Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Category: Southeast Northumberland

  • Wax(w)ing lyrical

    Yesterday was a Druridge Bay Safari and, after collecting Katrina, Craig and their boys from Church Point, I was astonished to see how much snow was on the ground as we drove towards Cresswell.  A Stoat played hide-and-seek with us…and proved to be masterful 🙂

    The plummeting overnight temperatures had frozen nearly all of the pools along the bay.  Each one still had it’s own little area of open water though, and these held a lot of ducks.  Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Tufted Duck and, almost indescribably handsome, a drake Pintail were all enjoyed by everyone.  A mixed herd of Whooper and Mute Swans provided an identification diversion and a few Pink-footed Geese flying over nearby fields alerted us to the presence of several thousand feeding below them.  After marvelling as the entire flock lifted into the air we were then transfixed by a Barn Owl hunting over the reedbeds at Cresswell.  A brief detour into Ashington for a spot of birdwatching, Northumberland housing estate style, where we had excellent views, and enjoyed the trilling calls, of 37 Waxwings, was followed by a walk along the Wansbeck.  With bone-chilling temperatures, not a breath of wind, and a river that was mirror-like the walk was sublime. We don’t get a lot of days like that, but they always feel special when we do.  Goldcrests called from the trees, Canada Geese were clamouring around Castle Island and almost the entire length of river that we walked along was dotted with Goldeneye, as the sun dropped below the horizon.

  • The (h)edge of reason

    We’re well into warm(er) weather now, although there was a fresh covering of snow this morning and as Martin sat through a 2hr meeting at Matfen Hall yesterday morning there was steady snowfall throughout.

    As well as the flocks of birds that are visiting gardens so that they can find enough food to survive we’ve been finding reasonable flocks of farmland birds.  One flock we’ve been watching has lots of Linnets, Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers and at least 12 Bramblings.  They’ve found a wheat field that hadn’t been harvested so there was a substantial food source above the snowline even at the weekend when there was still a lot of snow on the ground.

    Patience was the key to watching them.  Standing motionless meant that they were willing to approach to within the minimum focusing distance of our 500mm lens.  Well worth the discomfort of standing in one place in sub-zero temperatures 🙂

    Mixed flock in a hedge, a warming winter birdwatching sight
    Mixed flock in a hedge, a warming winter birdwatching sight
    Brambling and Reed Buntings
    Brambling and Reed Buntings
    5 of the Bramblings
    5 of the Bramblings
    Linnet
    Linnet
    Reed Bunting
    Reed Bunting
    Reed Bunting
    Reed Bunting
    Yellowhammer
    Yellowhammer
    Yellowhammer
    Yellowhammer

    Of course, with so many birds concentrated in one small area it was inevitable that ours weren’t the only eyes watching them.  Through the camera lens there was a rush of wings as everything took off, a blur across the viewfinder and then an opportunity for a morbid portrait.

    Who ended up on the menu?
    Who ended up on the menu?

  • A mixed weekend

    Saturday saw us making the short journey to Newbiggin, to attend the launch event for Scone Mad. Colin and Jackie, the owners of Nevins Nibbles, have an incredible range of scones and the public were voting to select the 100th variety. With the contenders including Jelly Bean, Boost and Chili & chocolate, the competition was going to be close. We’re looking forward to finding out the identity of the winner. Even this interlude had a birdwatching theme; 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls were soaring over Newbiggin as we sat out in the sun, and Nevins Nibbles has played host in the past to meetings of the legendary collection of hardy, seabird-obsessed Northumberland residents that form SWAN (Sea Watchers at Newbiggin).

    Later that afternoon we headed to Redesdale to pre-walk the route for this Wednesday’s ‘Birds of Redesdale’ walk. Common Sandpipers were swee-wee-wee-wee-weeing along the river, Roe Deer were bounding through the long grass and Painted Ladies were seen in very good numbers.

    Sunday was our first stint as wardens at the Osprey Watchpoint in Kielder Water and Forest Park. Over 80 visitors were entertained and informed by the four wardens and the weather was glorious (for most of the time anyway…). After 7 hours at the watchpoint we were driving home – towards some ominous looking clouds. Sure enough, the first drops of rain began to hit the windscreen, and then the heavens opened. Thunder and lightning accompanied the deluge and we rounded a bend only to find a cyclist in the middle of the road. The chain had come off his bike so, with the thunderstorm inching closer we suggested that he put himself and the bike in the back of our car. The journey to Morpeth saw us driving through a lot of deep flooded roads so he would have struggled to get himself home without getting into real difficulty. We dropped him at Ashington and eventually we arrived home, with a 1hr journey having taken 2hrs, and steaming mugs of hot chocolate were in order as we dried out.

  • A change in the weather

    Clear frosty nights are what we’re enjoying at the moment. After several days of strong westerly winds (that have uprooted our garden fence again) we’ve got a gentle easterly breeze and clear skies. We left the house at 9:15 last night and walked along the River Wansbeck. Mute Swans were feeding serenely, Rabbits were scattering in front of us, a Herring Gull was dive-bombing a Grey Heron (and kept up the assault even once the heron got the message and flew upstream) and Dunlin were callling in display over the tidal mud. The staccato rattle of the bat detector alerted us to Common Pipistrelles, hunting the few insects that were braving the cold night air. We’ve blogged before about the transition from day to night in the autumn and winter, but it’s a special time of day at any time of the year.