Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: Otter

  • Mini-beasting; Bespoke Otter Safari 02/09/2014

    It’s remarkable how often a theme seems to develop during a trip; flocks, migration, raptors, birds with similar names – all have happened over the last few years.

    I drove up to the Breamish Valley to collect Donna and Andy and we headed towards the coast and Druridge Bay with the plan of spending the afternoon and evening birdwatching, finishing at what has been our most reliable Otter site this year (although a run of five successful trips eneded with our last two Druridge Bay safaris not producing any sightings of this enigmatic predator).  Starting in the hills on a nice afternoon, I thought it would be good to search for Adders, and Andy’s sharp eyes produced the goods, with the smallest Adder that I’ve ever seen 🙂

    The afternoon continued with the waders we would expect – Ruff, Curlew, Lapwing, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Common Snipe – and one much more scarce, in the shape of two Little Stints.  We had a rear-end view of a Spoonbill heading north and a Little Egret was stalking along the shallows.  It may be a predominantly white bird, but it’s stunning in good light.  Adult and juvenile Mediterranean Gulls were picked out from the roosting Black-headed Gulls and, as dusk approached, we settled into position to watch for Otters.  A juvenile Marsh Harrier was quartering the reedbeds, Starlings were arriving to roost, with some murmuration, a Spoonbill flew in, magnificent in the sunset, then, in the fading rays of daylight, there was an Otter 🙂  Clearly a theme was developing, as this was a very small Otter cub.  Eventually light levels reached the point where we decided to call it a day and head back northwest.  The day’s theme continued, with a tiny Rabbit along the roadside, and then the final wildlife experience, on a day with wildlife and clients that reminded me so often why I love my job; a Barn Owl crossing the road ahead of us before perching in the beam of our headlights 🙂

  • The pointy end of wildlife watching; Otter mini-safari 12/08/2014

    As I collected Paul, Lily and Charlie from North Shields, dark clouds were gathering away to the north.  Over Druridge Bay – just where we were heading…

    A late brood of Barn Swallows, still in the nest and being fed by their parents, were quite a size contrast to Grey Herons stalking along the water’s edge. Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Gadwall were dabbling and diving, small groups of Starling were heading to roost and, as darkness approached quicker than it would on a nicer evening, we settled into position to watch for Otters.  We were in a struggle with dusk and the weather, but distantly, in the gloom of the waters’ edge, the tell-tale ‘Loch Ness Monster’ shape of an Otter was resting at the surface 🙂  As it moved around the pool, distant plantations and nearby reedbeds were used as landmarks so that everyone knew just where it was.  Then it began moving closer and eventually came up out of the water onto an exposed patch of mud; an apex predator silhouetted against the dying embers of daylight as an unseasonably cold wind began cutting across us and the first drops of rain dimpled the water’s surface around the gulls, ducks and geese settling down for the night as their mortal enemy watched on with mustelid curiosity and cunning.

  • Breathtaking; Bespoke Druridge Bay safari 05/08/2014

    I know I may go on a bit about how wonderful Northumberland is but, even after more than 20 years living here, there are days when even I find it hard to believe just how good it can be…

    I collected Colin and Hazel from the hills above Budle Bay and we headed south along the coast for an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay.  Colin was keen to improve his handling of his new dSLR, and they were also quite keen on searching for Otters.  The afternoon started with some top quality birdwatching; Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Scaup, Common Snipe and Dunlin are all nice, but the standout bird was the Stilt Sandpiper that has been enjoying a tour of Cresswell and Druridge Pools over the last week.  Arriving at our picnic spot just south of Cresswell, I mentioned that, with such good visibility and relatively calm seas, whales and dolphins are always a possibility, perhaps tempting fate to deal us a poor hand… A few minutes later I was scanning the sea out towards the horizon when I saw a splash.  I raised my binoculars, to check that it wasn’t a distant boat, and there was another splash, and another, and another, then four together 🙂  As the synchronous breaching continued I trained the ‘scope on the area where the dolphins were, and was surprised to see that they were Bottlenose Dolphins.  In early August, the default dolphin for the Druridge Bay coast is White-beaked Dolphin, and that’s the species we’ve been finding on our recent pelagic trips, but this has been an extraordinary year so I shouldn’t be too surprised to have found myself showing Bottlenose Dolphins to our clients too 🙂

