Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: Little Grebe

Autumn passage; Northumberland Coast Bespoke Birdwatching 01/09/2015

The start of the month brought returning clients, David and Mary who were out with us in 2009 and 2012 and who we see at the Bird Fair each August.

Starting at Newbiggin we set out south down the coast and soon found ourselves standing on a track with nine Blackbirds ahead of us, along with Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Linnets and House Sparrows. Little Grebes slept and dived as young Grey Herons stalked along the water’s edge and demonstrated just how inelegant they are in flight – and especially in landing 🙂 A lunchtime stop overlooking the North Sea produced rafts of Eider, Fulmars arcing effortlessly over the waves and a Harbour Porpoise feeding just offshore as Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Turnstone explored the shoreline. The afternoon was dominated by waders; Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Lapwing, Ruff, Curlew, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin. Greenshank, Oystercatchers arriving for their high-tide roost stunning in beautiful light against a dark brooding sky and Common Snipe demonstrating their exceptional camouflage in amongst clumps of rush. Stonechats flicked their tails nervously from precarious perches on barbed wire and Goldfinches, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs swarmed in rank vegetation and nearby trees.

See you at the Bird Fair next year 🙂

03/09/2015
Eight year itch; Otter Safari 18/07/2015

It’s always a pleasure when clients who haven’t met before get on so well with each other. Of course they always have a shared interest in wildlife, and other shared interests feature regularly (camping, walking and cycling in particular), and long quests in search of an elusive species soon become a talking point…

I arrived at Church Point for an afternoon/evening search for Otters, and quickly met up with John, then Lucy, Matt and Graham and finally Kate. Conversation quickly turned to Otters, and the pressure was ramped up when Kate revealed that her attempts to see an Otter had stretched over several holidays…and eight years 🙂 Conditions weren’t promising – a howling wind that was tossing Starlings and Lapwings around and a male Marsh Harrier was battling into the breeze, almost at a standstill. Whitecaps on a pond is never a situation that fills me with joy on an Otter safari, and we continued checking all of the likely locations. Mediterranean Gull, Avocet, Knot, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Grebe and Yellow Wagtail were all added to the bird list for the day, Kate spotted a Red Fox creeping into the reeds, but there was still no sign of the sinuous predator. Early evening, the conditions changed 🙂 The wind died off and the sea was suddenly very calm, so much so that we were able to enjoy watching Harbour Porpoises from our picnic spot. Things were looking up…

We settled into position at the site where I’d planned to spend the last couple of hours of daylight, enjoying a chat with Cain, then the day suddenly got really interesting. First a Barn Owl, white death on silent wings, ghosted by just a few metres away from us. I concentrated on an area of water with very few birds on it – often a good indication that there’s something the birds are unhappy about. Scan left to right – two Little Grebes sleeping, scan right to left – two Little Grebes sleeping, scan left to right – three Little Grebes sleeping? The third Little Grebe didn’t look quite right…which wasn’t a surprise as it was an Otter with just it’s nose sticking up through the blanket of weed on the water’s surface 🙂 A quick text to Cain and he joined us again, and the Otter entertained us for an hour. Emotional at seeing her first Otter, Kate still grabbed her camera, pointed it down the eyepiece of our ‘scope and started filming it 🙂 The magic continued, as a Long-eared Owl flew around the edge of the bushes in front of us before perching on a fence post, baleful orange eyes staring at us. Then a second Otter swam across in front of us, while the first one was still hunting in the darkening gloom and the eeirie cries of Curlew coming to roost cut through the chill evening air.

20/07/2015
Slugs and snails and dolphin tails; Druridge Bay Safari 25/06/2015

As I drove to Newton to collect Sue and Julian, the first few raindrops hit the windscreen of the car. My optimism that the rain would soon pass over was drenched, literally, by a torrential downpour that the windscreen wipers couldn’t cope with and which sounded like I was in a tin can being pelted with stones 🙁 We set off for Bamburgh, completely surrounded by storms and found a flock of Common Scoter and Eider on the sea, and a miserable looking Puffin on the beach. The rainfall left the air warm and humid, so as the afternoon passed into evening paths were covered in slugs and snails. Common Toad and Common Frog crossed our path too, and the air was alive with small insects – and a good handful of Common Pipistrelles hunting them. A Fox trotted along the edge of Cresswell Pond, where Avocets and Black-Tailed Godwit were roosting and feeding. A male Marsh Harrier flew by, causing consternation amongst the Swallows, and Tufted Duck and Red-breasted Merganser both looked elegant as Mute Swans and Shelduck watched carefully over their young. A Whitethroat sang from rank vegetation just a few metres away from us, and dusk brought Swallows, Sand Martins and Starlings to roost.

