Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: Grey Plover

  • Mud, mud, glorious mud; Lindisfarne Safari 21/11/19

    Yesterday was Colin and Charlotte’s second day out with NEWT this week and this time we were heading north to Lindisfarne… A quick look at Monk’s House Pool on the way up the coast revealed the continued presence of the Long-tailed Duck that we saw with Sue earlier this month and then we headed to…

  • Wind-blasted; Bespoke Lindisfarne Safari 05/11/19

    I collected Sue for her 10th NEWT safari and we headed north in weather that didn’t seem to be quite certain of what it was… Along the causeway, with the tide only just receding from the road, Curlews, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwits, Grey Plovers, Redshanks and Oystercatchers were probing the freshly exposed mud as Pale-Bellied Brent…

  • Group birdwatching; Druridge Bay and Lindisfarne 21-22/05/19

    We usually limit our tours to a maximum of 6 participants, and our increasingly popular bespoke tours to 2 participants, but over the last 11 years we’ve done a few tours for larger groups. 34 members of an RSPB group was on a different level though… With Sarah and Tom assisting we separated the group…

  • 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…

  • A Storm of Puffins; Druridge Bay Bespoke Birdwatching 30/07/18

    Wouldn’t that be a great title for the next book in the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series (Game of Thrones)?  I’ve met a few people over the last 10 years who expected Puffins to be much larger than they actually are, so the idea of unleashing a horde of them on your enemies…

  • 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…

  • Mud, glorious mud; Bespoke Wader ID Workshop 03/11/16

    Thursday was a trip I’d been looking forward to for several months…Sue’s 5th trip with NEWT was a day searching for and identifying wading birds.  Some, like the Curlew with it’s eerie cry and long downcurved beak are straightforward, but others can be a bit trickier… A field full of Oystercatcher and Lapwing close to…

  • Arrivals; Holy Island bespoke birdwatching 20/10/16

    Yesterday was Pete and Jan’s 9th trip with NEWT and we headed to a location that they haven’t visited with us previously… Heading north from Embleton we soon encountered the first rain of the day, and by the time we reached the Holy Island causeway the mud and shallow water around the array of Redshank,…

  • Dodging the showers; Lindisfarne Safari 09/08/16

    The unpredictability of the weather in northern England is one of the reasons I love living here.  Early August and you just don’t know whether there’ll be clear skies and sunshine, or something akin to the depths of the autumn… I arrived at Kingston Park and met up with Chris (for his third trip with…

  • Bird of the Day; Lindisfarne Safari 10/05/16

    I can’t think of a species of bird that I don’t enjoy watching.  Every last one of them has something special, but some just have more than others… I collected Steve and Carrie from the Bamburgh Castle Inn and we headed north towards Lindisfarne.  Starting with a walk along the Crooked Lonnen we’d soon found…