    The evening continued with some very obliging birds in front of Colin’s camera; Common Snipe, Dunlin, Linnet, a flock of Starlings taking a bath and an assortment of wagtails then, as light levels began to fall, we switched our attention to the patient waiting game of looking for Otters,as flock after flock of Starlings flew towards their evening roost.  Soon, we were watching the sleek, sinuous shape of an Otter as it hunted and fed.  It passed out of sight for a few minutes, only to reappear and surface just in front of a second Otter!  A third one was slightly further way from us and eventually we watched as one of them came straight towards us before disappearing behind the reeds.

    The day isn’t over ’til it’s over though, and Northumberland’s wildlife provided one last moment of magic as a Tawny Owl was perched on the road sign outside Colin and Hazel’s holiday let at The Ducket 🙂

  • Edgy; Otter Safari 23/07/2014

    Last Wednesday was a bespoke ‘truncated’ Otter Safari, booked as a retirement present for Joe.  I collected Joe, Ann, Jess and Jack from Newton by the Sea and we made our way south to Druridge Bay.  We had our picnic, overlooking the North Sea, enjoyed the graceful elegance of Avocet and Little Egret and then settled into position at one of our regular Otter sites…

    Otters may be relatively common and widespread in Northumberland, certainly when you compare our county to other areas of England, but they can still prove frustrating.  Many times we’ve watched all of the assembled wildlife behaving as if there’s an Otter present…without our quarry putting in an appearance.  A strip of Amphibious Bistort seemed as good a place as any to start scanning; it should hold small fish and invertebrates, attracting larger animals that prey on them.  Sure enough, scanning along the edge I came across the familiar ‘Loch Ness Monster’ shape of an Otter resting at the surface 🙂  We watched as it twisted, turned, dived and fed for nearly an hour, with Mute Swans, Tufted Ducks and Mallards watching warily and a Black-headed Gull swooping down each time the Otter surfaced.  Eventually it went out of sight, but not before Jess took photos of it through the telescope…using a small compact camera 🙂  The journey back to Newton included not one, not two, but three Barn Owls.   The middle of the summer may often be regarded as not the best wildlife-watching season that we have, but it produces the goods year after year 🙂

  • “That’s not a bill. That’s a bill”; Otter Safari 12/07/2014

    Often, the species that we’re specifically searching for appears and is the highlight of the day.  Sometimes, the scenes involving the supporting cast take some beating though…

    I arrived at Church Point to collect Rose, Tom and Alison, and we headed up the coast for an afternoon around Druridge Bay searching for Otters.  July is one of our favourite times to visit the coast, as wading birds are starting to head south, still in breeding plumage.  Black-tailed Godwit, Golden Plover and Dunlin were all lazing at the water’s edge in the increasingly breezy afternoon, and one of our most delicate looking birds provided a lot of entertainment.  Avocets are a fairly recent addition to Northumberland’s breeding avifauna, and their delicate appearance belies their feisty nature.  As three fluffy Avocet chicks swept their heads from side to side in shallow water, occasionally breaking off to go and tuck themselves under their parent’s wing, the adult Avocets were busy keeping the area clear of other birds.  Black-headed Gulls, and even Pied Wagtails were driven off, but the most ferocious assaults were reserved for a flock of Common Snipe.  Secretive and usually hidden out of sight, the snipe had ventured away from the shelter of the reedbeds and into shallow water where they were feeding with a sewing machine action, faces in the water and constantly probing the soft mud beneath.  The Avocets weren’t having that though, and the snipe were persistently flushed by attack after attack.  When we’d first arrived a Spoonbill had been flying above the pond, and it settled and went to sleep.  Eventually it woke up and began walking along the edge of the pond before disappearing from view.  Then it took off and flew across the water, settling near the Avocets…

    The first furious airborne assault on the Spoonbill left it completely unmoved, so the Avocet landed nearby and charged at it, head down and neck stretched forward, menacing with that long, upcurved rapier like bill.  The Spoonbill lifted it’s head from the water, opened it’s bill and waved it as if to say “Do you really want me to slap you with this?” 🙂  Obviously a different approach was required, which involved the Avocet pretending to feed, whilst slowly sidling towards the Spoonbill, ready to launch another attack.  That was greeted in the same manner, and when the Avocet tried again, the Spoonbill simply kept it’s head in the water and charged straight at the Avocet, sweeping it’s bill from side to side.  Eventually the Avocets gave up the attack, but kept a close eye on the Spoonbill, as another ten Avocets flew over and a Little Egret put in a brief appearance.

