Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

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  • A full diary

    It’s been a hectic week for NEWT; evening pelagic last Friday, pre-walks for the Kielder Walking Festival and the Northumberland National Park Walkfest at the weekend, and Safari Trips every day since then.

    I’ve posted a report of the pelagic on my personal blog ‘Diary of an Addicted Seawatcher’. The Kielder pre-walk was enlivened by 30-40 Crossbills and 2 recently fledged Common Buzzards who were ‘mewing’ at us until we passed out of their line of sight.

    Our three Safaris this week have all been very different; Monday produced excellent views of 2 Otters, Tuesday was much more ‘birdy’, with 2 juvenile Marsh Harriers, Little Egret, adult Curlew Sandpiper and both Barn and Long-eared Owls and yesterday had a more invertebrate focus – Small Copper, Wall, Painted Lady and Red Admiral butterflies, Blue-tailed Damselflies and a Sand Wasp that was watched as it hunted spiders along a small section of sand dune.

    Today and tomorrow I’ll be leading walks from the Ingram visitor centre as part of Family Walkfest 2009. And once all that’s done I’m going to try and get some good photos/video of Long-eared Owl. We’re going to have a lot of editing/uploading to do during the winter!

  • A lazy Saturday morning?

    With the continuing excellent weather the Buddleia in our shrubbery is plastered with butterflies, bees and hoverflies. Ten Peacocks and four Painted Ladies are busy consuming as much nectar as they can, so we’ll be out there shortly with our cameras. Then it’s a day in the middle of the countryside for us; pre-walking routes for the Kielder Walking Festival, Northumberland National Park Walkfest and a couple of one-off trips for clients.

    The thing about wildlife is that, wherever you go, there’ll always be something to look at. Perhaps we’ll find a pond and search for Dragons and Damsels? maybe a birdwatching gem will lie along one of our routes? turning a stone or log may reveal reptiles, amphibians…or worms and beetles. Every day is a voyage of discovery.

  • As the sun goes down

    Martin had just returned from leading a mini-safari when the ‘phone rang; “can you organise an otter safari for us this evening please?” Flexibility has always been a given for NEWT; a late summer tour of Southwest Northumberland, birdwatching in the depths of the winter, photographing otters, searching for rare orchids, an impromptu whale and dolphin cruise for a top national journalist. If we can make it happen then we will…

    The field full of Greylag Geese were sitting quietly, nibbling away at the grass. Behind them, a Roe Deer was working it’s way slowly along the fence line and three Brown Hares were alternately running across the field and impersonating clods of earth. A few Starlings circled overhead and were soon joined by another small group…and another…and another. Eventually over a thousand were swirling over the reedbeds. The big loose flock suddenly condensed into a tight ball as a Sparrowhawk began pursuing them. A juvenile Marsh Harrier made a brief appearance before dropping into it’s nightime roost site and distant flocks of corvids and Wood Pigeons were sprinkled across the sky like poppy seeds.

    Of our main quarry there was no sign; all of the ducks and swans were paddling around calm and contented, so we moved on to site number two. Another set of panic-free wildfowl…and time for a strategic decision; do we wait and hope, or check a site where yesterday afternoon there was so much agitation, and aversion to one corner of a pool, that there had to be a big predator lurking in the reeds?

    The decision to move sites was made and we settled to watch a flock of waders. Roosting on a mudflat and seemingly unstressed…but then a wave of panic rippled through the flock. Calm restored, but only for a few seconds, before the worried calling started again. Then a flock of Canada Geese arrived for the evening roost. A few minutes of calm settled over the pool and we watched the sunset; vivid slashes of pink, then orange, cut across the sky and visibility was so good that we could see The Cheviot and Hedgehope, many miles away to the northwest. Then it happened, chaos as all of the geese tried to take off; with only a few metres to the edge of the water they didn’t really have a chance and they stumbled onto the mudflat, scattering Lapwings left, right and centre. Surely, there could only be one cause for the panic? And there it was; diving gracefully through the reflection of the sunset, making a beeline for the geese before changing course and heading away into the deepening shadows of the night. Then it was time for us to do the same.

