Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: Black-headed Gull

  • Persistence; Otter mini-Safari 22/08/17

    Warm and foggy is a slightly ethereal combination of weather conditions, but that was just what we had when I collected Mark and Rachel and Phil and Katrina and Debbie and Neil from Church Point, ready for an evening searching for Otters around Druridge Bay and Southeast Northumberland… We may still be in August but…

  • The golden hour; Bespoke coastal birdwatching 07/06/17

    I collected Nicky and Mick from Newbiggin and we set off for an afternoon and evening exploring Druridge Bay and south east Northumberland.  The weather was somewhat nicer than it had been 24h earlier, in fact postively summery although with a fairly stiff breeze.  Sometimes I could write a blog post by skipping to the…

  • May magic; Otter Safari 09/05/17

    After a week away from home, leading a wildlife photography holiday for another company, I was looking forward to getting back to all things NEWT and as I collected Mike and Barbara from Low Newton, ahead of an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay searching for Otters, I was thinking that the afternoon sunshine was…

  • Changing of the guard; Lindisfarne Safari 18/04/17

    I collected Luke and Louise from Alnwick, for the first of their three trips with us this week, and we headed north to Lindisfarne… Crossing the causeway, with hardly any water in sight, it was hard to believe that this has been the scene of so many attempts by the unwary and the foolish to…

  • April showers; Otter Safari 16/04/17

    Yesterday’s Otter Safari had an interesting weather forecast; damp during the afternoon, but forecast to be completely clear by 7pm.  Soon after I collected Rachel, Andrew, Gemma and Dave from Church Point, the first part of the forecast was borne out by reality, as we spent the first couple of hours in persistent rain… Common…

  • “…and a Common Seal in a dead tree”; Otter Safari 02/12/16

    From the Fascinating ‘Life on Earth’ back in the 1970’s, through to the jaw-dropping ‘Planet Earth II‘ that’s currently showing on the BBC (2 episodes to go, ‘Grasslands’ this evening and ‘Cities’ next Sunday!), I’ve always enjoyed David Attenborough’s programmes.  Recent series have included a section at the end of each programme, detailing the planning…

  • Searching; Otter Safari 18/10/16

    A day around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland was in store as I arrived at Church Point to collect Sam, Luke, Perdi and Georgina. Ghostly white Mediterranean Gulls were drifting through the assembled cloud of Black-headed Gulls as we prepared to head a few miles inland, and a Swallow over the caravan park was an…

  • Panic; Otter Safari 14/09/16

    We always try to provide a weather forecast a day or two before a trip; it helps people to decide what footwear would be appropriate for example.  Sunday’s update for everyone booked on yesterday’s Otter Safari was ‘Current weather forecast suggests dry and warm with only a very light NE breeze.’  By yesterday morning that…

  • The departed; Farne Islands Bespoke Birdwatching 30/07/16

    The Farne islands in late June are a chaotic place; huge numbers of birds on all of the cliff faces and around the boardwalks.  Late July is a very different experience though… I collected Ruth and Ann from Ponteland and we drove across to the coast before heading north for a day of bespoke beginners…

  • Summer…; Otter Safari 25/07/16

    July is a month when most of my time is spent at sea, either carrying out transect surveys or leading pelagic trips, so an afternoon and evening looking for Otters brings some welcome variation… I collected Susan and Mike from Seaton Burn and then Frank, Gabrielle, Boudewijn and Odette from The Swan before heading to…