    As dusk approached we settled into position overlooking another pool.  All seemed calm, Marsh Harriers were hunting the reedbeds as daylight faded, and then an Otter appeared, making it’s way across the shadow-dappled water, twisting, turning, diving, pausing at the surface to consume its catch before resuming the hunt 🙂  A second Otter was hunting in the deep shadow of a reedbed, and the closer one betrayed it’s own presence with the classic ‘ring of bright water’ each time it surfaced.  A Barn Owl came as a shock, when it flew through Rose’s binocular view, and a white Rabbit and four Brown Hares were illuminated by the car headlights as we made our way back to Church Point in the rain.

  • Pyramids; mini-Safari 22/06/2014

    You’ll probably be familiar with the concept of ‘pyramid of numbers’, but there’s a loop in that pyramid and I spend a lot of my time  on the wrong end of it…

    I collected Boyd and Louise from Newton and we headed south along the Northumberland coast to search around our favourite Otter sites.  Ducks were staring intently at one reedbed (where we suspect an Otter has been resting regularly over the last few weeks) as clouds of midges (extremely numerous) were predated by Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins (not so numerous).  A thick carpet of insects (extremely numerous) trapped in the surface of a river were greedily gobbled up by shoals of small fish (not so numerous).  With the setting sun illuminating it from behind like an avenging angel, a Barn Owl (scarce) plunged repeatedly into the rank vegetation before emerging with a small mammal (not at all scarce).  Example after example that typify the pyramid of numbers…

    …but, of course, there’s that loop I mentioned before.  Midges (numerous almost beyond measure) munching away merrily on me (really not numerous) 🙁  I don’t know what attraction I hold for these tiny menaces, but there clearly is one.  I’ve been bitten in March, well before any self-respecting midge should be on the wing, and my latest bite in any year was on November 4th.  I sat on a heather covered hillside one day, watching a Hen Harrier nest, attracting a veritable plague of Horseflies in the process, and on a camping trip in 2006, Sarah erected our tent while I, and these are Sarah’s words rather than mine “rolled around on the grass, crying like a little girl”.  A few years ago, during the Q&A session at the end of a talk I’d given, we were asked the question “How do you avoid being bitten by insects”.  Without a moment’s hesitation, Sarah provided the answer “I stand next to Martin” 🙂

  • Putting the bite on; Bespoke safari 20/06/2014

    Some wildlife is popular with everyone, some isn’t popular with many people at all, and some, despite the best efforts of Springwatch/Autumnwatch/Winterwatch…

    I met up with Niel and Nicky at Church Point, and we set out on an exploration of Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.  Despite several incidents involving agitated ducks, indicating that they were worried about something in the reeds, we didn’t manage a sighting of any Otters.  The typical quality birdwatching of the Northumberland coast in late June was still in evidence, with at least 5 Avocets and 11 Little Gulls among the throng.  A tiny Tufted Duck travelled back and forth across the water, in what appeared to be an unsuccessful search for it’s parents then, as the sun dropped towards the horizon, we headed to our regular Badger site.

    Intriguingly, no Badgers appeared – which is unusual at a site where we have a 95% success rate – but, as at least three Tawny Owls began penetrating the gloom with their eerie calls, the sharp alarms of Blackbird, Robin and Song Thrush heralded the arrival of another mammal that inhabits the darker parts of the day.  Bloodthirsty killer of farmyard chickens, attempted abductor of babes from cribs in the south of England…whichever way you look at it the Red Fox gets a bad press…which sadly glosses over just what wonderful animals they are.  Sleek, beautiful, playful…we watched as three adults trotted across the clearing in front of us.  As Niel photographed one peering from the undergrowth (oh, for a Nikon D4!), I lifted my binoculars and realised that there were three small cubs chasing around too 🙂  Two of the adults, and the three cubs, disappeared along a track up the hill, and then the adults came out into the clearing again, presumably having tucked the kids up safely in bed.  Pipistrelle bats were flitting across our field of view as we conceded that our vision could no longer penetrate the enveloping dark.