  • When the seabirds have gone…

    the Farne Islands still have Grey Seals. July marks the end of our Farne Island Safaris until next May, but we still have Seal Safaris to deliver.

    Meeting up with Matt and Hannah in Seahouses harbour, the weather looked ok…overcast, but the cloud was breaking up, and with strengthening SSE winds, set to test our skipper on the journey across to the islands, and back again.

    As always, the Grey Seals were lazing in the warm sunshine, offering excellent photo opportunities. Feeding flocks of Gannets and Sandwich Terns impressed as they soared, hovered, dived, and emerged with fish.

    Back on the mainland we stopped for lunch and watched more Gannets and terns as they fed offshore from our vantage point. As we journeyed up the coast there were some stunning waders still in their full breeding plumage; Dunlin, Knot, Golden Plover and Black-tailed Godwit. Sparrowhawks zipped from one side of a line of trees to the other and we found 5 Greenshanks, 2 Ruff a Common Sandpiper and a juvenile Spotted Redshank. On to another favourite NEWT location, and we were soon spotting more seals – all bobbing about upright in the rising tide. Some life eh? Lay on some sand, have a bit of a scratch, let the tide lift you up, go to sleep, let the tide lower you back onto the emerging sandbar, and so on and so forth. Of course, our Seal Safaris in late October will witness a rather more stressed time of year for the seals.

    One last stop before the return to Seahouses and more photogenic wildlife; Green-veined White butterflies mating, Cinnabar moth caterpillars, Harebells and a Small Copper, a truly beautiful butterfly to end the day.

  • …and more on Tuesday

    After Monday’s mini-safari, today we had a full Safari, South-east Northumberland birdwatching and Otters. Collecting Linda from her holiday accommodation atThe Swan at Choppington, the day started with excellent views of a Red Squirrel along the River Blyth. Nuthatches were calling all around, but we couldn’t see them in the dense foliage. As the day progressed it just got better; Little Egret, Dunlin, Turnstone, Buzzard and Sparrowhawk all added to the birdwatching interest, Bloody Cranesbill, Tufted Vetch, Viper’s Bugloss and Self-heal were found while looking down rather than up and insect interest was evident with Blue-tailed Damselfly, Small Skipper, Common Blue, Shaded Broad-bar and Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet as well as a stunning, newly emerged Painted Lady. The Otters were on top form as well, with all three of last year’s kits showing close enough to allow Linda the opportunity to photograph them. On route back to The Swan we stopped in Newbiggin to check for Mediterranean Gulls…and found at least 11, with 8 adults and 3 of this year’s birds all sitting on the beach. After a full day out it’s time to go to for a drink…with Linda…at The Swan (it is our local, after all).

  • Otters on Monday

    Yesterday we had an Otter mini-safari, but for once my usual confidence was waning; a howling gale was blowing and the surface of the pools we usually visit was whipped up like the North Sea on a rough day, not exactly ideal viewing conditions. I focused my attention on the one patch of calm water, sheltered by a line of trees. A dark, menacing shape broke the surface…and it was a Cormorant 🙁 The next one wasn’t though, and we were soon watching Otters at both ends of the pool. Their behaviour in the rough water was very different to how it is in calm conditions, and an interesting experience, possibly explaining the suggestion by several observers that Otters are often absent on very windy days. After the NEWT Otter Experience, we carried on with a spot of birdwatching before returning to our starting point at Newbiggin, and the sight of an adult Mediterranean Gull floating high above the beach.

  • Eye of the Storm

    Friday saw the first NEWT/NTBC birdwatching pelagic trip of the year, and 12 eager participants gathered on the marina at Royal Quays ready for the off. The weather looked fine, and the cloud cover suggested that visibility would be good. Most of the chum ingredients had been prepared and measured in advance so, before we were out of the Tyne, the unrefined cod-liver oil and vegetable oil had been added to a dustbin full of finely ground popcorn. Hmmm, lovely. Crew menber and chum-meister Jimmy quickly produced a good quantity of diced Mackerel to add to the mix and we headed out into the unknown.

