-
Bioblitz
I started yesterday with every intention of finishing my final species account for Birds in Northumbria 2007…but the great outdoors always has that magnetic pull, so I went to Druridge to assist Iain Robson for a few hours while he ran the Bird and Cetacean Watch as part of Bioblitz. The weather conditions weren’t exactly…
-
A sense of anticipation
Saturday’s pelagic was an interesting trip, particularly as a strengthening southeasterly stared to ruffle the sea slightly…waking up on Sunday morning to a cloudy, misty gloom only reinforced my thoughts from the day before that there would be good birds to be found on the Northumberland coast. Where to go? Tide times weren’t helpful for…
-
NTBC Pelagic 30/08/08
Since 1998 I’ve organised pelagic trips for the Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club and yesterday was the eagerly anticipated first full-day trip of the year. Ten cheerful participants boarded the SarahJFK and we headed out into the North Sea in an atmospheric mist. A dark skua seen early in the trip proved to be a…
-
The best laid plans
Friday 29th saw an unplanned visit to Allendale and the moorland of the North Pennines. Several birds performed very well in front of Christina’s camera. Nuthatches sat on a wall in front of us, and a Dipper eventually rewarded some very patient stalking. The real stars though were the grouse; Red Grouse were abundant and…
-
A first for Northern Experience
A client from Hong Kong! We had the pleasure of welcoming an excellent bird photographer from Hong Kong onto one of our safaris this week. She has a strong interest in seabirds but the strong westerly winds made seawatching an unlikely prospect and we concentrated on the tidal mudflats of the River Wansbeck and the…
-
And now…
I’m sitting in my office, catching up on paperwork (well, that’s what I should be doing anyway, what’s actually happening is I’m watching a Red Squirrel in our Ash tree and counting Jays as they fly past) and planning tomorrow’s Druridge Bay Safari.
-
And we’ve also…
Had several very successful tours with clients. August 11th saw us venturing across to the Farne Islands on one of our Seal Safaris, excellent views of the Grey Seals were had by all, as well as brief views of two adult Puffins flying by and a Puffin chick that had only recently entered the water.…
-
Since I last blogged…
We’ve spent three tiring but very enjoyable days working on the Birdwatching Northumberland stand at the British Birdwatching Fair (highlights were a talk by Jari Peltomaki about owls in Finland, and ‘An Audience with Simon King’ was very entertaining as well) where we spoke to an awful lot of people who are interested in birdwatching…
-
The Value of Positive Publicity
The recent shooting of a Red Kite (link) obviously had an impact as the number of friends and colleagues who contacted me to express their disgust at the incident was overwhelming. The Northern Kites release project is a model of community involvement and connection to our threatened wildlife and, without it, it’s questionable whether the…