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Winter must be coming…
…if the rapid decrease of the seed levels in my bird feeders is anything to go by. Long-tailed Tits are visiting the garden again and Blue, Great and Coal Tits are almost ever present. It’s a long time since I was a small child but I can still remember vividly the excitement when we first…
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The debt we owe…
No, not a blog entry about the current economic crisis that is gripping most of the world, but rather the thought that arose when I listened to a talk by Ian Kerr at the Northumberland and Tyneside Bird Club AGM yesterday. It made me think about the phrase attributed to Isaac Newton “If I have…
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Lovely weather for…
…ducks and geese. On Tuesday we were out on a tour in Druridge Bay, and were luckily sheltered from some torrential rain. Quite a lot of the day was spent discussing how to identify different species of duck, and relating head/bill profiles to what each species eats. Some nice waders were found as well; Wood…
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An unusual double
This week was scheduled to be a non-tour week, as the Landrover was due to be serviced and also going in for its latest safety inspection with Wansbeck District Council. Now, this might be a pain but it’s a requirement for any company carrying it’s clients in a vehicle and it provides peace of mind…
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Better than…
Our otter safari proved very successful today (almost too much for one participant – but more of that later…). The first site we visited was enlivened by the stunning electric blue of a Kingfisher as it zipped back and forth along the river and a very cute weasel played peek-a-boo with us as it poked…
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A busman’s holiday
Although I’ve now led well over 100 hours of pelagic trips off Northumberland, I still enjoy being a passenger rather than trip leader. So today, with a real sense of anticipation, all three members of the NEWT team (Martin, Sarah and Andy) boarded Glad Tidings V in Seahouses harbour for a pelagic trip organised by…
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Not something I particularly enjoy…
The cetacean expert on the NEWT team, Andy Tait, ‘phoned this morning to ask if I was busy and, if not, would I be able to go up to Cresswell and identify a dead whale that had washed up on the beach, as he couldn’t get there until later in the day. Heading down the…
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A damp day in Druridge Bay
The rain may have fallen incessantly as we led a Prestige tour in Druridge Bay but a day list that included no less than 16 Mediterranean Gulls, Merlin, Peregrine, Otter and Harbour Porpoise was guaranteed to lift the spirits. Most impressive location of the day was Cresswell Pond; now with extensive areas of mud, after…
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An East Coast fall
After the drenching at Druridge while assisting with Bioblitz, and the devastation visited upon Morpeth by the torrential rain on Saturday, what would Sunday bring? Well, as the easterly winds and rain coincided with an area of high pressure over Scandinavia, the most likely outcome would be a lot of migrants…and so it proved. A…
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Bioblitz part II
Another trip to Druridge this morning to assist Iain with the second day of the Druridge Bay Bioblitz. Had to take a fairly convoluted route to get there due to the number of flooded roads. The sea looked incredibly impressive as I drove up the coast. There were new arrivals chirping and calling in the…