Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Blog

Whales, Waders and Wildfowl day (1 and) 2

After getting back to Seahouses harbour at the end of our Whale and Dolphin Cruise, Sarah headed south back towards home, and myself and Bill followed the coast north to Holy Island. The breeze had been strengthening while we were offshore, and around Holy Island it was close to unmanageable, with even a heavy stable tripod struggling to remain still enough to use the telescope. We did find Bar-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover and Dunlin around the harbour, but soon beat a hasty retreat – via the ice cream van 🙂

Heading back down the coast in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, we watched flocks of Eider loafing just offshore and a mixed flock of Common, Sandwich and Arctic Terns held a surprise in the shape of an adult Roseate Tern.

Dinner at The Swan was followed by discussing the plans for the next day, and on Sunday we concentrated on Druridge Bay and south east Northumberland. It turned out to be a good day for waders, with Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Curlew and plenty of Snipe. Perhaps the wader highlight of the day though were flocks of Black-tailed Godwit and Ruff arriving from the north east, pausing briefly to drink and rest and then departing to the south west. A bird that’s rarely seen made it’s way onto the trip list too, as the long-staying Spotted Crake at East Chevington wandered in and out of the reedbeds. Goosander, more Eider and lots of Grey Herons were around the River Coquet and it was soon time to head off, collect Sarah and go into Morpeth to eat at the excellent Nadon Thai. It was an excellent two days, with a client who was excellent company, a keen birdwatcher and knows a lot of sites in and around Norfolk, where we haven’t been for a few years now, really well.

Whales? yes. Waders? yes. Wildfowl? yes. It was the holiday that does exactly what it says on the tin 🙂

11/09/2013
Whales and Dolphins; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 31/08/13

Our annual Whale and Dolphin Cruise on Glad Tidings V is one of the highlights of our North Sea Pelagic programme. With over 40 people booked on to this year’s sailing, we were going to need to be organised and efficient getting everyone on to the boat – luckily I’m married to Sarah, so organisation and efficiency just seem to happen to me 🙂

Saturday was also the first day of our Whales, Waders and Wildfowl holiday, so I collected Bill from The Swan and we drove north, pausing in Amble to collect Ruth as we passed through. Warm, sunny, windy and with plenty of whitecaps offshore were conditions that could make finding cetaceans tricky. As we sailed south we came across a raft of Gannets, Sooty and Manx Shearwaters and plenty of Grey Seals ‘bottling’ amongst them. There wasn’t any sort of feeding activity of note though, but eventually we managed brief views of a small group of Harbour Porpoise nearby. Continuing on our way, there was a sighting of Minke Whale from the front of the boat…just as I watched a White-beaked Dolphin breaching away to the east 🙂 Eventually we had seven or eight dolphins around the boat, allowing everyone on board the opportunity to enjoy close views of our favourite cetacean. As we made our way slowly back towards Seahouses, two more Minke Whales appeared and we’d struck gold, silver and bronze in one trip 🙂

03/09/2013
“Not at all like a Pintail”

How do you know what a particular species is? That’s a frequently asked question on our tours and, fortunately, some species have a characteristic that makes them memorable.

I collected Christine and Jean from just north of Morpeth and we headed down to Church Point to collect Sue and Ray. Our evening mini-safari was concentrating on Druridge Bay and the southeast Northumberland coast. Late August is always an interesting time to be on the coast, with passage waders moving through, but also the occasional surprise among the wildfowl too. Scanning through the Mallards, Teal, Tufted Duck and Gadwall, I saw three ducks flying in. The unmistakeable black beaks and elegant demeanour of the new arrivals marked them out immediately as Pintail. A beautiful duck in breeding plumage, but still very distinctive in plainer dress too and we watched them and discussed just how they differ from other ducks.

Later in the trip Christine described a dress worn recently by a TV presenter as ‘glaiky’. Now, that’s a word I haven’t heard for a while. It’s usually used to describe a person who is odd, daft, thoughtless, foolish, clumsy. When Sue asked what it meant Jean had an excellent answer “Inelegant, not at all like a Pintail“. Then, she turned to me and said “Ha. See, I was paying attention”. So, from now on, Pintail will be described as not glaiky 🙂

03/09/2013
Stoatally different to yesterday…

By extraordinary coincidence, one of our least observed mammals put in an appearance for the second consecutive day…

I collected David, Jackie and Alexander from Bamburgh and we headed south to start their Prestige Tour of the Northumberland Coast. As Swallows and House Martins flitted about low over the water in front of us, a Stoat proved elusive as it darted in and out of the vegetation close to the water’s edge, momentarily startling the dozing ducks before vanishing back into the edge of a reedbed. As ever something wholly unexpected appeared, on this occasion a Peregrine over Cresswell village. A Roe Deer walking through an arable field appeared like a disembodied head – only popping up, like a Jack-in-the-box, every few metres as it made it’s way across the field.

Another elusive mustelid put in a brief appearance too, as a Badger trotted along between reedbeds, but unfortunately hidden from view by the vegetation on our side of the pool. As dusk approached, pipistrelle bats were flitting back and forth, tiny Common Froglets hopped across the path in front of us and the drive back to Bamburgh produced another impressive mammal, as a Brown Hare loped along the verge as we passed.

