drystone wall. We approached slowly, and incredibly there were no less than 8 2nd year Blackcocks, all feeding quietly within a few metres of us. The lack of sunlight detracts from the image, but it’s an addition to our Blackgame photography locations.
Blackcock, Allendale, Northumberland 14/02/10
As the rain intensified, we spotted a pair of Roe Deer in a field near Cramlington. Venturing into the realms of ISO 3200 allowed a record shot before we returned home.
Roe Doe and Roebuck, Cramlington, Northumberland, 14/02/10
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 😉
