Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: House Martin

  • A wet Wednesday in Warkworth; mini-safari 28/05/2014

    Drizzle and murk aren’t the usual conditions we enjoy in Northumberland, but Wednesday wasn’t looking promising as I drove up the A1 to collect Corin, Claire, Jean, Gene and Lily.

    The drizzle continued steadily as we watched over a beautful stretch of the River Aln.  Blackbirds and Chiffchaffs were singing, fish were rising at surface of the river and a Common Buzzard flapped away downstream.  We headed on, watching a buzzard carrying prey over the road ahead of us, to a site where we hoped to find an Otter.Initially all was serene, Shelducks were watching over their ducklings, Tufted Ducks, Gadwall and a Mute Swan were feeding quietly and a female Mallard was watching over her one remaining duckling (unsurprising given the frequent Otter activity in that pool).  Then there was a change; The Shelducks flew off, abandoning their brood (who all headed away from the edge of the pool and formed a dense cluster), the Mallard abandoned her duckling, which swam up and down plaintively calling and the four Tufted Ducks all turned to stare straight at the same stretch of reedbed.  Then they moved further away, forming a tight mixed flock in the centre of the pool with Mute Swans, Gadwall, Mallards and Greylag Geese.  The drama continued as the lone Mallard duckling swam close to a swan nest and was attacked by both adult swans, diving repeatedly as they struck at it with their beaks.  The swans, ducks andgeese dispersed, still watching the reedbed warily, the Shelducks flew back in, taking the brood under their wing for the night, the lone Mallard duckling contined swimming back and forth, calling for it’s parent and a Roebuck bounded through a reedbed.  Suddenly the air was alive with Swallows, Sand Martins andHouse Martins, indicating one thing…the evening hatch had started.   Zzzzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzzzzz; the incessant mechanical droning of hundreds, if not thousands, of flying insects,taking to the air in the warm humidity.  It was getting too dark to see any detail, but as the Mallard duckling swam in front of us, it’s mother returned.  Who doesn’t love a story with a happy ending 🙂

  • Watching; Bespoke Safari 25/04/2014

    The first part of the Bank Holiday weekend was a washout, with our scheduled Dark Skies event, for a Hen Party in Kielder, falling victim to the weather 🙁 Sunday was a bespoke wildlife Safari for Claire and Sophie and, as I collected them from home in Gosforth, things were looking a bit more promising.  Away inland we could see a lot of general murkiness, so we headed for the Northumberland coast – planning to drop down to Druridge Bay as the afternoon progressed.

    Glorious, yet chillingly breezy weather was waiting for us at Bamburgh and we watched Eider and Common Scoter as they bobbed about in the swell.  We checked the wake of very passing boat for any sign of Bottlenose Dolphinsand continued south down the coast.  Willow Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings andWhitethroats were singing all around and Little Grebes were diving for prey before bobbing back to the water’s surface.  Our picnic stop featured Fulmars arcing just above the clifftops a few metres away from us and a viewpoint over the River Wansbeck revealed lots and lots of ducklings; Gadwall, Mallard, Shelduck all had broods of between eight and eleven – although this prime source of Otter food didn’t seem to have attracted the attention of any Otters.  A Roe Deer on the far bank appeared than quickly vanished again as it made it’s way through the bushes, and Swifts, Swallows, House Martins andSand Martins feasted on the buzzing clouds of insects overhead.  As daylight faded we arrived at one site to find a Mallard and a Grey Heron both staring intently into a hole that we’ve long suspected of being an Otter holt.  More Mallards, and the three of us, joined the staring contest but the adversary that eventually flushed the heron, and had the Mallards waddling away at a rate of knots, remained unseen as bats began flitting past our ears.

  • All adding up; Bespoke wildlife tour 20/05/2014

    Even after 20 years living in Northumberland, I’m sometimes still amazed at what can be seen in one day, with seven mammals in a day in June 2010 showing what’s possible with planning and just a bit of luck 🙂  Sometimes you just have to hope that the weather’s helpful though…

