I collected Ian and Pauline from Rothbury for a Prestige Tour of Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland and headed towards the coast in what could only be described as a stiff breeze 😉
Nuthatches, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits and a Treecreeper were all watched as we sat amongst the trees and Pauline spotted our only Red Squirrel of the trip as it ran between patches of fern nearby.
Beside the River Coquet a Grey Heron sat impassively, Goosanders were sleeping along the riverbank and Curlew prodded around in the mud. The wader roost at East Chevington was a bit lacking in variety; lots of Lapwings, 20 Ruff, 30 Curlew and single Knot and Bar-tailed Godwit. An unfamiliar call heralded the arrival of 4 Snow Geese, accompanied by the 3 Bar-headed Geese that have been wandering around Druridge Bay this summer, and a juvenile Marsh Harrier was tossed around on the wind. A good selection of ducks was on offer; Mallard, Shoveler, Teal,Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Gadwall and Pintail. Birdwatching can be tricky in strong wind, but there was plenty to see. As we drove towards Druridge Pools, I stopped the car so we could look at an unfamiliar shape flying from Cresswell towards Druridge. A (presumably) escaped Eagle Owl! Druridge produced another magical moment as well, with a juvenile Peregrine hunting Teal above the main pool.
As the final traces of daylight faded, a Tawny Owl serenaded us as the wind whipped around our ears.
On Saturday I had the pleasure of guiding a visit to Kielder (I still can’t bring myself to write Kielder Water and Forest Park…) for a group of Landscape Architecture students from the University of Michigan.
After collecting the group from Saughy Rigg (which will be the base for our ‘Autumn Colours’ photography holiday and ‘Winter Wonderland’ birdwatching holiday later this year) we headed up the North Tyne valley and began our tour of Kielder at the dam wall. With a stiff breeze blowing down the valley, we had a walk that would blow away any cobwebs. As I described the 2 extraordinary achievements that were the planting of the forest and the creation of the reservoir we watched Oystercatchers and Chaffinches and saw Crossbills and Siskins flying overhead. Coal Tits and Goldcrests were calling from the trees and the students enjoyed looking at some of the sculptures around the lake.
I devised a route back to Saughy Rigg that took in some open heather moorland, so that the group would have a good idea of what the Kielder area would have been like prior to the planting. Over that moorland we watched Curlews mobbing a Common Buzzard, and Lapwings were engaging in their apparently chaotic display flight.
After returning the group to Saughy Rigg, I drove eastwards, back towards southeast Northumberland, still birdwatching; just a few miles from home a flock of 150 Fieldfares were a reminder that winter is only just behind us, contrasting with the Chiffchaff that was singing in our garden.
Our Kielder Safaris this year will again include driving along tracks that are ‘off-limits’ to the public. With excellent views of Goshawk, Roe Deer and Red Fox along those tracks last year, and a real sense that you’re in a wilderness, it’s a very different wildlife experience. We’ve got a few spaces left, so give us a call and join us on a Safari through the forest.
I’ve never been good at sitting in the office and concentrating on one task for any length of time. Having an office window that looks out over the 76ha of mixed woodland of Choppington Woods LNR is a real blessing, allowing me to mix work and birdwatching. When I need to stretch my legs, a quick trip downstairs lets me open the patio door and turns the kitchen into a very comfortable and convenient bird photography hide.
Our garden is currently hosting at least 8 Bramblings, along with Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, occasional visits from Siskin, Redpoll and Treecreeper and regular fly-throughs by our local Sparrowhawks.
It’s hard to believe that we posted on the blog back in January about the big freeze last winter and here we are again in a similar position already before the end of November (although at least at the moment it isn’t so prolonged).
I went in to Newcastle last Wednesday for a seminar about the IMCORE project, and there was a bit of light snowfall. When I came out of the Ridley Building an hour later the world was white, and it’s just gone on from that point. After Sarah got home from work on Thursday evening the next time we used either of the cars was when we dug her car out of the snow this morning so she could go to work. We’ve made the most of the last few days though; walking the 2 miles there (and 2 miles back) each day to visit a friend who’s now in a residential care home, doing most of the admin in 3 days that we would usually do through the winter (including adding all of our 2011 trips to the website) and finalising a couple of projects that we’ve been working on.
Birdwatching in our little part of southeast Northumberland has been interesting for the last few days. We’ve got an ever-expanding flock of Coal, Great and BlueTits, Dunnocks and Wrens are now ever present around the feeding station and a very optimistic pair of Collared Doves were mating at the top of the Apple tree earlier this morning. Two pairs of Bullfinches are regular visitors but other finches are in short supply; there’s just a single pair of Chaffinches, we’ve only had one visit from Goldfinches in the last few days and, particularly worrying, we haven’t seen any Greenfinches around the feeders at all. A Sparrowhawk is still regularly patrolling over Choppington Woods and a flock of 50-60 Redwings flies out from the woods each morning.
