Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Category: Southeast Northumberland

  • Life through a (magnifying) lens; Family mini-beast hunt 21/07/2014

    Our routine (if anything involving wildlife can ever be routine…) safari trips have brought some remarkable experiences for our clients, and for us too.  ‘Big stuff’ (for want of a better a description) is always popular; Red Squirrel, Otter, White-beaked Dolphin, Badger, Minke Whale are just a few examples of those perpetual crowd-pleasers.  Sometimes though, I think we may lose a sense of perspective and forget that the ecosystem has a lot of ‘little stuff’ too…

    I collected Penny, Nathan, Alfie, Arthur and Millie from Alnmouth and we set off for a morning in southeast Northumberland.  I armed the two boys with compact binoculars, and Millie with one of my favorite bits of kit 🙂  Sarah, all of our friends and relatives, and many of our clients know that I’m a bit of a gear geek…but a 23mm 10x doublet hand lens is a relatively simple instrument that opens up a world that is quite remarkable.  The boys used the binoculars to look at insects, flowers, grass, the sky and anything else that was in front of us, and Millie learned how to use a hand lens.  With a sample pot as our other toy of choice for the morning we captured, observed and released hoverflies, moths, soldier beetles, a Common Blue Damselfly, a Bee Fly and all sorts of weird and wonderful mini-beasties.

    The enthusiasm of Alfie, Arthur and Millie reminded me that, every so often, I need to stop looking up into the sky or out to sea and look down at the small world around our feet 🙂

  • Marshland magic; Druridge Bay 04/07/2014

    I love all of the different locations that we visit on our tours, but a day around NEWT’s local patch of Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland is always special.  Maybe because it’s so close to home, maybe because of the incredible industrial heritage that has gradually been transformed into fantastic wildlife habitat or maybe just because it’s really, really good 🙂

    I collected Sue from Church Point and we headed north up the coast.  A brood of Goosanders were perched on mid-stream rocks as Grey Wagtails flitted back and forth across our field of view, tails wagging vigorously each time they settled before flycatching again just above the water.  An insistent squawking made us turn our heads – and there was a brood of Blackbird fledglings, just a few metres away, watching us with curiosity as their parents brought food.  Great Crested Grebes, Gadwall and Tufted Duck all had young in attendance too and, as is often the case once we reach July, a lot of our attention was taken by wading birds.  30+ Black-tailed Godwits were sleeping as a Common Sandpiper bobbed around their feet, a group of unusually obliging Common Snipe fed out in the open water, black-bellied Dunlin searched purposefully around the godwits, Redshank stalked along the pool edge and into the longer vegetation and three Wood Sandpipers added a touch of ‘scarce’ to the afternoon.  Two Spoonbills spent most of the time, as Spoonbills do, sleeping until a helicopter passing over roused them from their slumber and they did a fly-around before settling back to their previous spot and immediately returning to sleep close to a Little Egret.  Juvenile Marsh Harriers were making short flights over reedbeds, Reed Buntings were still singing their simple song with enthusiasm and a pair of Avocets with four chicks launched repeated furious assaults on any other birds that came too close; Shelduck, Little Ringed Plover, Sandwich Tern, Black-headed Gull and even the ‘so cute they surely couldn’t do any harm’ Little Gulls all came in for a hard time as the young Avocets pottered about in the shallows.

    A great day with a lovely client (we don’t have any other type!) and even the added bonus of bumping into my favourite double act, Gavin and Syd 🙂

  • Pyramids; mini-Safari 22/06/2014

    You’ll probably be familiar with the concept of ‘pyramid of numbers’, but there’s a loop in that pyramid and I spend a lot of my time  on the wrong end of it…

    I collected Boyd and Louise from Newton and we headed south along the Northumberland coast to search around our favourite Otter sites.  Ducks were staring intently at one reedbed (where we suspect an Otter has been resting regularly over the last few weeks) as clouds of midges (extremely numerous) were predated by Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins (not so numerous).  A thick carpet of insects (extremely numerous) trapped in the surface of a river were greedily gobbled up by shoals of small fish (not so numerous).  With the setting sun illuminating it from behind like an avenging angel, a Barn Owl (scarce) plunged repeatedly into the rank vegetation before emerging with a small mammal (not at all scarce).  Example after example that typify the pyramid of numbers…

    …but, of course, there’s that loop I mentioned before.  Midges (numerous almost beyond measure) munching away merrily on me (really not numerous) 🙁  I don’t know what attraction I hold for these tiny menaces, but there clearly is one.  I’ve been bitten in March, well before any self-respecting midge should be on the wing, and my latest bite in any year was on November 4th.  I sat on a heather covered hillside one day, watching a Hen Harrier nest, attracting a veritable plague of Horseflies in the process, and on a camping trip in 2006, Sarah erected our tent while I, and these are Sarah’s words rather than mine “rolled around on the grass, crying like a little girl”.  A few years ago, during the Q&A session at the end of a talk I’d given, we were asked the question “How do you avoid being bitten by insects”.  Without a moment’s hesitation, Sarah provided the answer “I stand next to Martin” 🙂