    I collected Mike and Jane from Greycroft and we set off towards the foothills of the Cheviots.  Our first targets for the day were reptiles…and it wasn’t looking promising; thick low cloud and a cold breeze really aren’t the ideal conditions for these cold-blooded predators.  Nevertheless, we made our way along a track with several likely sunning spots.  All were devoid of reptiles, but an hour later, as we were surrounded by the songs of Blackcaps, Garden Warblers, Sedge Warblers andChaffinches, it turned slightly brighter and the temperature rose (from ‘chilling’ to ‘almost warm’!) so I suggested it was time to retrace our route.  Almost as if scripted, the most likely looking spot had an Adder laid in it 🙂  It slithered away into the grass and out of sight as we headed on our way.  Our next destination was the southeast Northumberland coast and Druridge Bay.  Despite a concentrated session checking their regular hang-outs we didn’t manage to find any Red Squirrels, although it was cold and windy which doesn’t help.  Birdwatching our way up the coast produced Fulmar soaring along the cliff tops as we ate our lunch,  House andSand Martins hawking insects, Dunlin andGrey Plover feeding up on their way north, and a Grey Heron that had found a rich vein of Eels.  It caught, and consumed, four in less than an hour!  Jane spotted a Roebuckas we drove alongside the fields, and then another two by the River Coquet.  Our final stop was in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, with Common Eider just offshore, as well as waddling up the beach, and a small group of Common Scoter just beyond them.

    With a rich variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, flowers and other wildlife, Northumberland in May really is an excellent destination for the keen naturalist.  I like it almost as much as I like the winter 🙂

  • Eye of the storm; Druridge Bay 13/05/2014

    The deep ominous rumble of thunder was all around us now.  There was a light at the end of the tunnel though, but could we make the most of it?

    I’d collected Stephen from home in North Shields and we headed up the coast for an afternoon and evening birdwatching around Druridge Bay.  The early part of the trip was in fine weather and we watched Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers singing from the bushes, Wheatears flitting from ground to fencepost and back and House Martins andSwallows twisting and turning in pursuit of the bountiful harvest brought about by warm damp conditions.  Part way through the afternoon things began to change; away to the north the sky was darkening and we could hear the deep rumble of distant thunder.  Another storm was looming to the southwest, and gradually we were encircled by a menacing gloom.  The rain began hammering against the car, but there was one ray of hope.  At the centre of the storm was a break in the clouds; blue sky and sunshine of sorts.  I could see which way it was heading and knew that we had one excellent option.

    Down the coast to a Barn Owl breeding site, with the rain relentlessly challenging the efficiency of the windscreen wipers on the car, we positioned ourselves so the owl’s regular hunting area was in view.  I was fairly sure that the break in the weather would be over us in about ten minutes, and that we’d have a window of opportunity for about another ten minutes prior to the next downpour.  As the rain eased to just a few drops, we concentrated our attention on the dunes and, within a couple of minutes of the rain stopping, the Barn Owl appeared.  Quartering , hovering, diving out of sight into the grass before lifting again, carrying a vole back to the nest then resuming the hunt only to abandon as the next edge of the storm hit with a vengeance and we headed off with flashes of lightning illuminating the darkened landscape.

  • Birdwatching in an iconic landscape; Lindisfarne 23/09/2013

    After two long hard days offshore (8hr pelagic on Saturday – blog post coming soon! – and 14hr offshore on Sunday for a North East Cetacean Project transect survey) today brought some light relief from the rolling swell of the North Sea as I headed north to Seahouses to collect Phil and Ann (who had won a morning out with NEWT in a competition on Visit Northumberland) and Rachael and Alex, who by happy coincidence were all staying at St Cuthbert’s House.

    In weather that was glorious, even by the high standards set during this year, we headed north towards Holy Island.  In the north of Northumberland, with a falling tide, it was looking like a good waders and wildfowl morning.  Mudflats were dotted with a mosaic of Mallard, Shelduck, Curlew, Dunlin, Lapwing, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Pink-footed Geese and, as we drove along the coastal road towards Holy Island, we had the treat of watching a Sparrowhawk as it flew just ahead of us, only inches above the road.  Ringed Plover and more Dunlin, Curlew and Redshank were feeding in the mud of Holy Island harbour, Pied Wagtails were, well, wagging their tails along the pebbly edge of the harbour, a flock of House Sparrows was engaged in stripping the seeds from grasses just above the tideline and House Martins and Swallows were sallying back and forth in search of insects in the warm autumn sunshine.  Flocks of waders in flight are a spectacle to rival any other and as we watched, and listened to, a group of Grey Seals that were hauled out on the sandbanks between the island and the mainland, the amorphous twisting turning shapes in the air high overhead resolved into flocks of Golden Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit.

