Tag: Golden Plover

  • Eye of the storm; Lindisfarne Safari 27/09/18

    Yesterday’s Lindisfarne Safari was a trip of returning clients; Diane, who’d been on a Cheviot Valleys Safari in June and Paul and Pauline who’d enjoyed a successful Otter Safari last November… A flock of Golden Plover trying to fly against the stiff breeze were almost low enough to be between rooftops and treetops in the…

  • Hazy, lazy afternoon; North Pennines Safari 17/05/18

    I collected James and Emma from Hexham and we headed into the North Pennines for a day searching for the flora and fauna of the hills and moorland… We were soon watching our first Black Grouse of the day, which remarkably also proved to be our only Black Grouse of the day, as Common Snipe…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Swirling; Otter mini-Safari 30/12/17

    Yesterday’s mini-Safari was rearranged from Friday, when the ice on the roads would have made it a foolhardy exercise to head out.  I collected Jo, Chris, Lauren and Dilly from Church Point and we headed off for a few hours exploring Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland… At the start of the afternoon there was no…

  • 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…

  • Other-worldly; Lindisfarne Safari 02/11/17

    Thursday’s Lindisfarne Safari was a stranding trip, with our plan to cross onto the island just before the tide cut it off and then stay there until the causeway cleared again.  I collected Sue, for her 6th trip with NEWT, from Old Swarland and then we headed to Alnwick to collect Paul, Edith, Jan and…

  • Breezy Black Grouse; North Pennines Bespoke Birdwatching 25/04/17

    Tuesday was my third consecutive 03:30 alarm call and, bleary eyed, I cleared the snow off the car ahead of a trip to the North Pennines with one specific aim – to watch Black Grouse lekking… I collected Sylvia and Stephen from Corbridge and we headed westwards.  The first rays of sunlight illuminated the tops…

  • Springtime in the hills 🙂 North Pennines Bespoke Birdwatching 24/04/17

    This morning was another early start, and I crawled out of bed at 03:30 as the alarm disrupted my sleep… I collected Daniel and Nigel from Ponteland and we headed towards the North Pennines.  Curlew and Lapwing were displaying over the fells, but in the icy cold stiff breeze, Red Grouse and Black Grouse were…

  • Serenade; North Pennines Bespoke Photography 23/04/17

    Yesterday was an early start for David, who was the runner up in the junior category of last year’s North East Wildlife Photography competition, and his parents Helen and John.  We’ve sponsored the junior category since the inception of the competition and, for some reason, the winners of the prize that we offer usually choose…