    Soon, we were finding a steady stream of Manx Shearwaters. Nearly all heading south, which was unusual in itself; perhaps they knew something that we didn’t…it wasn’t long before we noticed that in every direction around us there seemed to be heavy storms, and soon the rain hit us as well. Mobile ‘phones began ringing, to check that we were all ok, as mainland Northumberland was under a deluge and a frightening electrical storm. Watched from the boat out at sea it was spectacular, as was the intense double rainbow away to the east. All the while, we had lots of birds in attendance; Kittiwakes, Fulmars, Gannets and gulls. Manxies continued to pass by and I latched on to a probable Sooty Shearwater, but in the gloom couldn’t be certain. A Harbour Porpoise broke the surface in the wake of the boat and, as the rain stopped, the sunset over North Northumberland was breathtaking.

    After 10 years of operating Northumberland Pelagics, right back to when NEWT was just a glimmer of a thought, my enthusiasm for them keeps on growing. With 4 more from Royal Quays this year, there’s still lots of opportunities to find ‘the big one’; birdwatching roulette par excellence.

  • Beginnings…

    Yesterday was the first of our Beginners Birdwatching courses, and involved a trip across to Inner Farne. As the end of the breeding season draws near the number of birds has declined dramatically, even in the 10 days since I was last there. Even so, it’s still an experience to remember. The Arctic Terns are much less aggressive, now that their chicks are able to fly short distances themselves, the Puffins are still standing around their burrows and Kittiwakes and Shags have got large nestlings. With lower numbers of birds, it made the teaching and learning process so much easier with a lot less to take in than there would have been a month ago. The way we’ve structured the courses is as pairs of half-days, with the second trip providing opportunities for participants to practice/extend the skills and knowledge they’ve gathered on the first trip.

    We’re going to run these courses every second month, so late September will be our next one; again based on the coast, but this time concentrating on waders. Beginners Birdwatching, Northumberland as a classroom…

  • In deepest Northumberland

    Wednesday started with the long drive to Bellingham, to investigate new areas for our Kielder Safaris. By lunchtime I’d seen a flock of 30 Crossbills, a couple of Buzzards and a remote track, offering stunning views, was added to our route. Late August/early September will see the debut of our new Kielder Safari, so keep checking our calendar.

    Then it was time to drive to Once Brewed to pre-walk one of the routes for this year’s Family Walkfest. The route follows a new boardwalk and I spent 3 hours checking all of the plants, birds and insects that can easily be spotted along the way. Most exciting was when I found a Mountain Bumblebee, but Grasshopper Warblers, Siskins, swans and geese all grabbed the attention as well. Should be an excellent walk for all the family so check the website and sign up before it’s fully booked.

  • In Search of the Loch Ness Monster

    After a morning working in the office, I packed the Landrover and drove to Newbiggin by the Sea to collect Mary, Peter and Mark. Although an Otter Safari, other wildlife and birdwatching are always a feature and, in the blustery southeasterly winds an adult Mediterranean Gull was floating above the car park so we watched it and discussed separation from Black-headed Gull. Up the coast and the search for Otters began in earnest (although an egg-laying Garden Tiger moth was a spectacular diversion by the side of the path). We didn’t have to wait long; I was just describing where to watch for them, when a sudden panicked movement of Gadwall caught my eye. I focused on the spot where they had previously been sitting…and the tell-tale fleeting glimpse of a sleek dark back sliding beneath the surface wasn’t long in coming. After what seemed like an age it surfaced and began swimming and feeding close to the bankside. Eventually it was just a few metres from us, being watched by eight people and a dog. It was a bit of a no-brainer to predict the appearance of the otter’s two siblings…and within seconds there they were. For over an hour we watched them all, including the young male Otter stalking a Gadwall (which did manage to flee at such a rate that the Otter lost interest). As the rain began to intensify we checked the other coastal pools before heading back down the coast to Newbiggin by the Sea. And the good news is that the level of water in CresswellPond is falling…