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Living on the edge; Otter mini-Safari 05/08/21
One thing that’s always impressed me about wildlife is the almost constant effort needed just to stay alive, contrasting with the technologically advanced, comfortable, lives that many of us lead… I met up with Cath, Andy, Beth and Dan for an evening around Druridge Bay, and the weather was pleasant…particularly compared to what was forecast…
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Omens; Focus on Northumberland Day 1 and 2 17-18/02/18
Day 1 17/02/18 After collecting John and Dani from Hexham we headed to The Battlesteads; our base for the next three days. Saturday’s evening session at the observatory featured some clear sky and we managed a quick binocular tour of Orion, Leo, Gemini, Cassiopeia, Auriga and the Plough before the rain eventually drove us back…
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Crashing waves; Druridge Bay Safari 01/02/18
Arriving at Church Point to collect Jenny and Peter, and Lynne, it was looking like we’d have a dry, but cold and windy day around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland… With a stiff breeze, every bit of water we looked at, whether river, pool, pond or roadside flash flood was being whipped up into a…
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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…
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Monochrome; Otter Safari 02/08/16
I collected Julie and Andrew and headed down the coast for an afternoon and evening searching for Otters around Druridge Bay and Southeast Northumberland… A tree filled with roosting Little Egrets, Grey Herons and Cormorants was an odd sight, as more Cormorants did their very best Otter impersonations up and down the river. Oystercatcher, Redshank…
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Never trust a weather forecast; Farne Islands Safari 15/06/16
With a Farne Islands Safari on Wedneday, I’d been keeping an even closer eye than usual on the weather forecast and particularly the forecast sea state and swell height. 1m waves, strong NE winds and heavy rain wasn’t the most promising of forecasts… I collected Paul and Rose from the Dunstanburgh Castle Hotel and we…
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Patience; Otter Safari 07/04/16
I collected Gwyn for a day searching for Otters around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland and we headed towards the coast… Our first site didn’t produce any Otter sightings, and there was nothing happening amongst the assembled Curlew, Redshank, Cormorant, Little Egret, Oystercatcher and Mallard to suggest that they were worried about any unseen predator…