  • Putting the bite on; Bespoke safari 20/06/2014

    Some wildlife is popular with everyone, some isn’t popular with many people at all, and some, despite the best efforts of Springwatch/Autumnwatch/Winterwatch…

    I met up with Niel and Nicky at Church Point, and we set out on an exploration of Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.  Despite several incidents involving agitated ducks, indicating that they were worried about something in the reeds, we didn’t manage a sighting of any Otters.  The typical quality birdwatching of the Northumberland coast in late June was still in evidence, with at least 5 Avocets and 11 Little Gulls among the throng.  A tiny Tufted Duck travelled back and forth across the water, in what appeared to be an unsuccessful search for it’s parents then, as the sun dropped towards the horizon, we headed to our regular Badger site.

    Intriguingly, no Badgers appeared – which is unusual at a site where we have a 95% success rate – but, as at least three Tawny Owls began penetrating the gloom with their eerie calls, the sharp alarms of Blackbird, Robin and Song Thrush heralded the arrival of another mammal that inhabits the darker parts of the day.  Bloodthirsty killer of farmyard chickens, attempted abductor of babes from cribs in the south of England…whichever way you look at it the Red Fox gets a bad press…which sadly glosses over just what wonderful animals they are.  Sleek, beautiful, playful…we watched as three adults trotted across the clearing in front of us.  As Niel photographed one peering from the undergrowth (oh, for a Nikon D4!), I lifted my binoculars and realised that there were three small cubs chasing around too 🙂  Two of the adults, and the three cubs, disappeared along a track up the hill, and then the adults came out into the clearing again, presumably having tucked the kids up safely in bed.  Pipistrelle bats were flitting across our field of view as we conceded that our vision could no longer penetrate the enveloping dark.

    Love them or hate them, there’s no denying that foxes have a real magic…a bit like Luis Suarez 🙂

  • 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 🙂

  • Causing a commotion; Otter mini-safari 15/05/2014

    “If you usually travel through Northumberland to get to Scotland, what is it about Northumberland that made you choose to stay here on this holiday?”  I asked the question as a bit of market research; after all, knowing why people visit Northumberland helps with developing a better experience for them.  The answer was slightly unexpected though “This otter safari”…

    I arrived at Church Point shortly before Philip and Pauline, who were back for their second trip with NEWT following a Druridge Bay safari in 2012.  We quickly met up with Albert and Elisabeth and began our search for Otters in the pools of Druridge Bay.  With no obvious panic amongst the assembled wildfowl, I decided that we should try elsewhere.  Initially all seemed calm and, as an entertaining discussion about mustelids developed (with all four participants on the trip having previously seen one species that is still very high on my wish list…), I kept checking the ducks and geese along the water’s edge.  Then, a change; two pairs of Canada Geese were suddenly very alert.  Necks held straight up, all staring intently along the river bank.  That was a good sign.  Then a better one, as a brood of Mallard ducklings scattered in a semi-circle from the bankside vegetation.  Something had spooked them, but what was it?  For the next five minutes I kept my binoculars trained on the spot that the Mallards had scattered from.  First there was no indication of what had scared them, but it had to be something…then persistence paid off.  What appeared to be a log floating on the water hadn’t been there the last time I looked, and it rolled at the surface, dived and popped back up 🙂  Using the shapes of the trees on the bank as landmarks, everyone was soon watching the Otter as it dived repeatedly in the same spot.  It was so fixated on feeding in a very small area that I was able to train the telescope on it and everyone managed to watch it through ‘scope as well as binoculars.  It vanished for a few minutes, before the geese alerted us to it’s presence a little way downstream.  As daylight faded the surface of the river became a featureless, unwelcoming darkness as bats flitted back and forth around the tree canopy and we headed back.