The day will remain in the memory for years to come though, as a pod of dolphins put on a remarkable display. We’d just finished our picnic and I decided to have one last scan before heading up the coast. Top Tip – always have ‘one last scan’ 🙂 Close inshore I saw a small group of dolphins breaking the surface. White-beaked Dolphin should be here in a few days time, but these were big, dark animals and we soon confirmed that they were Bottlenose Dolphin. Now, these are big impressive animals, and we spent nearly 40mins watching at least 12 of them as they slowly travelled north. They weren’t just travelling though; synchronous breaching, tail-slapping, lob-tailing, spy-hopping, flipper waving and fighting continued as they passed by our viewpoint and eventually out of sight away to the north. I’ve spent a lot of time watching dolphins, both with clients and when carrying out offshore surveys, but I’ve never seen a group of dolphins so animated as these were. Wonder if they’ll be there for this evening’s pelagic trip 🙂

26/06/2015
Springtime on the coast; Otter Safari 08/04/2015

The lack of summer visitors has been commented on by local birdwatchers for the last couple of weeks, but there are signs that the summer is on its way…

I collected Sam and Linda from West Acre House and we headed towards the coast, thankfully free of the sea fret that hampered Monday’s trip. All of our Otter sites were very quiet on the mustelid front, but birdwatching is starting to pick up. A male Marsh Harrier, and no less than three female harriers nest-building, was a fantastic start to the morning. Chiffchaff, Chaffinch and Robin were all singing, Little Egrets were keeping up their recent record of putting in an appearance on our tours, a song-flighting Meadow Pipit settled obligingly close to us, Skylarks were soaring and singing high overhead, Little and Great Crested Grebes may be at opposite ends of the size spectrum but both are quite beautiful, Curlew and Redshank were digging in the mud, Goldeneye were displaying their golden eyes in the bright sunshine and Gadwall, Mallard and Tufted Duck were all caught in two minds between feeding and courting. 15 Avocet were radiating elegance and the day had passed so quickly.

09/04/2015
Breezy; Otter Safari 28/03/2015

With the end of March approaching I was hoping for less breezy weather than we’ve been having recently. Not my lucky day though…

I collected Melissa, Graham and Marjorie and we set off to spend the day exploring Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland. Hormones coursing through the veins of Red-breasted Merganser, Shelduck, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Goldeneye, Teal and Mallard meant there was a lot of activity everywhere we went. Cormorants were doing their very best Otter impressions, Little Grebes kept catching the eye as they dived beneath the waves and then, finally, the sign I’d been watching for. A pair of Mallards sitting in the edge of a reedbed suddenly sat very upright, staring intently into the same corner of the pool that had produced an Otter on our previous Otter Safari. This time though the wind had lifted the water’s surface into a series of rolling waves that could have hidden the Loch Ness Monster itself, and the cause of the duck’s distress remained unseen by our eyes.

After a run of successful Otter Safaris, with some days where conditions really weren’t favourable, there was bound to be a day when they didn’t play ball…

03/04/2015
Wind tunnel testing; Otter Safari 02/03/2015

Wild and windy conditions invariably lead to fewer wildlife sightings, and it’s easy to understand why getting your head down and avoiding suffering the effects of the wind as far as possible is a good idea…

I collected Colin, Carol, Jessica, Alex and Tom (and Kelsey and Winnie) from Lowick and we headed down the coast towards Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland for a day searching for Otters. The pressure of having a particular target species is one thing…but the pressure of having a client who works with your father-in-law is something else altogether 🙂 Cormorant, Grey Heron, Goldeneye, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck and Mallard were all battling against the wind, which had whipped up the surface of the rivers and pools into a frothy white mess. Site A didn’t produce an Otter, Site B didn’t produce an Otter…so on to Site C, and yet more white water. A noticeable movement of Tufted Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose away from one side of the pond heralded the arrival of the star of the show and we watched an Otter for nearly an hour as it twisted, turned and dived. Each time it surfaced we could see that it was chomping on some small prey item, but then it surfaced with a big Eel which it slowly dragged towards the edge of the pond before disappearing into the reeds. A few minutes later it was back out and hunting, travelling quickly along one side of the pond before again vanishing from sight.

Winnie (possibly the tiniest dog I’ve ever seen) provided some insight into the absence of wildlife in windy conditions, as she kept laying down facing directly into the wind. I’m sure if she could have, she would have crept off into a nearby reedbed to get even more shelter 🙂

01/04/2015
If at first you don’t succeed; Bespoke Otter Safari 14/02/2015

When we’re searching for Otters, a fair degree of success is down to hard work (checking sites repeatedly, so we know when and where they are), a good bit of it is down to luck (they are wild animals after all, so don’t perform to order…) and those often combine to give a gut-feeling…

I collected Adam and Heather from Newcastle Central Station and we set off towards southeast Northumberland and Druridge Bay for their bespoke Otter Safari. Our first destination was the site that’s our current ‘Plan A’…where there wasn’t any indication of Otter activity 🙁 Along the coast we checked other sites without any luck, although there were lots of Goldeneye, Little Grebe and thousands of Pink-footed Geese. Canada and Greylag Geese, Curlew and Redshank were all making a racket that suggested there was an Otter nearby, but still no sign. In marked contrast to the Arctic blast of a day earlier, we had our lunch on the top of the dunes looking over towards Coquet Island, above a beach covered in Sanderling, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit and Redshank and a lone Grey Plover.

