Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

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  • An icy grip

    I’m resolute in my belief that the winter is an excellent time to visit Northumberland.  It’s relaxing and quiet (not that it’s ever really anything else), there’s a lot of wildlife (ditto) and we often get stunning weather that showcases our remarkable landscape at it’s best.

    Today was a day when everything came together just the way you hope.  As I drove up the A1 Kestrels, Common Buzzards and Roe Deer were all in roadside fields and Redwings and Fieldfares were hedge-hopping from one side of the road to the other.

    I collected Tracey, Guy and Connor (and Ghillie – their collie dog) just after lunch, from their holiday cottage near Belford, and we headed to Holy Island.  The sea by the ends of the causeway was frozen and a sprinkling of snow covered the dunes.  As we crossed towards the island a Merlin flushed from a roadside post and we stopped to admire the beautiful diffused light that illuminated the mudflats.  Our walk on the island was on ground frozen solid, and covered with ice and snow.  The wind was bitingly cold but Grey Seals, Meadow Pipits, Shags, Curlews, Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers,  Pale-Bellied Brent Geese and flocks of Teal heading towards the mainland all diverted the attention.  As we headed back to the mainland a handsome male Stonechat played hide-and-seek with us along the edge of the causeway, but persistence paid off and Tracey and Guy managed some good shots.  I love having keen photographers on our safaris – especially ones who really appreciate the quality of light that we enjoy up here – so we made several stops as the changing light produced a series of photo opportunities.  I can only hope that we get similar conditions for our first Beginners Photography workshop in January.  The rising tide and fluffy pink clouds of the late afternoon combined with Bamburgh Castle in the snow to offer more memorable images, while we were watching Oystercatchers, Turnstones, Redshanks and a Ringed Plover on the frozen beach.  The route back was made easier by being in a Landrover, and the steady journey allowed us to pick out Brown Hares in the snow-covered fields – seven in total, standing sentinel-like as we approached.  Once I was back on the ice-free A1 and travelling south it was like a different world  to the one I’d been in for the last few hours.  Environmental escapism at it’s best.

  • Another waiting room

    With a busy schedule over the Christmas and New Year period, this weekend is our chance to visit friends and family in Derbyshire and East Yorkshire.

    I spent most of Friday afternoon filling all of our bird and squirrel feeders.  The Jays were around again, screaming at me from the Ash tree at the bottom of the garden.  The Coal Tits were rather bolder, perching just above my head and settling into ‘angry little bird’ mode.  After all the feeders were replenished, it seems I need to pay a visit to my good friend Martin over in Haltwhistle to re-stock our extension with sacks of bird food 🙂

    We drove down to Derbyshire in the snow on Friday evening.  The roads were fine, but the carpark at Wetherby Services was a proper nightmare.  A delicious casserole and a glass of wine awaited us at the end of the journey.  Saturday dawned clear, bright and snowy and we spent the day visiting friends.  Saturday evening’s entertainment was a meal in Derby with Sarah’s parents and her youngest sister and other half, followed by a theatre visit to see The Snow Queen. Or so we thought…

    As we walked from the car park towards the restaurant, the pavements were glistening with ice.  Which is when Sarah’s mum went base over apex and heard her leg break. 🙁 We had an ‘interesting’ 5 hours in the  Royal Derby Hospital, followed by a takeaway pizza.  The best laid plans…

    Now we’re on our way back north, and conditions look perfect for carrying out our next two offshore surveys on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Best wrap up warm.

    Get well soon mum.  And enjoy putting your feet up over Christmas 🙂

  • Not quite what I had in mind

    The hoped-for wintry weather did make an appearance this morning.  As I sat in a school governor’s meeting, reviewing all of the school’s policy documents (you have no idea…), a series of snow showers passed over – each one depositing a thin white layer on the ground outside.  Almost as soon as it had settled it thawed, so the picturesque landscape didn’t materialise.  Back at home just after lunchtime and the sky was getting darker.  As the birds attempted to consume eight feeders worth of food in a day (they fell just short) they were joined by two birds that often pause briefly in our garden, as they work their way along the edge of Choppington Woods, but rarely stay.  That all changed today though as two Jays decided to assault the feeders and then start tucking into the windfall apples that are still lying beneath the tree.  They were joined by a couple of stunning male Bullfinches as well.  Sadly, photography wasn’t an option.  Partly because it was incredibly dark for early afternoon, but also because having hailstones the size of garden peas bouncing off your head isn’t much fun 🙁

