Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: Roe Deer

  • Along the valley

    I must have driven the A69 between Throckley and Haydon Bridge over 1000 times.  Working at that corner of the county for three years meant that I had the return journey at all times of year and in all weather conditions.  It also meant that I could check out birdwatching sites along the route (at least whenever I set off early enough in a morning…or extended the journey home).

    Today we drove that familiar route, traversing the county from east to west, with the snow-covered North Pennine hills away to the south, past Little Owl sites near Ponteland, a couple of fields with Roe Deer (where I first saw them in 2001), several Common Buzzard territories and a Peregrine territory, where there were two birds today – scattering Jackdaws and Lapwings as they went.  Astonishing sight of the day was a Fulmar making it’s way E along the valley!  I’ve seen them inland before (even our garden has 2 records – and a Fulmar shearing along the allotments is a pretty bizarre sight) but this was almost as far from the sea as you can get in the Northeast.  Lapwings were dotted around the snow-covered fields, Fieldfares and Redwings were in the roadside hedges and Kestrels were hovering intently over the verge.

    Eventually we arrived at our destination, Poltross Wild Bird Foods, where we caught up with Martin and Jose and had a chat about the ongoing battle to save the Red Squirrel.  With a car boot filled with bird and squirrel food we drove back east and set about replenishing all of the feeders.  Almost immediately the garden filled with birds, including 8 Long-tailed Tits and a dozen Chaffinches.  The predicted return of bitterly cold weather is likely to lead to a daily re-filling of the feeders.  Maybe we’ll even resurrect the Choppington Woods feeding station, although I think ourselves and all of our neighbours are providing an adequate supply…and the feeders are safer when they’re in our gardens 😉

  • Skating on thin ice

    After seeing my photos appearing in Martin’s blog posts for the last couple of days, I thought I’d turn my hand to writing today’s blog.

    I started the day by taking my father-in-law for a birdwatching walk around Choppington Woods although, with everything frozen solid, there were very few birds to be seen.  We did find a couple of distant Roe Deer but, on the whole, the walk consisted of a consistent attempt to not fall on the ice.  With the partial thaw and heavy rain of yesterday, followed by another hard freeze overnight, all of the footpaths were covered with a treacherous layer of transparent ice.  A couple we passed were complaining about their new walking boots not being any help to remaining upright.

    Back at home, lunch was home-made vegetable soup, baked ham and a selection of cheeses.  Just the thing in this weather.  Martin had spent the whole morning in bed with a sore throat, ear-ache and a splitting headache; probably the outcome of having a puncture on the Landrover late last night and being outside in the bitter cold…without a hat or gloves!  I have to wonder sometimes…

    He did perk up a bit once lunch was ready though, and then spent most of the afternoon processing and backing-up the images from the last few days.  Tomorrow the plan (weather permitting) is to try and photograph Kingfishers, and to get closer shots of Roe Deer. Good job we’ve got two cameras 🙂

  • Winter walks

    There’s little that’s better than going for a walk with snow on the ground.  On Christmas Day I took dad for a walk around Choppington Woods, mainly so we weren’t under Sarah’s feet 😉  Today all three of us walked along the River Blyth and through the dunes in Druridge Bay.  The traditional boxing Day pheasant shoots in the woodland of Druridge Bay provided an ‘interesting’ aural backdrop.  I’ve had some fascinating conversations about hunting recently, with wildlife photographers and with friends who have hunted for several years.  What some people may find surprising is that two apparently disparate groups have much in common; not least a love and appreciation of the countryside.    Wildlife- and birdwatching with a camera may have a very different outcome (certainly for the wildlife) from hunting, with the only thing getting fired being a camera shutter, and the only things getting shot being images of wildlife, but there’s a lot we can learn as photographers and wildlife watchers, from the techniques employed by hunters.  Wildlife crime may still be a major issue in many areas, but that’s a topic for another blog on another day.

