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The surface of Catcleugh Reservoir reflected the beauty of the surrounding hills and the serenity of the Whooper Swans, as the hills themselves reflected the eerie calls of these winter visitors from the north. The air was icy but absolutely still; a sublime start to a day in the Cheviot valleys. Buzzards perched on fence posts or beat their wings furiously trying to find those elusive thermals, Kestrels hovered above the heather, Green Woodpeckers yaffled indignantly as we passed through their plantation, Great-spotted Woodpeckers jumped from branch to branch before scaling the heights of the tree trunks, Goldcrests and Coal Tits flitted restlessly among the bare branches, Red Grouse engaged in vigorous pursuit from one side of the valley to the other, Dipper and Grey Wagtail raced along the streams and a Brown Hare sat, unmoved by our presence, in a field that was also hosting a Grey Heron. The pink, orange, yellow, red and grey of the sunset framed the sudden appearance of Jupiter and Venus and dark descended. End of November? Limited daylight? It has a magic all of its own.

After a couple of days confined to the office, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go for a walk in the woods as daylight faded to black. The Goldcrest invasion shows no sign of abating, with birds in nearly every tree and shrub that I passed. A real bonus was 5 Waxwings, flying in to roost on the old pit heap. If you haven’t caught up with any of these stunning birds yet then keep looking; there’s been a substantial influx in the last month. Wandering through the wood I found myself face-to-face with a Roe Deer, which looked curiously at me for a few seconds before bounding off through the trees. Bank Voles were scrabbling around in the fallen leaves at my feet and, right on cue, a Tawny Owl started it’s quavering song. Other owls responded from the trees around me and a Red Squirrel on it’s way to bed clucked angrily as it passed through the branches above my head. Canada Geese and Mallards were calling in flight as they passed over the wood and I was startled as a Woodcock burst from the ground just a few feet in front of me. Heading back along the footpath, my dark-adjusted eyes were just about enough to keep me out of the deep puddles…

I’ve been confined to the office for the last couple of days; my car is off the road for repairs, and I’ve got a lot of admin stuff to catch up on. My office window still allows me to see the comings and goings of our local birds though; thrushes come out of the wood every morning and fly east over the house, then back again every evening. Cormorants are now seen every day, although I’m still not sure where they’re going because the direction they fly seems random. Our feeding station is depleting at a rate of about 0.5kg per day (as much as 1.5kg in less than 8 hours when it snows or there’s a heavy frost) and both Coal Tit and Blue Tit numbers have increased to the point where there can be 10+ of each at the feeders at any time. Bullfinch numbers have increased as well, since the first pair returned to our garden at the end of October. Now there are 5 or 6 of these stunning birds around the feeders for most of the day. It’s a species that occupies a special place in my heart because I can still recall my first one from nearly 40 years ago; a haughty male with his brilliant red body, sitting quietly in the tangled bramble bush in our garden. He made an impression that has lasted through several decades of my life and will surely never leave.

I spent a few very enjoyable hours yesterday morning at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust visitor centre at Washington (Tyne and Wear, not D.C.!). While I was still teaching I led a few school outings to the centre, and I was impressed by how it has changed in the last few years. Although a major part of what the centre is about is the captive wildfowl collection, that isn’t all there is to it. The habitat management makes the area excellent for wild birds and the feeding station had an impressive number of birds visiting it. There were so many Bullfinches, Nuthatches, tits and finches that it was almost impossible to decide which feeder to watch. I was very interested to hear about the captive breeding programmes the centre is undertaking as well. And the upshot of my visit? Northern Experience will be offering some exciting new birdwatching activities in 2009, and WWT Washington will be a part of that.

We were in Wooler last night, quite close to one of our favourite areas of Northumberland – the Harthope Valley. The road into the valley was closed for a time after the devastating floods of early September, but is thankfully re-opened now. Looking into the darkness of the hills around us my mind was transported to the ford at Coldgate Mill and the clear, cascading water, with its Dippers, Goosanders, Common Sandpipers and Grey Wagtails. Driving back down the A697, the lack of light pollution meant that the sky was jet black and sprinkled with the tiny pin-points of a myriad of stars. Even when we reached the hazy orange glow of Morpeth, we were still carrying some of the unspoilt countryside in our hearts and minds. That’s the spell that Northumberland casts.