  • Preparing…

    Weather forecasts are a bit of an obsession with most birdwatchers.  This winter I’ve got it even worse than usual because I’m co-ordinating a series of offshore surveys.  Finding 10 days with ‘suitable’ conditions before the end of January is going to depend on checking the forecasts for 5-7 days ahead…and trusting those forecasts.  Currently I check four different websites each morning, and if all four are predicting the same weather then I tend towards believing them…as long as they agree with the forecast on the BBC news…and on Radio 5 Live as well.  Would you be surprised to learn that a consistent forecast is a rare occurence?  So, I may have my survey team somewhere out on the North Sea next Tuesday and Wednesday…or I might be sitting at home and enjoying some proper wintry weather.

    One consistent forecast is that we’re going to get snow tomorrow.  Preparations here have included filling all of our bird feeders and the squirrel feeder.  I’ve scheduled a few hours of photography into my diary as well, to try and take advantage of the conditions.  Scotland Gate looks at it’s best in the snow.  Concentrating on getting the best images that I can, of the birds that visit our garden, will be an interesting exercise as I’ve got a new camera to play with.  Boys and their toys 🙂

  • The little fir tree

    As Chair of Governors at our local First School, I had an invitation to attend the Christmas production this afternoon.  It was a heartwarming tale of a little fir tree who was teased for being so small but eventually found his place as a Christmas tree in a children’s hospital.  The characters included several fir trees, angels, snowflakes, raindrops, sunbeams, doctors, nurses, foxes, owls, rabbits and a woodcutter…as well as kings, shepherds, Mary and Joseph.

    Which brings us nicely to the little fir tree on our patio.  I haven’t had as much time to work on my bonsai display as I would have liked this year (one of the perils of running your own business…) so most of the trees have developed dense, lush foliage.  I have been regularly trimming any over long shoots so they’re all still quite compact.  The display sits midway between six feeders in the apple tree and two feeders on the garden wall, so it’s a regular perch for many of the birds that are visiting.  As the weather has turned towards wintry, the number of birds in the garden has increased to the point where it’s almost impossible to watch everything that’s going on.  Sarah was at home this morning and we spent a little while just watching the comings and goings.  The highlight was two Willow Tits together but there were 15+ Coal Tits, 5 or 6 Bullfinches, 10 Chaffinches, 4 House Sparrows, 4 Greenfinches, a couple of Goldfinches and little groups of Blue and Great Tits.  Birdwatching begins at home…and once we get some cold, frosty or snowy weather, my bonsai display should produce some excellent photo opportunities as well.

    A cold, wet mid-December night might not seem that promising in terms of wildlife but we had something new for the garden about an hour ago when a Winter Moth Operophtera brumata landed on the outside of the kitchen window.  Our little southeast Northumberland garden now has records of about 250 different species of moth.  It helps that there’s a 76ha woodland behind us though.

  • Masters of all we survey?

    I’ve just finished my 3rd consecutive day of survey work (ok, today was just a couple of hours around dawn, but you get the idea).

    Friday and Saturday saw me up to 20 miles offshore, leading a survey team of Alan Tilmouth, Ross Ahmed, Allan Skinner (our boat skipper) and Jimmy (erstwhile SarahJFK crew member and very diligent data-recorder).  Friday didn’t look promising as we drove to Royal Quays in thick fog, and the marina was mired in the gloom as well as we met up with Tom Brereton from Marinelife.  However, once out of the Tyne we quickly passed out of the fog bank and into some stunning weather.

    Martin and Tom scanning for cetaceans
    Martin and Tom scanning for cetaceans
    Ross, Alan and Tom observing and recording seabird distribution and abundance
    Ross, Alan and Tom observing and recording seabird distribution and abundance
     On the return there was a superb sunset but the fog had extended to almost 6 miles offshore and we had one of those real pelagic experiences.
    Tom scanning ahead of the SarahJFK for cetaceans
    Tom scanning ahead of the SarahJFK for cetaceans
    Ross still recording, Alan looking cheerful as we approach a fog bank
    Ross and Alan still recording as we approach the fog bank that ended Friday's survey
    Tom, Martin, Ross and Alan heading home
    Tom, Martin, Ross and Alan heading home