    With NEWT events on Holy Island, in the Harthope Valley and around Lee Moor Farm before the end of the year, and places to go and things to photograph on our days ‘off’ in-between, we’re looking forward to the last five days of 2009.  Here are a few images from today:

    It may be a cliche...
    It may be a cliche…
    Captured in the split-second before it noticed me
    Captured in the split-second before it noticed me
    Northumberland's iconic mammal
    Northumberland's iconic mammal
    Dashing through the snow
    Dashing through the snow
    Roe doe and Roe buck
    Roe doe and Roe buck

  • An icy grip

    I’m resolute in my belief that the winter is an excellent time to visit Northumberland.  It’s relaxing and quiet (not that it’s ever really anything else), there’s a lot of wildlife (ditto) and we often get stunning weather that showcases our remarkable landscape at it’s best.

    Today was a day when everything came together just the way you hope.  As I drove up the A1 Kestrels, Common Buzzards and Roe Deer were all in roadside fields and Redwings and Fieldfares were hedge-hopping from one side of the road to the other.

    I collected Tracey, Guy and Connor (and Ghillie – their collie dog) just after lunch, from their holiday cottage near Belford, and we headed to Holy Island.  The sea by the ends of the causeway was frozen and a sprinkling of snow covered the dunes.  As we crossed towards the island a Merlin flushed from a roadside post and we stopped to admire the beautiful diffused light that illuminated the mudflats.  Our walk on the island was on ground frozen solid, and covered with ice and snow.  The wind was bitingly cold but Grey Seals, Meadow Pipits, Shags, Curlews, Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers,  Pale-Bellied Brent Geese and flocks of Teal heading towards the mainland all diverted the attention.  As we headed back to the mainland a handsome male Stonechat played hide-and-seek with us along the edge of the causeway, but persistence paid off and Tracey and Guy managed some good shots.  I love having keen photographers on our safaris – especially ones who really appreciate the quality of light that we enjoy up here – so we made several stops as the changing light produced a series of photo opportunities.  I can only hope that we get similar conditions for our first Beginners Photography workshop in January.  The rising tide and fluffy pink clouds of the late afternoon combined with Bamburgh Castle in the snow to offer more memorable images, while we were watching Oystercatchers, Turnstones, Redshanks and a Ringed Plover on the frozen beach.  The route back was made easier by being in a Landrover, and the steady journey allowed us to pick out Brown Hares in the snow-covered fields – seven in total, standing sentinel-like as we approached.  Once I was back on the ice-free A1 and travelling south it was like a different world  to the one I’d been in for the last few hours.  Environmental escapism at it’s best.

  • Time flies…

    Yesterday was split between the office and a very entertaining business meeting at the Black Olive Cafe at Lee Moor Farm.  An exciting new product will be the eventual outcome of the discussions started yesterday, but a more immediate agreement was to hold a New Year’s Eve walk around Lee Moor.

    The drive up the A1 was stunning; clean, crisp air, blue skies and a distant view of The Cheviot covered in snow.  Days like this are still, for me, amongst the best that Northumberland has and make winter birdwatching so enjoyable.  Kestrels were hovering along the roadside, Common Buzzards were soaring and Roe Deer were venturing out from plantation edges.  The journey back home was equally stunning; as light levels fell, but the air was still clean and bright, the aforementioned Buzzards were perched in bare trees almost directly below where they’d been soaring a few hours earlier.  Rooks and Jackdaws were sitting around in that sinister way that they have and Blackbirds continually flirted with danger as they crossed the A1 at windscreeen height.

    Then, back at the office, my task was to deal with the latest batch of Gift Voucher orders.  Each order is packaged with a greetings card with artwork by an excellent local artist, and we always try to speak to each person who has placed an order as well.  It makes December one of our busiest times of the year.  It’s hard to believe that it’s over 2 years since I left teaching, and rapidly approaching 2 years since we led our first NEWT Safari.