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After the comparative luxury of five successive days out wildlife and birdwatching with clients or with Sarah, today I had to get on with all the admin stuff that’s been piling up. No sign of our Red Squirrels so I actually did manage to proceed with the task at hand, once I’d finished checking the moth trap and releasing last night’s catch into the safety of the denser vegetation in our shrubbery. Five Hebrew Characters and four Common Quakers was the final total (rather than a couple of lines from a bizarre lepidoptera version of the Twelve Days of Christmas). The admin work was more of a mixed bag than the moth trap; bringing the accounts up to date, changing some of the detail on the Calendar and Links pages of the website, being interviewed for an article in Country Life magazine and making lots of ‘phone calls. Then I had to finalise the press release that we’re issuing about the Dawn Chorus and Northumbrian Breakfast at Lee Moor Farm on May 3rd. Finally I had a look at the Twitter profiles of all the people following us (if none of this sentence makes any sense to you then look at our profile and things may become clearer). Our ‘followers’ receive updates about our wildlife sightings and other snippets of NEWT related news and our use of this system even made the local press recently (although I really do wish that journalists would stop persistently using the word ‘twitcher’ for anyone with an interest in birdwatching – perhaps I should write a blog containing a glossary of birdwatching-related words and phrases?).

Now that our local Blackbirds have finally divided the village into territories, and we no longer have four or five regularly fighting under the apple tree, they’re all reminding each other of who lives where. I love listening to Blackbird song; rich, varied, powerful and regularly the start of the Dawn Chorus. The bird holding territory around our garden has taken to singing from the extension roof outside the bathroom window, so the alarm clock going off at 06:00 is a bit superfluous when I’ve already been awake for an hour.

I’m an evening wildlife-watching person but, at the time of year when the Dawn Chorus is at it’s most prominent, sometimes there’s nothing better than an early start. When I was a little boy and we stopped at my grandparent’s house I would get out of bed when I heard my Grandad getting up for work at 04:30. A short walk later I would be sitting by a small stream that ran along the edge of a local park. Water Voles, Foxes and skeins of geese were all things I didn’t see at other times of the day and I learnt the value of remaining quiet and unobtrusive at the right time of day. This translated itself into regular pre-dawn cycle rides to areas of farmland and woodland close to home where deer, Jays and, on one memorable occasion, a Cuckoo were the reward for this, apparently unusual, behaviour. As International Dawn Chorus Day approaches I’ll be out earlier and earlier; birdwatching, with eyes and ears, and searching for mammals before they hide themselves away for the day. My garden, Choppington Woods and, most excitingly, Lee Moor Farm will all be on the hitlist for the strategy that I ‘discovered’ all those years ago.

9am, and Church Point was devoid of Mediterranean Gulls. There weren’t any Black-headed Gulls around either so perhaps they were all enjoying a different part of Newbiggin. Kevin and Janet arrived for our Seal Safari and we made our way up the coast towards Seahouses.

An early call had revealed that the sea was calm, the weather warm and sunny, so the boat would be sailing. As we approached the Farne Islands, Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills and Gannets all passed by the boat. Around the islands, the cliffs are starting to fill with seabirds all intent on breeding. Sandwich Terns are already back, but the Common and Arctic Terns are yet to arrrive. The Grey Seals were all packed together like a big furry jigsaw, basking in the warm sunshine; quite a contrast to the edgy weather that accompanied our Seal Safaris in late October.

Back on the mainland we headed to the (joint) best picnic spot on the Northumberland coast and settled down to some very good birdwatching; Purple Sandpipers, Turnstones and Oystercatchers were on the rocks offshore, just out of range of disturbance from the holidaymakers on the beach. As the tide rose it brought a veritable wealth of wildfowl; masses of Eider interspersed with Common Scoter, Long-tailed Duck and at least three summer-plumaged Slavonian Grebes.

The journey south brought Little Egret and Garganey, as well as Lapwings with that extraordinary yellow/purple/orange/green iridescence and lots of Meadow Pipits, singing and then gliding back to Earth like paper aeroplanes. A really underrated bird if ever there was. Final stop at a roadside flash pool and there, amongst the familiar black-and-white of the Pied Wagtails was the pale grey back and strikingly isolated black throat patch of a White Wagtail. Is there a better county for birdwatching than Northumberland? On a day like today, probably not.

I don’t think we’ve had any clients over the last 15 months who didn’t have good environmental awareness and a sense of responsibilty towards the environment, whether at a local or global level, but the population as a whole must be falling short somwhere; a report this week revealed a 110% increase in the amount of litter on Britain’s beaches since 1994. There’s also an interesting difference of opinion between the Marine Conservation Society, who want the Government to develop a co-ordinated strategy to tackle the problem, and the Government, who believe that litter is a matter of personal responsibility. Any further littering is a matter of personal/corporate responsibility (it’s hard to see how anyone could disagree with that) but the litter that already pollutes our beaches and, more worryingly, the incredibly fragile marine ecosystem needs to be dealt with as well. Perhaps a strategy is needed to get our shores and seas to an acceptable level and then rely on personal/corporate responsibility to maintain that level? Northern Experience Wildlife Tours may be apolitical but any issue that affects our environment will always be worthy of comment. I’ve now spent ten years organising pelagic wildlife and birdwatching tours in the North Sea so it’s a habitat that’s very close to my heart. Added to that, we’ve got some incredible beaches in Northumberland, and we really want them to stay that way.