  • Now you see them, now you don’t; mini-safari 22/03/2014

    To many people, the natural world around them is a bit of a mystery.  I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been in a hide, people have come in, gazed quizzically out of the shutters, very quietly said “there’s nothing here” and left…oblivious to all of the wildlife that was actually there 🙂  Sometimes though, there’s a lot of wildlife that even we haven’t noticed…

    I arrived at Church Point and collected Jillian and Clive & Lucie and Anna, and we set off on an exploration of the Northumberland Coast from Druridge Bay to Alnmouth.  A stiff breeze was ruffling the water’s surface as Cormorants roosted, with that look of prehistoric menace that they do so well, Little Grebes dived and Wigeon grazed.  Curlew flew by and, as several noisy pairs of Canada Geese and Greylag Geese honked in alarm at an unseen danger, I was wondering where the bigger goose flocks were.  We hadn’t heard them, there hadn’t been any distant skeins breaking the skyline, nothing in fact to suggest there were any other geese around.  Then, we had help from the heavens above…as the RAF Sea King helicopter flew over from the south.  Suddenly, the sky was filled with nearly one thousand agitated, yapping, Pink-footed Geese.  They’d presumably been feeding just out of view behind a hedge, quietly getting on with the serious business of feeding up ready for the journey back north that they’ll soon be undertaking.  As the helicopter disappeared to the north the geese settled back down, and again they were very unobtrusive.

    Our dusk destination was a little stretch of river that we’ve visited regularly in recent weeks.  Moorhens were patrolling the reed edges, a Grey Heron flew across the river and perched in a tree, before  flying westwards towards the sunset behind another heron, Sea Trout were swirling, leaping, and sipping hapless insects from the surface and the only thing missing from the idyllic setting was our favourite predator…

  • Rain song in beautiful light; Northumberland Birdwatching 12/03/2014

    Last Wednesday was a trip I’d been looking forward to for some time.  Janice and David have visited Northumberland annually for many years and it was David’s 50th birthday so Janice had arranged an afternoon out for him 🙂

    Arriving at Cresswell, I was impressed by the naked-eye view of a Red-throated Diver from the window of the cottage, and we were soon on our way up the coast, for an afternoon’s birdwatching concentrating on locations where there is a better than average chance of seeing an Otter.  David is a keen reader of some of our local birdwatching blogs and it wasn’t long before we bumped into a familiar name as we enjoyed East Chevington’s quartet of grebes – Little, Great Crested, Slavonian and Red-necked – in the company of Alan Gilbertson, who showed us an image he’d taken of Bean Geese at Hauxley.  Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Long-tailed Duck, Tufted Duck, Teal, Wigeon, Mallard and Gadwall were all stunning in the beautiful afternoon light and we continued on our way.  The closure of one of the footpaths at Hauxley was going to make viewing the geese slightly tricky, as we’d have to be looking into the sun.  We managed to find one spot that gave us a good view of the birds and, after we’d sifted through plenty of Greylag, Canada and Pink-footed Geese, which were obligingly on the pool rather than on a distant field, I spotted the brown wings and orange legs of a Tundra Bean Goose, which was asleep but woke to allow excellent comparison with the Pinkfeet.

    On to a delightful spot that we’ve been checking recently for Otter, and the songs of Wren, Greenfinch and Goldfinch filled the air, as well as the persistent ‘rain song’ of a male Chaffinch, a Dipper came along the river, calling, and secreted itself away from view under the bridge we were standing on, a Grey Wagtail flew over calling, a Common Buzzard glided low over the trees and a flock of Curlew rose noisily from nearby fields.  The Chaffinch and his mate were busy helping themselves to flies that were trapped in spider webs, and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers really looked at their best in the sublime low sunlight.

    Our final port of call was Cresswell Pond, which was bathed in warm orange sunlight with the tops of the reeds appearing to be aflame as the sun sank closer and closer to the horizon.  Common Snipe were roosting at the water’s edge and a Starling murmuration twisted and turned above the skyline to the north as the light faded and I returned David back to the cottage.  Incredibly, five hours had quite simply flown past as we enjoyed an afternoon birdwatching and chatting about wind farms, raptor persecution, marine conservation and Scottish independence.  Do you know, you can easily tie all of those topics together 🙂

  • A trio of Grebes and a splash in the gloom

    Tuesday and Wednesday were mini-safaris for one family, but different participants each day; Sue, Phil, Sandra and Inez on Tuesday and Sue (again), Jacqui, Paul and Hannah on Wednesday.

    Both days featured lots of waders and wildfowl; Redshank, Common Snipe, Curlew, Lapwing, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Goldeneye, Pintail, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon and Red-breasted Merganser were all very obliging, with the ducks particularly stunning, and the Goldeneye engaging in their quite captivating display.  Moorhens picking scraps off a skeleton at the edge of Cresswell Pond were described as ‘totally gross’ by Inez, and it isn’t easy to argue with that summation 🙂

    Although the two days were similar, there were some notable differences; Tuesday produced Slavonian and Red-necked Grebes, alongside the Little Grebes that we saw on both days, and Wednesday featured Water Rail and Roe Deer.  Wednesday also produced a very brief Otter encounter, as a dark shape rolled at the surface in the deepening gloom, crossed the river and rolled again as the local Mallards stared in terror into the darkness.