Now, after a morning of blue skies, it’s just started snowing again.
We’d planned to do some survey work this morning, but the prospect of walking along the beach from Cresswell to East Chevington into a stiff northerly with heavy rain and temperatures only hovering just above freezing wasn’t too tempting.
Instead we opted for some southeast Northumberland birdwatching with a walk along the River Wansbeck near Morpeth. Our local river is a real gem in some parts and we walk several of them regularly. In the gloom and wet of this morning we still enjoyed the Mallards and Moorhens on the river, the flocks of Coal Tits and Long-tailed Tits in the trees and, best of all, the iridescent electric blue of a Kingfisher as it perched on a tree overhanging the water. An afternoon spent working (on the Northeast Cetacean Project and a business plan that we’ve been preparing) will be followed (we hope!) by a relaxing Sunday evening and then a busy week ahead; finalising and submitting the business plan, bringing the Northeast Cetacean Project database up to date, drafting a couple of articles that Martin’s writing and meeting up with some old friends (and new ones) as we put together next year’s itinerary for NEWT. Oh, there’ll be a few blog posts as well 🙂
Saturday saw a change in our normal Safari routine, and an early afternoon start. I collected Gareth and Ruth from the Red Lion at Alnmouth and we drove south. The hot, sunny weather had brought out hundreds of people to Plessey Woods but we still found a peaceful, undisturbed glade where we could listen to the birds singing and we watched a female Great Spotted Woodpecker; at least we were able to watch her until she realised that we were! Cresswell Pond produced a real avian soap opera as a Mute Swan defended his pond against two interlopers, racing across the pond like the Spanish Armada. A Little Gull was as cute and dimunitive as ever, alongside Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls. Druridge Pools was hosting some obviously confused geese; amongst the expected flock of Greylags there were single Pink-footed and Barnacle Geese as well. A late finish concluded with a beautiful, ghostly Barn Owl and at least 3 different species of bat along the River Coquet at dusk.
Sunday was a day for doing whatever we felt like. With temperatures still soaring, a day inland, doing survey work for the BTO Bird Atlas, was considered then rejected in favour of a visit to the coast.
Sarah had the excellent idea of taking a boat trip around Coquet Island, which I was really enthusiastic about. When myself and Tom Cadwallender from the Northumberland Coast AONB were designing the backdrop for this year’s Birdwatching Northumberland stand at the Bird Fair we chose eight species that we felt symbolised Northumberland birding; Curlew, Eider, Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Golden Plover, Black Grouse, Roseate Tern, Dipper and Puffin. A mix of everything that’s good about birdwatching in Northumberland; inland, coastal, summer and winter. I had images of seven of those species, but the Roseate Tern is the one that I haven’t photographed during the digital age. Hence, my enthusiasm for a trip around Coquet Island; with 35-40 Rosies already back at their Northumberland colony I was hopeful that photo opportunities would arise. As we sailed across to the island onboard Shokwave, there was a strengthening NNE breeze and the temperature began to decrease rapidly. Once Dennis manouvered the boat into the jetty, we could see Roseates sitting on their nest boxes. They were a bit distant for photography so I waited patiently until I heard the distinctive ‘choo-it’ call and a bird flew by the boat.
Britain's rarest breeding seabird
Grey Seals popped their heads above the water to look at the boat, Puffins whizzed past at breakneck speed and more Roseates were busy displaying around the boxes.
Roseate Tern
After a pleasant Sunday morning cruise it was time to return home. En route, we stopped off to check a Little Owl nest site and one of the adult birds sat staring at us from the roof of a derelict building. Finalising the paperwork for a forthcoming project was followed by a wonderful evening sitting on our patio, drinking wine and working on part of our bonsai collection as Blackbirds were singing from our trees and Coal Tits collected food to take to the noisy, and hungry, nestlings that we could hear. Now, that’s my idea of heaven 🙂
We had a leisurely hour of birdwatching yesterday morning. With all of the feeders stocked with top class bird food from Poltross, and a bacon and egg butty and a mug of coffee in hand, we settled down into our respective positions on either side of the kitchen. With commentary on the dismantling of Andy Murray in the background, binoculars were trained on the feeders, the ground, the shrubbery and the Ash tree. After a slow start, things began to gather pace and we finished with 76 birds of 20 species;
Collared Dove 4
Wood Pigeon 2
Jackdaw 1
Carrion Crow 1
House Sparrow 1
Starling 7
Blue Tit 2
Great Tit 3
Coal Tit 7
Willow Tit 2
Long-tailed Tit 3
Chaffinch 14
Greenfinch 5
Goldfinch 2
Bullfinch 4
Goldcrest 1
Robin 6
Dunnock 2
Blackbird 5
Redwing 4
There were a few absentees as well, all seen regularly in the days leading up to the Big Garden Birdwatch;
Jay
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Sparrowhawk
Siskin
Maybe 25 species in 1hr is a target to aim for in our garden next year.
