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A walk in the woods 01/11/18
It’s been a difficult couple of weeks in the NEWT household. We’d had a week away in and around Glencoe checking locations for a landscape photography holiday I’m leading over Christmas, then a couple of days after we got back home I wasn’t feeling well. Sarah took me to see our GP and they sent…
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One plus one makes three; Cheviot Valleys Safari 07/06/18
Having arranged all of our clients for last Thursday’s Cheviot Valleys safari to meeting at the same location I arrived in Powburn and collected Vicky, Dave and Babs, Diane and Ruth before heading along a grassy verge buzzing with bees and hoverflies and bejewelled with Common Blue Damselflies and Red and Black Froghoppers. Ruth proved…
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Spotted; Cheviot Valleys Bespoke Photography and Birdwatching 26/05/18
For the second year running we had a day out with David, and John, as part of his prize from the North East Wildlife Photography Awards. This time we were heading into the centre of Northumberland to explore the Cheviot Valleys… Exploring a roadside verge produced Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies, Red and Black Froghoppers…
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Hazy, lazy afternoon; North Pennines Safari 17/05/18
I collected James and Emma from Hexham and we headed into the North Pennines for a day searching for the flora and fauna of the hills and moorland… We were soon watching our first Black Grouse of the day, which remarkably also proved to be our only Black Grouse of the day, as Common Snipe…
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Localised weather systems; Cheviot Valleys group birdwatching 11/07/17
Watching the weather forecast on the breakfast news, I was confident that any rain we encountered on our day in the Cheviot Valleys would be quickly passing showers… As I collected Mike and the other 12 members of his group from Belford there was a steady drizzle, and I was questioning the forecast already 😉…
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Summer days; Cheviot Valleys Bespoke birdwatching 18/06/17
An early start on Sunday saw me collecting Jill and Steve for their 4th day out with NEWT (and Steve’s 5th trip with us as he was on this memorable pelagic!)… Our destination was the Cheviot valleys, but we headed to Bothal first to search for the Ruddy Duck that had been there the day…
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Making the most of the weather; Bespoke Cheviots Safari 08/06/17
I have a bit of an obsession with the weather. It can have a real influence on the outcome of our trips and we always try to be as flexible as we possibly can. If the forecast is really poor we always offer clients the option of rescheduling; either for a different time on the…
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You never know what’s around the corner; Cheviot Valleys Safari 01/06/17
Always expect the unexpected is a good philosophy to hold when you’re out and about searching for wildlife… I collected Steph from Kingston Park and we headed north for a morning exploring the Cheviot valleys. Along the streams and rivers Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail and Dipper were all sitting on rocks or flycatching, Willow Warbler…
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Avoiding the crowds; Lindisfarne mini-Safari 23/08/16
Northumberland is a sparsely populated county where it’s relatively easy to get away from it all and enjoy watching wildlife without the hustle and bustle of large numbers of other people… I met up with Lynsey, Francis, Gregory and Thea in the main car park on Holy Island ahead of an afternoon mini-Safari around the…
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“I’ll believe Otters exist…”; Otter Safari 26/05/16
“…when I actually see one”. A remarkable number of NEWT’s clients seem to have had holidays on Mull/Shetland/Orkney/Skye searching for Otters (often on guided tours) without seeing one, and that revelation at the start of a tour always ramps the pressure up a bit… I arrived at Church Point in heavy mist and drizzle, and…