Tag: Merlin

  • 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…

  • Everything ‘adding’ up to a great day; Cheviot Valleys Bespoke Birdwatching 28/03/19

    Yesterday was Sue’s 9th day out with NEWT, and the first time we’d headed into the Cheviot Valleys together… In warm sunshine and under blue skies we started with a search for Adders. Sue’s sharp eyes spotted two, and we watched both from a respectful distance so they continued basking in roadside vegetation. Great Crested…

  • Early Autumn mist; Bespoke Otter Safari 05/09/18

    I collected David and Jean from Holystone in warm sunshine, ahead of an afternoon and evening around our favourite spots for Otters in Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland… Little Egrets were patrolling the shallows, darting at small fish, Redshanks were calling noisily and the hedgerows, with plump sweet blackberries, were playing host to lots of…

  • …and more persistence 🙂 Bespoke Cheviot Valleys birdwatching 29/04/18

    Driving towards Bywell to collect Peter and Pat for a day in the Cheviot Valleys I was considering the weather forecast that had suggested it would be dry, bright and breezy.  I was mainly considering it because it was raining… Dippers were carrying food to their nests, and carrying faecal sacs away to throw in…

  • Another raptor day 🙂 Kielder Safari 05/04/18

    When we’ve got a day in and around Kielder and the Scottish Borders ahead of us what I’m hoping for is blue sky, not too much cloud and a nice breeze…exactly what we’d got as I collected Ian and Ian from Newbiggin, Joan and Jerry from Hexham and Duncan and Laura from Bellingham… As Chaffinches…

  • A raptor day 🙂 Bespoke Kielder Safari 20/03/18

    I collected Sue from Old Swarland for her 7th trip with NEWT and we headed west towards Kielder as the clouds started to break and the blue sky, excellent visibility and light breeze suggested it would be a good day for raptors… A Goosander flew along the course of tiny stream before our first raptor,…

  • Wintering; Lindisfarne Safari 08/11/17

    I collected Nick and Mel from Seahouses for their 2nd consecutive day out with NEWT and we headed north towards Holy Island under blue skies… Along the causeway Little Egrets, Redshank and Curlew were patrolling the interface between falling tide and freshly exposed mud.  Flocks of Golden Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit patterned the sky in…

  • 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 raptor day 🙂 Kielder Safari 20/04/17

    I collected Luke and Louise from alnwick, then Alison and Neil from Kingston Park and we headed west at the start of a day searching for raptors around Kielder and the Scottish Borders… We stopped at the southern end of Kielder Water and the ‘chip chip’ calls of Common Crossbill drew our attention to these…

  • Northumberland in the win(d)ter; Winter Wonderland holiday 19-22/02/17

    Day 1. 19/02/17. I arrived at the Bamburgh Castle Inn for the start of our Winter Wonderland holiday, then met up with with Christine, John, Linda and Rosie in the bar and outlined the plan for the next two days while we enjoyed a fantastic meal. Day 2. 20/02/17.  Our first full day was targeting…