03/09/2013
Breathtaking menace

One of the species that our clients are always keen to see is the Otter. From my own perspective though, one of it’s smaller relatives is a much more attractive mustelid.

I collected Jackie, and Steve and Karen, from Church Point, and we set off on an exploration of Druridge Bay and the Northumberland coast. As we sat scanning a coastal pool, watching for any sign of agitation among the assembled Mallards, Gadwall, Tufted Ducks, Little Grebes, Teal and Mute Swans, there was a rustling in the grass just in front of us and a Stoat popped it’s head out. I started making quiet squeaking noises, and soon it peered out at us, then came out in the open and reared up on it’s hind legs – presumably fooled by my pishing into thinking that a small rodent was in trouble and in need of a Stoat to do it’s good deed for the day and end it’s misery 🙂 The Stoat is one of those species that are fairly common and widespread, but rarely seen. When you do get one sitting out in full view though it really is a quite beautiful creature; lithe and muscular, inquisitive and deadly, it was a real treat to have this little predator right in front of us.

As the evening wore on, small groups of Starlings were gathering ready to roost, Snipe seemed to be everywhere that we went and the eternal game of cat and mouse, between predators and prey, that is the natural world was still all around us as the sun dropped below the horizon away to the west.

03/09/2013
Great North Bike Ride 2013

After decades of struggling to find any form of exercise that I really enjoy, I started cycling in May. By June I’d modified my mountain bike with lightweight alloy wheels and slick tyres and started following a 0-100mile training plan, by July I’d bought a road bike and last Sunday I completed the Great North Bike Ride 2013🙂

I’m not keen on warm weather, so waking up on Sunday morning to discover it was cool and misty with a reasonable NNW breeze was near perfect. Sarah drove me to Seahouses, waved me off at the start and then drove down to Tynemouth ready to collect me at the end of the ride. I thought I’d prepared well for the ride; checked the entire route, ridden some of the more challenging bits, followed my training plan fairly closely and made sure everything on my bike was working properly. Still a couple of nagging doubts though…could I manage to ride 56.5mi, and how would I cope with another 2000 riders on the road when I only ever train alone? The longest training ride I’d done was 44mi, so there was still a bit to go beyond that distance to make it to the finish line at Tynemouth Priory. I estimated that it would take me 4-5 hours to complete, so Sarah said she would be at the finish 4h after I started. As soon as I passed under the start line, those nagging doubts evaporated; having other cyclists around provided lots of inspiration and the miles quickly passed beneath my wheels. A quick check at the half-way point generated another concern…if I continued at that speed I’d finish in 3h 30m 🙂 As I crossed the finish line in Tynemouth I was cheered on by Sarah and Jodie, and glanced down at my bike computer to discover I’d finished the ride in 3h 22m! 500ml of orange juice barely touched the sides as I rehydrated, and a slice of malt loaf and a packet of Jelly Babies vanished almost as quickly.

Now I’ve set myself some new goals; 100mi ride, sub-30min 10mi time trial and, of course, complete GNBR 2014 in a faster time than I managed this year 🙂

What could be better than contributing to a good cause, getting some fresh air and exercise and enjoying the beautiful Northumberland coast…all in one easily accessible package 🙂 Sign up now! It’s well organised and a really enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning in late August.

Warming up in the mist

Crossing the start line

Final push to the finish line

30/08/2013
Beauty in the ‘mundane’

LBJ. No, not the 36th President of the United States, but the acronym used by many birdwatchers to describe any relatively small, nondescript brown bird – ‘Little Brown Job’. Over the last few years, a number of our clients have applied that term to two birds that I always think deserve closer attention…

I collected Jo and Kirsty from Alnwick for their second consecutive day out with me and we headed straight up the coast and made our way on to Holy Island. Curlews were passing overhead as we walked around the bits of the island that weren’t full of other people, those two LBJ’s, Skylark and Meadow Pipit, were dodging in and out of long grass in the fields by the path, Kirsty started photographing Swallows and quickly progressed to using flash to freeze the action as they hovered in front of us feeding beakfuls of flies to recently fledged juveniles and Golden Plover and Oystercatcher were probing around rockpools as Grey Seals bobbed about in the gentle surf just offshore. Edges are always a productive area; edges of fields, woodland, moorland and the shoreline – that ever shifting edge of the sea and the land. That latter edge produced some stunning Bar-tailed Godwits, and an impressively large group of very vocal Grey Seals.

As we continued back down the coast the mist thickened and we were eventually in the surreal position of having blazing sunshine on our backs and visibility of less than 100m in front of us. As a loose flock of Eiders drifted close inshore and then back out again, and Swallows and House Martins hawked insects low over the beach, a dark menacing shape drifted out of the mist, passed in front of us, and then drifted back into the impenetrable white mass. Always a bird to grab the attention on a seawatch, the Arctic Skua was only in view for a few seconds as it made it’s way south along the coast, and we headed inland into glorious weather again.