No, not a post about the culinary delight I conjoured up yesterday for Sarah (butternut squash stuffed with bacon, blue cheese, garlic, creme fraiche and honey) although that was a bit of a milestone in my domestication 😉
No, it’s a post about an unexpected bounty that our garden birds are reaping currently. I usually try to fill all of our bird feeders just as it’s getting dark, that way the birds don’t get disturbed (not that it seems to bother some of them – Coal Tits will often just move to slightly higher branches in the apple tree, Robins seem to have no problem sitting just a few feet away). Inevitably some seed gets spilled. There’s also a reasonable amount of seed on the ground because the Coal Tits will sit on the feeders and discard anything they don’t fancy at the time. With several days of snowfall over the last few weeks this was creating something that I hadn’t realised; layers of food sandwiched between each successive snowfall. Now that the thaw is well under way, although there is still plenty of snow down here on the low ground, these layers of chilled bird seed are being exposed. 30 Chaffinches have been under the tree for most of today, and 8 Greenfinches have been around as well. After a complete absence of sightings in recent weeks, a Great Spotted Woodpecker has returned to the garden. At least one Brambling is still making sporadic appearances and the Blue, Coal and Great Tits are almost too numerous to count. As we’re feeding in parts of Choppington Woods, and some of our neighbours have well-stocked bird feeders we might expect numbers to decrease but we’ve got more birds now than in the depths of the snow and ice last week. Time to refill the feeders and dream of a rare thrush, bunting or accentor 🙂
The world around us was cloaked in white as we walked home from The Swan early this morning. A Tawny Owl was calling from the woods, but there was little other sound – muffled as it was by the snow. By the time we woke up, there was a lot more snow than there had been when we finally fell into bed. To shake off the lingering after-effects of Old Year’s Night we decided to take a walk around Choppington Woods, wrapped up warm and armed with a camera. Photography, rather than birdwatching was our main aim, and that was fortunate as there were a lot more birds in our garden than we encountered on the walk; Great, Blue, Coal and Willow Tits, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Bullfinch, Robin, Wren, Dunnock and Blackbird were around the feeders and, bird of the day, a Common Buzzard flying north over our allotment. Snow can make a relatively mundane landscape into a photogenic delight, but exposure calculations can be tricky and we spent a lot of time checking compositions and looking for obvious ‘lead-in’ lines. As we made our way back towards home 350 Pink-footed Geese flew south overhead. Moving ahead of more wintry weather maybe?
The view from our patio 01/01/2010Willowburn Pasture and a frozen floodFollowing in a Moorhen's footstepsChoppington Woods pond from the new boardwalkSarah scanning the treesFootpath and fence along the Willow Water
The feeders in our garden have been busier in the last couple of days than at any time during this winter. No less than 6 Blackbirds have taken up residence, 3 or 4 Robins are posturing and defending territories, a steady stream of Blue, Great and Coal Tits, along with our 2 regular Willow Tits, are emptying the feeders rapidly and a flock of 8 Long-tailed Tits are putting in daily appearances. Chaffinch numbers are way down on previous winters, but Greenfinches are now almost ever-present during daylight hours and three pairs of Bullfinches are never far away. It’s interesting that, even on a very short-distance scale, there’s such a noticeable movement of birds from their ‘normal’ habitat (Choppington Woods) to the gardens around the edge of the woods whenever the weather turns colder. Birdwatching doesn’t get any easier than sitting in the kitchen, glass of port in one hand and a slice of Christmas cake in the other 🙂
First thing this morning everything was frozen solid again. However, by lunchtime when Martin took Dad to the railway station there was a noticeable thaw – even though the thermometer was showing the temperature having only just crept above freezing. Then it started to rain and most of the remaining patches of ice and snow vanished. The birds were still around in the numbers of recent days though and, if the weather forecasts are anything to go by, we’re in for some more very hard winter weather at the end of this year and the start of the new one. Wrap up warm.