    The final part of the plan for the morning was a short session of seawatching.  Sandwich and Common Terns were diving close to the shore, Gannets were a bit further out and the sea was dotted with the dark shapes of Eiders.  Turnstones were perched on the top of rocky outcrops, a Harbour Porpoise proved elusive as it surfaced to breathe and an Arctic Skua raced south before everyone could get on to it.  Obligingly it came back north, settled on the sea for a little while and then continued steadily north before breaking off into a aerobatic attack on a Sandwich Tern with another skua joining in as the tern twisted and turned in an attempt to evade the pirates of the sea as they attempted to rob it of it’s recent catch.

    Lots of birds, lots of interesting wildlife behaviour to watch, and four clients who were all great fun to spend the morning with – if I ever suggest that I’m going to return to teaching, just point me in the direction of this blog post 🙂

  • Stoatally different to yesterday…

    By extraordinary coincidence, one of our least observed mammals put in an appearance for the second consecutive day…

    I collected David, Jackie and Alexander from Bamburgh and we headed south to start their Prestige Tour of the Northumberland Coast.  As Swallows and House Martins flitted about low over the water in front of us, a Stoat proved elusive as it darted in and out of the vegetation close to the water’s edge, momentarily startling the dozing ducks before vanishing back into the edge of a reedbed.  As ever something wholly unexpected appeared, on this occasion a Peregrine over Cresswell village.  A Roe Deer walking through an arable field appeared like a disembodied head – only popping up, like a Jack-in-the-box, every few metres as it made it’s way across the field.

    Another elusive mustelid put in a brief appearance too, as a Badger trotted along between reedbeds, but unfortunately hidden from view by the vegetation on our side of the pool.  As dusk approached, pipistrelle bats were flitting back and forth, tiny Common Froglets hopped across the path in front of us and the drive back to Bamburgh produced another impressive mammal, as a Brown Hare loped along the verge as we passed.

  • Beauty in the ‘mundane’

    LBJ.  No, not the 36th President of the United States, but the acronym used by many birdwatchers to describe any relatively small, nondescript brown bird – ‘Little Brown Job’.  Over the last few years, a number of our clients have applied that term to two birds that I always think deserve closer attention…

    I collected Jo and Kirsty from Alnwick for their second consecutive day out with me and we headed straight up the coast and made our way on to Holy Island.  Curlews were passing overhead as we walked around the bits of the island that weren’t full of other people, those two LBJ’s, Skylark and Meadow Pipit, were dodging in and out of long grass in the fields by the path, Kirsty started photographing Swallows and quickly progressed to using flash to freeze the action as they hovered in front of us feeding beakfuls of flies to recently fledged juveniles and Golden Plover and Oystercatcher were probing around rockpools as Grey Seals bobbed about in the gentle surf just offshore.  Edges are always a productive area; edges of fields, woodland, moorland and the shoreline – that ever shifting edge of the sea and the land.  That latter edge produced some stunning Bar-tailed Godwits, and an impressively large group of very vocal Grey Seals.

    As we continued back down the coast the mist thickened and we were eventually in the surreal position of having blazing sunshine on our backs and visibility of less than 100m in front of us.  As a loose flock of Eiders drifted close inshore and then back out again, and Swallows and House Martins hawked insects low over the beach, a dark menacing shape drifted out of the mist, passed in front of us, and then drifted back into the impenetrable white mass.  Always a bird to grab the attention on a seawatch, the Arctic Skua was only in view for a few seconds as it made it’s way south along the coast, and we headed inland into glorious weather again.

  • “I am Gadwall…”

    After the heavy rain of Monday, it was good to drive to Newbiggin, to collect Bryan and Zoe & Simon, in warm sunshine and broken cloud.  Our evening Otter mini-Safari would take in the best of Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland…

    One thing that I always enjoy is the response to bird names from clients who’ve never come across a particular species before.  Godwit is a name that always raises a chuckle, and both Bar-tailed Godwit and Black-tailed Godwit, resplendent in their breeding finery, were among the noisy flocks of Redshank and Curlew.  Turnstones were also looking particularly stunning, two juvenile Marsh Harriers were drifting over reedbeds, a particularly dark male Pheasant couldn’t make his mind up which way to run when we stopped to admire him and a Stoat poked it’s head out of the grass, then back in, then out again, before finally running across in front of us.  Gadwall and Wigeon invoked more bemusement at bird names and we added Red Admiral, Meadow Brown and Magpie Moth to the trip list.  Small groups of Starlings were heading to roost and it was time for us to head to our final site of the evening.

