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Light on the water; Bespoke Photography 10/09/2020
Yesterday was a trip we were really looking forward to after what has been a really challenging year in so many ways. Emma and Janine have been on a couple of photography holidays that I’ve led since late 2018 and yesterday’s trip was organised for Janine’s birthday. Water and wildlife were the specific requests so…
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Mud, mud, glorious mud; Lindisfarne Safari 21/11/19
Yesterday was Colin and Charlotte’s second day out with NEWT this week and this time we were heading north to Lindisfarne… A quick look at Monk’s House Pool on the way up the coast revealed the continued presence of the Long-tailed Duck that we saw with Sue earlier this month and then we headed to…
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Wind-blasted; Bespoke Lindisfarne Safari 05/11/19
I collected Sue for her 10th NEWT safari and we headed north in weather that didn’t seem to be quite certain of what it was… Along the causeway, with the tide only just receding from the road, Curlews, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwits, Grey Plovers, Redshanks and Oystercatchers were probing the freshly exposed mud as Pale-Bellied Brent…
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Lindisfarne mini-Safari 02/10/19
With a biting northwesterly tearing across the causeway I arrived on Holy Island and met up with Ollie, Neil, Dawn and Sarah for a few hours birding around the island. I was really looking forward to this trip because I’ve known Ollie since we first started NEWT as he has his own outdoor activity business……
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Calm; Otter Safari 30/04/19
Arriving in Newbiggin to collect Marilyn, Lesley, Penny, Dave and Trai ahead of an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland the first thing that struck me was just how calm the sea was, and how the mist hanging over it left water and sky linked by an invisible horizon… We started with…
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Waiting on the weather 😉 Druridge Bay Safari 26/04/19
As I arrived in Newbiggin to collect Sue, Nick, Mandy and Ian for an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland the sea was looking much calmer than it had done on Wednesday, but the sky was ominous and the forecast more so… We started with a couple of riverside walks through woodland…
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Falling; Bespoke Otter Safari 11/10/18
As I left the house to head north to Embleton to collect John and Margaret for an afternoon and evening searching for Otters around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland a flock of 43 Redwings passed overhead, heading southwest on the stiff breeze and drizzle… Rather than lunch overlooking the North Sea I thought that one…
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A Storm of Puffins; Druridge Bay Bespoke Birdwatching 30/07/18
Wouldn’t that be a great title for the next book in the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series (Game of Thrones)? I’ve met a few people over the last 10 years who expected Puffins to be much larger than they actually are, so the idea of unleashing a horde of them on your enemies…
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Signs of spring, remnants of winter; Lindisfarne Safari 19/04/18
I collected Gordon and Mandy for their 6th day out with NEWT, and 2nd this week, from the Bamburgh Castle Inn and we headed up the coast towards Holy Island under clear blue sky and warm sunshine… Lapwing were displaying over the fields; twisting, tumbling and calling with their very unbird-like song. Roe Deer were…
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Wintering; Lindisfarne Safari 08/11/17
I collected Nick and Mel from Seahouses for their 2nd consecutive day out with NEWT and we headed north towards Holy Island under blue skies… Along the causeway Little Egrets, Redshank and Curlew were patrolling the interface between falling tide and freshly exposed mud. Flocks of Golden Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit patterned the sky in…