    Yesterday had overall better visibility but slighty lumpier seas, as we covered the area from Blyth to Druridge Bay.  Having completed about 80 miles of transect surveys in 2 days we’ve already gathered a lot of seabird data.  The North Sea (which is relatively small) seems pretty big when you’re far enough offshore to not be able to see any land.  When 3 experienced seawatchers look around and say “we don’t really have a clue what’s out here do we?” then it hammers home the importance of what we’re doing.  Having found Puffins on both surveys so far, and five Little Gulls on Saturday, we’re all eagerly anticipating the rest of our winter surveys.  We’ve got a few spaces on most of the survey trips (which will run when the weather allows us the opportunity) which are available for a contribution of £20/person/trip (a much lower rate than our commercial pelagics trips in July-September).  Give us a call, wrap up warm and join us on a journey into the unknown.

    On dry (well, drier) land, Sarah and myself set out this morning for the December Icelandic Goose Census.Two Barn Owls were a bonus in the bone-chilling temperatures.  Last month I drew a blank with our goose monitoring and this month was hardly any better; just 3 Greylag Geese at the roost site that is designated as part of the census.  Looks like we’ll be out again at dusk, trying to locate the birds as they fly to roost.

  • Natural therapy

    This morning dawned clear and bright and my original plan had been to take the camera and head up the coast to shoot some of our stunning landscapes at sunrise and then use the available light and switch to a 500mm lens for some wildlife shots.  As it was I reluctantly decided against that option, mainly because I’ve got 6 stitches in my back and I’m going out as photographer on a survey boat tomorrow so didn’t want to put that in jeopardy (although let’s be honest – it’s a pelagic trip, so it would take a lot to keep me on dry land).  A couple more days will see the wound healing nicely and the forecast wintry weather should bring more photo opportunities next week.  I’m giving a lecture on December 27th so I’ve set myself the task of shooting at least 50% of the images for that in the next two weeks.  Hopefully starting with White-beaked Dolphin tomorrow.

    This afternoon I left the office and went for a walk around Choppington Woods, describing the reserve, it’s management and our plans for the future with the man who has the unenviable task of trying to do something similar with a somewhat less attractive bit of woodland elsewhere in southeast Northumberland.  As we stood on the boardwalk a Moorhen swam by and a flock of Siskins landed in the top of a bare Larch.  Always enjoyable to watch, they swirled around like a swarm of bees.  Redwings called overhead as they began dropping into the dense hawthorns where they roost and a Blackbird burst from a hedge in alarm as we startled it.  And there it was, the disappointment of the morning washed away by just getting outside and enjoying our local woodland.  Some of our clients have commented how incredibly relaxing they find our tours.  Perhaps there’s an escape for all of us (even if only briefly) from this modern, stressful world that we inhabit?

  • Waiting room

    Yesterday started with a bit of a surprise – 12 Greenfinches in the garden.  They’ve been scarce so far this autumn/winter and other observers in Northumberland have noticed the same lack of birds.  The worry is that many of our local birds may have fallen victim to trichomoniasis, so it was good to see, and hear, this small flock.

    Most of the rest of the day was spent in a waiting room at our local hospital.  I’m not generally good with hospitals/needles etc so after arriving at my scheduled appointment time (11:30) I had nearly 4 hours to contemplate the forthcoming minor op, before finally being taken to theatre at 3:15pm.  There weren’t even any birds visible from the windows of the waiting room so I had to amuse myself reading Fowler and Cohen’s ‘Statistics for Ornithologists’ (see, I thought there might have been a bit of a wait so I went prepared).  The hospital were very kind and provided a light lunch.  However, given the number of posters about healthy diet etc that plaster the hospital walls you have to wonder about the contents of the lunch; a packet of crisps, a cheese savoury sandwich (note to anyone not from this part of the world – cheese savoury is grated cheese in mayonnaise, you could probably use it to fill cracks in walls) made with sliced white bread and a chocolate cupcake.  You couldn’t make it up.

    By the time I was discharged it was dark outside so no chance of birdwatching.  And today my birding will be mainly from the office window again as I’ve got no less than 5 meetings to attend; 2 as Chair of Governors at our local school, 1 as Chair of the Friends of Choppington Woods and 2 as Secretary of Outdoors Northumberland.  Then there were another 2 meetings that I’ve had to give my apologies for.  At least tomorrow should be back to ‘normal’…

  • Classic arrival conditions?

