Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: Northumberland

  • The colour of light; Autumn Colours Photography Workshop 27/10/19

    Sunday’s photography workshop was a guest short after a late rearrangement for one guest. I collected Sachin and Lucy from the Battlesteads and we headed to Cawfields Quarry. That wasn’t our original plan, but heavy rain meant needing to find a location that wouldn’t be treacherous underfoot. In just over 3hrs we covered exposure, focusing…

  • A walk in the woods; Beginners Photography 12/10/2013

    Our October photography workshop subject was Fungi.  The morning was damp and drizzly, but I’d packed several versatile waterproof camera covers – you can pick them up from your local supermarket, usually free with your shopping 🙂 Dave was on his third day with us this year, and kindly emailed some of his images from…

  • Shining in the gloom

    The most memorable wildlife on a tour with clients can come in many forms; it may be the common, the uncommon, the localised, or just the way that it fits in its habitat, and the landscape and weather blend it in to the experience. I arrived at Hexham railway station to find Steve and Jill already…

  • Stranded

    I love Holy Island, but it can be a bit crowded sometimes… I collected Mike and Maggie from St Cuthbert’s House on Tuesday morning and we began birdwatching our way north.  In the shadow of Bamburgh Castle we watched Bar-tailed Godwits, Knot, Turnstones, Purple Sandpipers, Eider and Gannets in a bitingly cold northwesterly wind.  We…

  • Findings

    On our photography tours I carry my camera with me, particularly when delivering photography tuition, but on our other trips I don’t; our clients deserve, and receive, my full attention.  When I’m out on my own I don’t always carry a camera either – sometimes it would just be inconvenient (scrambling up trees, crags and dunes…

  • Another big freeze

    It’s hard to believe that we posted on the blog back in January about the big freeze last winter and here we are again in a similar position already before the end of November (although at least at the moment it isn’t so prolonged). I went in to Newcastle last Wednesday for a seminar about…

  • Kielder; birdwatching on the edge of Northumberland

    Thursday evening was the AGM of the Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club, and the speaker following the AGM proceedings was our good friend Martin Davison.  Ornithologist is an often overused (and misused) word, but Martin is a real ornithologist, gathering data through hours and hours in the field and involved in several research projects.  His talk…

  • A flying birdwatching trip to Holland

    On Wednesday afternoon we set off from Royal Quays, out into the North Sea, onboard the MV King of Scandinavia as guests of DFDS.  The weather forecast was for it to be wet, although we did manage a couple of hours birdwatching from the observation lounge before the driving rain obliterated the view.  Gannets were diving into the…

  • Birdwatching with Bird Watching

    Following our adventure in the North Sea on Saturday, I had to gather my thoughts, and clean my binoculars and ‘scope,  ready for a full week of guided birdwatching.  I drove north on Sunday to meet up with Sheena Harvey, editor of Bird Watching Magazine, and her husband Alan.  With nearly three days to show them the delights that…

  • White is the new Black

    We had back-to back birdwatching trips earlier this week, covering two of our favourite areas. On Tuesday afternoon I collected Keith and Jen from home in Monkseaton and we headed northwards up the Northumberland coast.  Our destination was the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, one of the birding hot-spots of the entire country.  The strong winds were…