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Delightful drizzle; Otter mini-Safari 01/04/2024
I ‘phoned Helen on Monday morning to check that everything was still ok for the evenings excursion searching for Otters. It was raining quite hard, and visibility wasn’t great, but with her brother and sister visiting, to celebrate her 60th birthday, Monday was the only realistic option… Luckily it wasn’t windy, as that’s the weather…
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Punk’s not dead; Otter mini-Safari 22/01/22
Yesterday was our first mini-Safari this year, after filling the first three weeks of the year with stargazing events and all of the planning for other projects we’re going to be involved in this year, so it was great to meet up with Clare and Lisa, then Monica and Michael, for a few hours around…
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Bespoke Otter Safari 07/02/20
As I collected Amy and James from Warkworth, ahead of a day around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland, the forecast for the morning was good, but there was a chance it would start to deteriorate during the afternoon… With only a gentle breeze every area of water we looked at was close to mirror-calm. Mallard,…
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Vital signs; Otter mini-Safari 12/01/20
A dual purpose title for today’s blog… I collected Fara, Andrew and Nicola & Graeme and Jen from Newbiggin and we set off to explore Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland on a Sunday morning that was thankfully lacking the stiff breeze that has characterised the winter so far… Water that was almost mirror-calm was patterned…
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Halcyon days; Otter Safari 19/12/19
After a couple of weeks where we didn’t have any scheduled trips it was a nice change of scenery to have a day out around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland and I collected Kev from Woodhorn as the rain started to fall… Mid-morning produced a trio of great birds. A 1st winter Glaucous Gull had…
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Waxing and Murmuring; Druridge Bay Safari 19/11/19
I arrived in Newbiggin to collect Colin and Charlotte for a day around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland, but sadly not Tony who’d had a fall earlier in the week and wasn’t able to be on the trip with us… On calm water Little Grebes were constantly diving as a Kingfisher flew by and settled…
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Murmuration; Bespoke Druridge Bay Safari 21/10/19
Late October and big flocks of stuff are starting to feature more and more prominently… I collected Caroline, Ian and Ted from Embleton and we headed down the coast towards NEWT’s local patch, Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland. Little Grebes were diving in calm water as Cormorants sat on long dead branches and a Kingfisher…
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Misty, murky 🙂 Druridge Bay Safari 24/04/19
As I collected Patrick and Susan from Newbiggin for an afternoon and evening exploring NEWT’s local patch, Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland, there were some impressive waves breaking in the bay… A flock of Black-headed Gulls were pestering a Grey Heron that flew off, voicing its disapproval, and then they turned their attentions to a…
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Cold westerlies; Otter Safari 29/03/19
There was a chilly breeze as I collected Kev and Heidi from Newbiggin ahead of an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland, but the weather is otherwise quite pleasant at the moment… A Cormorant in proper heraldic pose was well appreciated, as they always are, as Goldeneyes and Little Grebes dived in…
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A herd of pygmies; Otter mini-Safari 26/03/19
I collected Jennie and Dean from Newbiggin and we set out for a few hours exploring Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland… A chilly westerly wind kept temperatures down and the wildlife was a mixture of winter and spring; Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser and flocks of Mallard, Teal and geese were a lingering reminder of the big…