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Everything ‘adding’ up to a great day; Cheviot Valleys Bespoke Birdwatching 28/03/19
Yesterday was Sue’s 9th day out with NEWT, and the first time we’d headed into the Cheviot Valleys together… In warm sunshine and under blue skies we started with a search for Adders. Sue’s sharp eyes spotted two, and we watched both from a respectful distance so they continued basking in roadside vegetation. Great Crested…
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In the bleak midwin…wait a minute 🙂 Kielder Safari 24/03/19
Yesterday’s Kielder Safari was filled with returning clients; Stephen on his 3rd trip, Andy and Jill on their 3rd and Gordon and Mandy on their 7th. We’d got one species in particular on the target list for the day… The forecast was for blustery showers but it started off fairly fine. Once we were out…
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A wet day in the borders; Kielder Safari 17/04/18
I collected Gordon and Mandy from The Battlesteads for their 5th day out with NEWT and we headed towards Kielder. The forecast suggested occasional showers, so I was hopeful that the breaks in the rain would encourage raptors to be up and about… 6 hours later the rain eventually stopped 🙂 We’d had views of…
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Another raptor day 🙂 Kielder Safari 05/04/18
When we’ve got a day in and around Kielder and the Scottish Borders ahead of us what I’m hoping for is blue sky, not too much cloud and a nice breeze…exactly what we’d got as I collected Ian and Ian from Newbiggin, Joan and Jerry from Hexham and Duncan and Laura from Bellingham… As Chaffinches…
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A raptor day; Bespoke Kielder Safari 28/03/2016
I love the Northumberland coast, and my obsession with the North Sea and it’s wildlife is well documented, but I always look forward to the drive west – away from the sea and into forests and remote moorland… I collected Jeanette and Simon for their second trip with NEWT, following the Otter mini-Safari on Sunday,…
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Dreich; Kielder Safari 17/03/2015
Dull, overcast, drizzly, misty, cold, miserable…the sort of day that makes Kielder a place where you really have to work for your wildlife sightings. I collected David from Byrness and we headed into the border forests. After his coastal holiday with us in 2013, and a Farne Deeps pelagic trip in September last year, I…
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Kettling; Kielder Safari 23/04/2014
The alarm went off at 06:00 on Wednesday, and my heart sank as I looked out of the window…heavy mist, not ideal for any of our tours, but particularly not good for a day in Kielder. I drove to Kingston Park to collect Steph and we headed west in much more promising conditions; low cloud…
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Would you like to stroke my Badger?
On Saturday I was in the Kielder area with Sarah, collecting our new mountain bikes from Ian at The Bike Place. The weather was glorious; blue skies, sunshine – everything you would want on a day there with clients. Skip forward to Sunday morning… I collected Jon and Alison, Jill and Steve & Laura and…
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Lightning strikes twice
Trips with existing clients are always a pleasure, not only because it’s very gratifying to get a booking from someone we’ve taken out before, but also because we already have shared memories. I had 3 things vivid in my mind from when I took Pete and Janet out in September 2008 – it rained, we saw 11…
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A trip within a trip
“Is Sarah keeping you organised and under control?” – that was a question I was actually asked by a client who I took out, for their second trip, recently. Now, I’m the first to admit that organisation isn’t really one of my strengths, but the other owner of NEWT encourages me 😉 With four clients, and three…