Yesterday morning didn’t seem too promising; grey, misty and raining when I got out of bed. However, as I headed up the A1 to collect 5 of the participants for our full-day Otter Safari, the clouds began to break and soon I was driving beneath a blue sky and bathed in warm sunshine. The journey south along the coast was made all the more enjoyable in the improving conditions and we collected our final participant from Amble. First stop was the River Blyth. With several dogs swimming in the river, otters were unlikely but everyone enjoyed excellent views of at least two Red Squirrels, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper and Grey Wagtail. Jay and Nuthatch could both be heard calling but remained hidden from view. Out on to the coast and a stop for lunch at what I think is the best picnic spot in Northumberland. There’s still a good selection of wildfowl on the coastal pools and, as we headed north, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Teal and Wigeon were all looking at their best. Wader numbers were much lower than they have been but Lapwing were crazily displaying over roadside fields and Turnstone, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew and Knot were feeding around the pool edges. A single Whooper Swan was an unusual sight; perhaps it forgot to leave when all of the other Whoopers that have wintered around the Druridge area departed during March? A few Chiffchaffs were singing and a Greenshank was running along the edge of Cresswell Pond but, on the whole, we were mainly finding lingering winter visitors. Then that all changed as we watched probably the three best birds of the day; Little Egret, a pair of Garganey and a very obliging Marsh Harrier. The wind began to pick-up again and the water surface started to ruffle to the point where searching for otters became a real challenge. So that was Thursday, an otter safari that turned into an excellent Northumberland birdwatching tour. Good Friday will be a photography/videography day (weather permitting) and then we have a Seal Safari on Easter Saturday, leaving Seahouses at 10:30.

The Northumberland Wildlife Trusts’s SENSE (South East Northumberland Sustainable Environment) project is about to add Choppington Woods to the list of reserves it covers so yesterday I took NWT People and Wildlife Officer Heather O’Neill for a walk around the wood. The glorious weather really shows the reserve at its best. Chiffchaffs, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Robins could be heard singing throughout the entire 2 hours that we were walking, 4 Jays flew over together and Siskins were much more widespread than in previous years. Frogs and toads were around the edge of the pond and a carpet of wildflowers sparkled like jewels in the bright sunshine. It’s sometimes hard to believe that the area was once the site of 2 coal mines. Now, with the help of SENSE (and the £10k we were awarded by Wansbeck -You Decide) we can work towards our aim of making Choppington Woods an outstanding community resource; reflecting the area’s industrial heritage and leaving an environmental legacy for future generations. That’s quite something to have outside your office window 🙂

Today didn’t look promising from a wildlife-watching point of view. This morning I was chairing a meeting of the South East Northumberland Tourism Association, followed by lunch and some admin work back in the office and then straight out to a school governor’s meeting. However, leaving school after the meeting, I was chatting with one of the other governors, and enjoying the warm, sunny afternoon…then I noticed four birds in a tree opposite. The distinctive silhouette with the spiky crest could mean only one thing – Waxwings. Maybe it’s because they look so exotic, maybe it’s because they inhabit northern forests (if I ever leave Northumberland then Scandinavia is very, very close to the top of the list of possible destinations) or maybe it’s because I saw my first Waxwings nearly 40 years ago and the shock of that first encounter has never left me. Whatever it is, they always bring excitement and there they were – sitting in an isolated bare tree in a housing estate close to home. They’ll all be gone soon, back across the North Sea for another breeding season, so keep your eyes peeled; any berry-laden trees or shrubs could be providing the fuel for their migration. Supermarket car parks and modern housing estates; prime locations for top-class birding.

We always take a keen interest in the weather forecast. If we’re out on safari then the conditions inform our planning of the detailed itinerary for the day. If we’re not then a particular weather pattern may well hint at ideal conditions for landscape or wildlife photography.

With our first Kielder Safari of the year today, we were watching the forecast with even more interest than usual (if that’s possible!). It was looking as though the morning would be good, with the afternoon becoming increasingly cold, windy and wet. Following an superb scenic route (does Northumberland have any other sort?) we had excellent views of a Raven; always a good bird to see and never anything less than impressive. Oystercatchers and Goosanders were found along the North Tyne and a Dipper played hide-and-seek before we eventually watched it at our leisure as it perched on a mid-stream rock. Mandarins were watched in flight and then as they flowed downstream in the current. As the sun forced it’s way through the cloud cover, Buzzards began to appear; initially just single birds soaring, then pairs soaring before engaging in the headlong plummet of display. The only Goshawk of the day was seen briefly as it crossed between plantations, scattering crows in it’s wake. Around Bakethin, Mandarins were petting and snuggling up close to each other, Cormorants were perched drying on a semi-submerged branch and Goldeneye, Teal, Goosander, Little Grebe and Mallard were all quietly getting on with the business of feeding. Six Sand Martins were a sign that our summer visitors are starting to arrive but the large flocks of Fieldfare throughout the day suggested that our winter residents aren’t ready to be on their way just yet. Perhaps most impressive was one of our commonest birds; two separate flocks of Chaffinch, each with ~150 birds. One flock was about 95% male and had 20-30 Skylarks mixed in, the other flock was about 50:50 and included 20+ Pied Wagtails. Why the discrepancy in sex ratios between flocks only a few miles apart?

Never knowing what you will find, and then coming home with more questions than answers are two of the reasons that a day watching wildlife should always be stimulating. Good for body, mind and soul…