-
Autumn arrivals; Otter Safari 04/10/17
There’s something special about birds with ‘Little’ in their name, unsurprisingly quite little and I can’t think of a single one that isn’t a delight to watch… I collected Calvin from Church Point ahead of an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland searching for Otters, and the first spots of drizzle were…
-
Birds, birds, birds; Druridge Bay mini-Safari 12/09/17
I collected Peter and Melanie from Cramlington ahead of a few hours around Druridge Bay and apart from a stiff breeze the weather was just about ideal… Some impressively dense flocks of Swallows and Sand Martins were gorging themselves on flying insects, Little Egrets were stalking through the shallows with the feathers ruffled by the…
-
A Little Spoonful; Otter Safari/mini-Safari 01/08/17
When the Otters fail to perform during an Otter Safari, there’s always something else to take centre stage… I collected Eileen from Warkworth and the first half of the afternoon was spent intently studying the behaviour of birds along a river, looking for any indication that they were concerned about something. The cries of Oystercatcher…
-
Larking about; Druridge Bay bespoke birdwatching 22/05/17
Yesterday was Pete and Jan’s 10th trip with us, and we were heading for NEWT’s local patch… Travelling south from Embleton we stopped off to enjoy cliffs covered in Fulmar and Kittiwake before stopping off at Boulmer to search for the Shorelark. We watched a small flock of these fantastic birds during the winter, but…
-
Panic; Otter Safari 14/09/16
We always try to provide a weather forecast a day or two before a trip; it helps people to decide what footwear would be appropriate for example. Sunday’s update for everyone booked on yesterday’s Otter Safari was ‘Current weather forecast suggests dry and warm with only a very light NE breeze.’ By yesterday morning that…
-
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,…
-
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…