Then we headed back to ‘Plan A’. I was as confident as I could be that, with no Otter activity earlier in the day, at least one would be out and feeding as the afternoon wore on. Sure enough, we were soon watching the lithe sinuous shape twisting and turning in the water as an Otter fed on small fish 🙂 The look on Heather’s face was priceless, and reminded me that as much as I enjoy watching wildlife, I really enjoy seeing our clients enjoying it too 🙂

Here’s an image of the Otter we were watching, taken in mid-January.

Our Otter Safaris take place all year round, from warm summer evenings when we’re still out an about late in the day, through to the depths of winter, so there’ll be a time and date that suits you – just give us a call on 01670 827465 to find out when!

28/02/2015
Plan A, Plan B; Otter Safari 07/02/2015

A question I’ve been asked a few times recently is “What if we hadn’t seen an Otter there?”. The answer, of course, is that we have a Plan B (and Plan C and Plan D as well, just in case…).

I collected Bing and Martin and we headed out towards the coast for their bespoke Otter Safari. Just over an hour later, and Plan A wasn’t looking good; there were Cormorants, Goldeneye and Little Grebes as far as the eye could see, but no sign of our target species…however, good things come to those who wait, and when Bing mentioned that she’d just seen something diving I looked across in the same direction, and up popped an Otter 🙂 Here’s an image of an Otter at ‘Plan A’ in mid-January.

We watched it for a few minutes before it slipped out of sight, and I thought it would be sensible to put Plan B into action. First though, it was time for lunch. We paid a visit to probably the most endearing star of our recent days out

and then we sat on a cliff top as Turnstone, Sanderling, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew scurried, stalked, prodded and probed their way along the shoreline below us. Plan B proved to be much more successful, as we watched an Otter as it startled Redshank, Curlew, Mallards, Canada Geese and Greylag Geese. We lost track of it for a few minutes, then suddenly it was right in front of us, getting out of the water briefly, before heading off into the reflection of the sun, and creating the typical ‘ring of bright water’, each time it surfaced 🙂 A Stoat provided some entertainment, as they always do – this one was photographed on New Year’s Day, when we were checking Plans A, B, C and D 🙂

Another species that we’ve been watching regularly over the last few weeks provided a vivid splash of colour in the fading light of the afternoon,

and then it was time to return Bing and Martin to their hotel, with the goal of seeing an Otter in the wild reached via Plan A and Plan B 🙂 If you’d like to search for Otters in the wild, or any of Northumberland’s other stunning wildlife, then give us a call on 01670 827465 – wildlife is unpredictable, but the one thing we can guarantee is that we’ll always do everything we can to make sure you’re in the right place at the right time!

10/02/2015
Once Bittern; Druridge Bay mini-Safari 22/10/2014

Yesterday afternoon brought quite different conditions to Tuesday evening; still cold and windy, but the clear skies had been replaced by gloomy cloud as I collected Charlotte, Ali, Ben and Thomas from Newbiggin for their second NEWT trip in two days.

In difficult light, and occasional rain, we didn’t manage to find an Otter, but there was a wealth of birdlife to enjoy; a Cormorant was drying it’s wings as Little Grebe, Shoveler, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Moorhen and Mute Swan fed nearby, flushed briefly by a Sparrowhawk that landed on a small rock in the water before heading off to menace something else. As dusk approached, although it was hard to discern any difference from mid-afternoon, Starlings began a murmuration, Greylag and Pink-footed Geese arrived noisily to roost, Whooper Swans were whooping loudly and there was the ‘is it a heron, is it an owl?’ moment as a Bittern flew lazily from the reeds, passing by us on it’s way to another reedbed 🙂

23/10/2014
Halcyon Days; Otter Safari 13/10/2014

Monday was a day around Druridge Bay and the southeast Northumberland coast, and an extraordinary contrast with Sunday’s summery weather…

I collected Trish and Carol from Dunstan and we headed south along the coast. Kingfisher is always a spectacular sight, and one flew under a bridge beneath our feet, adding a touch of sparkle to a day that was developing into cold, windy and gloomy. Ducks are, for the most part, out of eclipse plumage now and Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck and Gadwall were all looking resplendent. Little Grebes were engaged in non-stop fish catching, Curlew flew noisily by and a Little Egret was stalking elegantly along the River Coquet. We were joined for the latter part of the day by Michael and Fiona and we settled into position to search for Otters. In such gloomy windy conditions even my eternal optimism was dampened slightly, and although there were occasional panicky moments among the ducks, which included a beautifully elegant Pintail, the enigmatic predator didn’t put in an appearance. What we did get though was a Starling murmuration so close we could hear the wingbeats, thousands and thousands of Pink-footed Geese flying to roost and flock after flock of Golden Plover and Lapwing appearing out of the gloom of the dusk sky and dropping into nearby fields. Dusk is still my favourite time of the day, and if you’ve never experienced it surrounded by wildlife you really should give it a go, even the common birds are transformed by numbers and there’s always the chance of a mammal or two 🙂

15/10/2014