Tag: Shag

  • Head’s up 🙂 Bespoke Farne Islands Safari 27/06/19

    Thursday was a Farne Islands Safari, and after we cancelled Wednesday’s 4hr pelagic due to the rather lumpy sea I was pleased to see that it was nice and calm as I collected Peter and Jan from Newbiggin… A Kestrel perched obligingly on a telegraph pole as we headed up the coast and our first…

  • About tern 🙂 Farne Islands Safari 20/06/19

    Yesterday was an opportunity to head to ‘the Galapagos of the North‘ and I collected Ruth D from Newbiggin then Ruth S and Margaret from Seahouses before heading a few miles down the coast for a morning walk to the Long Nanny… With brilliantly coloured Common Blue butterflies, some very worn Painted Ladies and a…

  • …and more dolphins; Farne Islands Safari 15/07/17

    I’d collected Alice and Jonathan from Waren Mill and headed south along the coast at the start of our Farne Islands safari.  A dreich drizzly morning still produced Little and Arctic Terns, Meadow Pipit and Skylark and, after lunch we we driving between Bamburgh and Seahouses when Jonathan spotted dolphins between the mainland and the…

  • Contrast and compare; Bespoke Photography holiday 02-05/07/17

    I collected Joy from Morpeth railway station ahead of two days enjoying the best photographic opportunities that the Northumberland coast has to offer in early July, and I outlined the plan for the next two days as we drove to The Swan.  Like last week’s Birdwatching magazine reader holiday, the forecast suggested that Monday would…

  • Bombardment; Bespoke Farne Islands Safari 22/06/17

    Here at NEWT we love all of the trips that we run; whether we’re searching for Black Grouse and Ring Ouzels in the hills of the North Pennines and the Cheviot Valleys, Otters in the rivers and pools of southeast Northumberland, scarce migrants on Holy Island, Goshawk and Red Squirrel in Kielder or whales, dolphins…

  • Mud, glorious mud; Bespoke Wader ID Workshop 03/11/16

    Thursday was a trip I’d been looking forward to for several months…Sue’s 5th trip with NEWT was a day searching for and identifying wading birds.  Some, like the Curlew with it’s eerie cry and long downcurved beak are straightforward, but others can be a bit trickier… A field full of Oystercatcher and Lapwing close to…

  • The departed; Farne Islands Bespoke Birdwatching 30/07/16

    The Farne islands in late June are a chaotic place; huge numbers of birds on all of the cliff faces and around the boardwalks.  Late July is a very different experience though… I collected Ruth and Ann from Ponteland and we drove across to the coast before heading north for a day of bespoke beginners…

  • “I’m really scared of birds”; Farne Islands Safari 30/06/16

    In late June, a big part of the Farne Islands experience is the aerial bombardment you’re subjected to as Arctic Terns defend their eggs and chicks… I collected John from Bedlington, Colin and Martin from Morpeth and then Sue from Old Swarland (for her 4th trip with NEWT).  A breezy but warm morning brought Curlew,…

  • When the north wind blows; Lindisfarne Safari 02/06/16

    Thursday was a Lindisfarne Safari where we had the option of either staying on the island over the high tide period, or concentrating on the mainland sites in the Lindisfarne NNR… I collected Stephen and Kate from The Swan, and we headed up the A1 to collect Gordon and Mandy for their 4th day out…

  • Rising tide; Northumberland Coast Bespoke Birdwatching 09/10/2015

    Friday was Tony’s third, and final, day of bespoke birdwatching with NEWT and we headed north in similar weather to Thursday… Travelling north, Roe Deer seemed unsure which way to run across the road so dodged back and forth in front of us.  On the rising tide, Little Egrets, Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlew, Dunlin, Redshank and…