    Love them or hate them, there’s no denying that foxes have a real magic…a bit like Luis Suarez 🙂

  • 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.

  • Causing a commotion; Otter mini-safari 15/05/2014

    “If you usually travel through Northumberland to get to Scotland, what is it about Northumberland that made you choose to stay here on this holiday?”  I asked the question as a bit of market research; after all, knowing why people visit Northumberland helps with developing a better experience for them.  The answer was slightly unexpected though “This otter safari”…

    I arrived at Church Point shortly before Philip and Pauline, who were back for their second trip with NEWT following a Druridge Bay safari in 2012.  We quickly met up with Albert and Elisabeth and began our search for Otters in the pools of Druridge Bay.  With no obvious panic amongst the assembled wildfowl, I decided that we should try elsewhere.  Initially all seemed calm and, as an entertaining discussion about mustelids developed (with all four participants on the trip having previously seen one species that is still very high on my wish list…), I kept checking the ducks and geese along the water’s edge.  Then, a change; two pairs of Canada Geese were suddenly very alert.  Necks held straight up, all staring intently along the river bank.  That was a good sign.  Then a better one, as a brood of Mallard ducklings scattered in a semi-circle from the bankside vegetation.  Something had spooked them, but what was it?  For the next five minutes I kept my binoculars trained on the spot that the Mallards had scattered from.  First there was no indication of what had scared them, but it had to be something…then persistence paid off.  What appeared to be a log floating on the water hadn’t been there the last time I looked, and it rolled at the surface, dived and popped back up 🙂  Using the shapes of the trees on the bank as landmarks, everyone was soon watching the Otter as it dived repeatedly in the same spot.  It was so fixated on feeding in a very small area that I was able to train the telescope on it and everyone managed to watch it through ‘scope as well as binoculars.  It vanished for a few minutes, before the geese alerted us to it’s presence a little way downstream.  As daylight faded the surface of the river became a featureless, unwelcoming darkness as bats flitted back and forth around the tree canopy and we headed back.

  • On silent wings; Northumberland coast 26/04/2014

    There are some species that are favourites with particular clients, there are others that may be fairly common but still have good wildlife experience appeal, and then there are a select few that have everybody watching their every move…

    I arrived at Church Point and quickly located Carol, Dave, Megan and Emily.  Our carload was soon complete with the arrival of Mr and Mrs Robertson and we headed north along the Northumberland coast.  Our aim for the afternoon was to visit several Otter sites, in the hope of catching sight of the elusive sinuous predator.  Cold and windy isn’t an ideal weather condition for the search and it turned out that the closest we came (probably) was a sudden panic and ducks heading purposefully away from a reedbed, and an unseen menace.  Throughout the afternoon and evening there was plenty of avian interest; male Ruff, part way to breeding plumage, Grey Herons, stalking menacingly along the waters edge, Little Grebes, diving before surfacing with tiny fish, the cartoon-like Goosanders and Red-breasted Mergansers, noisy Greylag and Canada Geese and delicate, dainty Avocets, suddenly transformed into a furious vision of Hell when a female Marsh Harrier drifted foolishly over their pond.  As dark descended, Moorhens were making their way along the river side and Emily demonstrated remarkable hearing, picking out the squeaking of a shrew in the bankside vegetation. Eerie mammalian screeching from the woodland on the other side of the river was probably an altercation between Red Foxes as the last remnants of daylight gave way to the dark.

    The moment that had everyone’s attention focused came at sunset, in beautiful light.  We were almost back at the car when I spotted a familiar shape hovering above the dunes.  It dipped out of sight, before lifting from the grasses and heading towards us.  It dipped again, then perched on a fencepost before resuming the hunt.  Subtly coloured with mesmerising black eyes that are quite unforgettable the ‘Ghost Owl’, ‘Death Owl’, ‘Hushwing’ or simply Barn Owl has a rich folklore and really is one of those select few species that you’ll never tire of watching 🙂