30/08/2013
Predators

The one group of birds that have gripped my imagination and my attention since I was very young are the birds of prey. Loved by many, hated by a few, persecuted by the ignorant, the stupid and the self-involved…

Two raptors put in an appearance during our safari around Druridge Bay and the Northumberland coast last week, and they’re both species that I’ll never tire of watching. As I drove our carload (Sharon and June, Francis and Julie, Jo and Kirsty) between Embleton and Warkworth, the bird that is the embodiment of power, musculature, speed and scythe-winged menace carved an arc across the sky alongside the road. Persecuted by gamekeepers, pigeon-fanciers and egg collectors, and once decimated by a population crash caused by pesticides, the sight of a Peregrine beating it’s way majestically across the landscape is one that should stir the heart of everyone, birdwatcher and non-birdwatcher alike.

The second raptor of the day was a species that, if such a thing is possible, manages to provoke even more outrage than the Peregrine. As we scanned the shadowy edges of a pool at dusk searching, unsuccessfully, for an Otter, I could see that a distant rock didn’t look quite right. With the increased magnification offered by our telescope the ‘rock’ resolved into the familiar shape of a Sparrowhawk. As well as gamekeepers, pigeon-fanciers and everyone else with a bee in their bonnets about Peregrines, the Sparrowhawk has managed to make itself even less popular by hunting in urban and suburban gardens. Bird tables attract small birds, and small birds attract Sparrowhawks…now, while I can understand the indignation of anyone who puts food out for their local birds, only to see their feeding station become a fly-through fast food outlet for a Sparrowhawk, that’s the way that nature works; you have large numbers of very small creatures (e.g. insects) which are food for a smaller number of slightly larger creatures (e.g. Blue Tits), which in turn are food for a very small number of even larger birds (e.g. Sparrowhawks). A number of organisations, acting very disingenuously with hidden self-interest, would have people believe that there’s a Sparrowhawk population of plague proportions and it’s busy decimating the tits, sparrows and finches in all of our gardens. Wouldn’t it be better if we could all appreciate the beauty, adaptation and precision of our birds of prey?

30/08/2013
Deep water; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 14/08/2013

Probably my favourite pelagic of all of the North Sea pelagic trips that we run (although I enjoy all of them immensely!) is our 10hr Farne Deeps – Northumberland’s ‘Ultimate Pelagic’. The forecast looked about as promising as it gets and I arrived at Royal Quays in good time, to discover that most of our participants were already there 🙂 This was just a day before I would be heading south to the British Birdwatching Fair and five of our participants would also be visiting Rutland over the coming weekend.

As we sailed north east we soon found our first cetaceans of the day, a small pod of Harbour Porpoise. 10 minutes later our progress northeast was slowed as we enjoyed prolonged views of a Minke Whale. Continuing towards the Farne Deeps, a deep-water offshore area that I’ve been interested in since the late 1990’s and the North East Cetacean Project has been surveying since 2009, we encountered our first White-beaked Dolphins of the trip. In an interesting rolling swell seabirds were passing by too; Fulmars, Gannets, Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Razorbills, Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, Great and Arctic Skuas and the occasional Puffin all attracted interest. Small groups of White-beaked Dolphins were found in locations where we expected them before we headed further offshore to the area that we’ve shown to hold large aggregations of dolphins in the mid-late summer. Almost exactly where we would expect them to be we found several dolphins breaching. Others began bow-riding and soon there were groups of White-beaked Dolphins in every direction; tail-slapping, breaching, spy-hopping and just generally performing. Eventually as many as 60 of these stunningly beautiful dolphins were in view and all of the photographers on board were busy filling their memory cards. 16 years of organising North Sea pelagic trips and they just get better every year 🙂

27/08/2013
A mixed bag of wildlife; Lindisfarne Safari 12/08/2013

As I collected Jaap, Nancy, Maartje and Laura for their Lindisfarne Safari it was good to see that we’d made the right decision in postponing from the previous Monday (which would have been an unpleasant day to be out and about on Holy Island).

Lindisfarne is an excellent birdwatching location in the winter months, and can be spectacular during spring and autumn migration, but the summer brings a real variety of things to look at. As we walked around the island Starlings were swirling, Grey Seals and Eiders were bobbing just beyond the breaking surf and Swallows were feeding hungry nestlings. There was plenty on the ground too; Cinnabar Moth caterpillars were munching on Ragwort, Viper’s Bugloss was by the side of the paths and Maartje spotted, and identified, a Dark Green Fritillary. With exposed sandbars at low tide there were lots of Grey Seals just lazing about and the shoreline was bustling with bird activity; Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlews, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Turnstone were around the island’s edge and in the gooey mud of the harbour. Golden Plover were swirling over the island in impressive flocks before settling in the fields, an adult Mediterranean Gull was perched obligingly close as we headed back to the village, and all too soon it was time to leave the island as the rising tide approached the causeway. Landscape photography stops at Bamburgh and Newton on the way south were followed by distant views of lightning and then an impressively dark sky out over the North Sea. With so much wildlife in one day it would be hard to choose one highlight…but my own personal favourite was the brightest pink binoculars that I’ve ever seen 🙂

21/08/2013