    After the Seal and Seaduck Special on Saturday, we opted for a birdwatching walk on Sunday.  The original plan was to leave my car at Alnmouth, drive to Craster in Sarah’s car and then walk the coastal path between the two villages.  As we set off from Craster it looked good for our walk, but within 15 minutes we were caught up in a howling southerly and driving icy rain.  Eventually, after slightly less than half of our planned route we admitted defeat and returned to Craster harbour.  Then the weather improved…sitting and enjoying our picnic at the harbourside, watching Turnstones, Redshanks and Oystercatchers, we were alerted to the presence of a dumpy brown bird coming ‘in-off’ as everything scattered from the harbour wall.  Thoughts of Little Owl, or something rarer, quickly vanished as the bird’s very long bill became evident.  Now, mid-October in a howling northeasterly is the time we would expect to find Woodcock arriving on the coast, but early December in a 25mph southerly?  It landed just a few feet from us, in the middle of the track, and sat for about 20 seconds before flying low up the road out of the village.

    After 2 days out and about, the payback was a day of housework/admin on Monday.  So, I decided to ‘sort out’ our bookshelves.  Always a bad idea as I’m easily distracted, and re-arranging our books invariably leads to “hmm, I haven’t looked at that for a while”…

  • Seal of approval

    Saturday was scheduled for our “Seal And Seaduck Special”  (sounds like a really bad curry concocted by the Farnes wardens to see them through the ‘hard times’, is in fact a 4 hour NEWT cruise around the Farne Islands and Holy Island).

    The weather forecast hadn’t been particularly promising (that’s not entirely true – it had been promising…heavy rain and howling southeasterlies) but a ‘phone call to William on Friday raised the possibility that we would be able to run the trip.  As we arrived at Seahouses Harbour we could see Glad Tidings VI approaching with the wardens safely on board and their zodiac towed behind.  We had time to welcome David Steel back onto the mainland and then we all boarded and set out into a noticeable swell. 

    The trip had a really good social event feel to it (as all of our pelagic trips tend to do); all three NEWT guides were on board, one of our clients was on her 5th trip with us (this time bringing two of her friends, for a trip they’ll probably never forget – for all the right reasons) and our friends Tim and Vera from Cottingburn House in Morpeth were among the other passengers.  Once we were across at the islands there were a lot of seals, and many of them were ‘singing’ their mournful song; surely the source of many legends of sea-monsters and mermaids.  1347 pups have been born on the islands this year and most of them have departed or moulted out of their cute baby fur already.  A Peregrine Falcon entertained everyone on board as it perched on the Pele Tower on Inner Farne before being pursued towards the Wideopens by a Herring Gull.  The next leg of our journey took us up to Holy Island and several Red-throated Divers flew by and a Great Northern Diver was on the water near Guile Point.  The weather changed at this point and sunlight illuminated Lindisfarne Castle.  We then began a slow run down the coast in search of seaduck.  Flocks of Common Scoter scattered well ahead of our arrival but Sarah managed to get some good images, showing the typical appearance of a flock of flying scoters;

    Common Scoters (Melanitta nigra)
    Common Scoters (Melanitta nigra)
    Common Scoters (Melanitta nigra)
    Common Scoters (Melanitta nigra)

    We also encountered one of the most beautiful birds that winters off Northumberland – Long-tailed Duck.  Camera shy?  These birds made the scoters look like they were hogging the limelight;

    Long-tailed Duck, the 'Stag Light' and St Aidan's Church
    Long-tailed Duck, the 'Stag Light' and St Aidan's Church

    The increasingly choppy seas were making photography frustrating but Sarah stuck gamely to it.  As she was using my camera, and a lens that she wasn’t familiar with, it was even more challenging than pelagic photography usually is.  As we passed by Bamburgh Castle (as impressive from the sea, if not more so, than it is from land) and then Monk’s House the tide turned the last 10 minutes of the cruise into a real experience.  That’s always the point when somebody on board reveals that they usually feel seasick on the boating lake in their local park…

    Nobody was adversely affected by the swell, everyone saw plenty of seals, and the flocks of seaduck flying around us added up to a real winter pelagic treat.  We couldn’t have asked for more from our final journey into the North Sea for 2009.