Tag: House Martin

  • May magic; Otter Safari 09/05/17

    After a week away from home, leading a wildlife photography holiday for another company, I was looking forward to getting back to all things NEWT and as I collected Mike and Barbara from Low Newton, ahead of an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay searching for Otters, I was thinking that the afternoon sunshine was…

  • Passing storms; Druridge Bay 08/09/16

    As a wildlife guide I’ve become ever so slightly obsessed with the weather, and weather forecasts… I arrived at Church Point to collect Steve and Christine ahead of a day around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland, and looking inland there seemed to be a lot of low, dense, cloud.  The forecast suggested showers late morning,…

  • Amphibians; Otter Safari 25/08/16

    All wildlife tends to have it’s own niche, and those can be temporary… I collected Meryl and Kate from The Swan and we headed towards the coast to spend the afternoon and evening searching for Otters around Druridge Bay and south east Northumberland.  The weather forecast wasn’t great but, as Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Cormorants…

  • 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…

  • Summer…; Otter Safari 25/07/16

    July is a month when most of my time is spent at sea, either carrying out transect surveys or leading pelagic trips, so an afternoon and evening looking for Otters brings some welcome variation… I collected Susan and Mike from Seaton Burn and then Frank, Gabrielle, Boudewijn and Odette from The Swan before heading to…

  • Small things; Druridge Bay 24/05/16

    Waders are often spectacular, seabirds are enigmatic and raptors are, well, raptors, but sometimes the smaller birds deserve a lot more attention… I collected Stephen from North Shields for his 7th day trip with NEWT and we headed north to Druridge Bay.  Days out with Stephen are always enjoyableStarting in bright sunshine under blue skies,…

  • Sounds of Spring; Druridge Bay Bespoke Safari 21/05/16

    Ever improving weather tends to make days out with clients slightly more relaxed than those days where we’re contending with the elements – although I personally prefer the more challenging days 😉 I collected Julie and Mike from The Plough Inn, not much more than a stone’s throw from the sea, and we set out…

  • Spring arrivals; Druridge Bay Safari 30/04/2015

    It’s been a cold windy spring, and a few of our summer visitors seemed a bit tardy; we found our first Sand Martin and Chiffchaff later than we would have expected, but the day has been coming when things would start to happen… I collected Jan and Peter from Church Point and we set out…

  • Pyramids; mini-Safari 22/06/2014

    You’ll probably be familiar with the concept of ‘pyramid of numbers’, but there’s a loop in that pyramid and I spend a lot of my time  on the wrong end of it… I collected Boyd and Louise from Newton and we headed south along the Northumberland coast to search around our favourite Otter sites.  Ducks…

  • Six of the best; Cheviot Valleys and Druridge Bay 09/06/2014

    Monday’s trip was a birdwatching tour of two of Northumberland’s excellent locations; the Cheviot Valleys in the morning, and Druridge Bay in the afternoon. I collected John, Graham, Andy, Sue, Sue and Lesley from their cottage in Shilbottle and we set off inland towards the imposing landscape of the Cheviot massif.  As we got out…