    As the sun dropped towards the horizon we settled to scan for any indication of Otter activity.  A Sparrowhawk passed through, causing consternation in the Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins and a Common Snipe was illuminated by a patch of sunlight, raising it from the level of ‘brown bird with long bill that pokes it’s face in mud’ to something quite sublime.  Then, a sudden panic among the ducks.  Females with ducklings were fanning out rapidly from one edge of the pond and we intensified our scanning of the reedy margins.  Nothing, but the birds weren’t settling.  Then a pair of Mute Swans gave a call that we’ve come to associate with one thing, and it was only a matter of time…in the dark shadow of a reedbed, I saw a line of bright water appear.  Everyone’s attention turned to that edge of the pool and then the Otter popped up at the surface 🙂  For 20 minutes it made it’s way steadily across the water, including a stunning few minutes in the reflection of the sunset, before finally vanishing into the darkening gloom.

    As we headed back towards Newbiggin, the discussion turned back to bird names and led to one of my all time favourite things that any client has said “I am Gadwall, a wizard of the elven kingdom, and you are Turnstone, a Dwarf” 🙂

  • Otter Watching 02/06/13 – Patience pays off

    Just a couple of days before the end of 2008, I led an Otter Safari that produced prolonged sightings of our target species…just 5 seconds after arriving at the first site I’d planned to visit that day!  That produced a complication all of it’s own – how do you keep a family with a young child entertained for over 7 1/2 hours?  In that case the answer was rockpooling; not the most enjoyable of experiences as I plunged my arm into the icy cold water to turn over a series of rocks chosen by a very excited four year-old.  Usually though, wildlife requires a bit more of a patient approach…

    I collected John and Kelly from Morpeth railway station on Sunday afternoon, in glorious sunshine, and we set off to search Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.In the warm afternoon, with a myriad of insects buzzing around, Black-headed and Little Gulls, Swallows, Swifts and House and Sand Martins were all giving incredibly close views as they sallied back and forth in their pursuit of the tiny morsels of protein.  Grey Herons were standing by the water’s edge, Little Grebes dived, re-surfaced, dived, re-surfaced repeatedly and Mallard, Gadwall and Tufted Duck seemed to be in two minds whether to simply laze around or engage in some half-hearted courtship.  After 3 hours of peace and tranquility, and no Otters, I was wondering if we should move to another location.  Instead I decided that staying put would be the better option…

    A pair of Mallards came out of a gap in the reeds, no hurry, no panic but taking a direct line out to open water.  I focused my attention on where they’d just appeared from and then a dark, menacing, sinuous shape twisted and turned in amongst the reeds and we had our Otter.  Sometimes, you just need a little patience 🙂

  • Otter Watching 01/06/2013

    Single-species trips can be some of the most stressful experiences for NEWT, although possibly not quite so stressful for our clients 🙂  Some species that our clients want to see can be very straightforward, like Grey Seals or Puffins (at least if you come at the right time of year!), others can be more difficult, and one in particular has a certain degree of unpredictability…With large home ranges, and as happy on land as in the water, Otters aren’t always an easy animal to find.  We must spend more of our time looking for them, on days when we don’t have clients, than we spend doing anything else.  If a site is producing regular sightings that’s a bonus, but there’s always the possibility that one day they won’t be there, so we keep checking back-up sites as well.

    Arriving at Church Point, I met up with Ian and Ann, Antonia and Henry & Nigel and Mrs Hackett.  Our quarry for the afternoon was that elusive iconic predator and, having unexpectedly stumbled across four Otters a couple of weeks ago, the location for the first part of the afternoon was decided well in advance.  All seemed quiet; Black-headed Gulls were lazing in the afternoon sunshine, Swifts, Swallows and martins hawked insects and a Meadow Pipit was song-flighting…then Ann spotted an Otter!  Crossing the water towards a reedbed, the gaze of a Grey Heron and a pair of Mallards were firmly fixed on it too.  Twisting, turning, diving, feeding, it made it’s way to the edge of the reeds and continued feeding there.  Then it headed away from the edge and back towards us, before switching direction again and sliding beneath the surface.  A few minutes later it climbed out of the water and we could see it making it’s way through the grass.  Then it was back down at the water’s edge and being obligingly showy.  What came next was one of our highlights of the year so far as the Otter dived back into the water…followed by two more…and then a fourth 🙂  Then, as often happens with Otters, they simply vanished from sight…

    The afternoon continued with Sandwich Terns feeding just a few metres away from us, a pair of Marsh Harriers, two Brown Hares boxing, a Great Crested Grebe being the epitome of avian elegance, eight Little Gulls sitting on consecutive fence posts and an impressive mixed flock of hirundines as the wind direction shifted and a heavy shower passed over us from the north west, producing an intense rainbow out over Druridge Bay.