Tag: Slavonian Grebe

  • Hide and Seek; Otters and Stargazing mini-Safari 18/11/17

    I arrived at Church Point to collect Sarah and Nessa, Alison and Mike, and Pat ahead of an afternoon searching for Otters around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland with a planned extension to take in the first hour or so of darkness if the sky was clear… Little Egrets stood out shining white against the…

  • Now you see it, now you don’t 😉 Otter Safari 09/11/17

    I collected Pauline and Paul from Newbiggin and we set out for a morning and afternoon searching Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland for one of NEWT’s favourite mammals… Little Grebe, Goldeneye and Mallard were all looking just too relaxed and we walked further on as a noisy tribe of Long-tailed Tits moved through the trees,…

  • A stream of Starlings; Otter Safari 07/11/17

    I collected Karen and Angie, and Nick and Mel, from Newbiggin and we headed off in search of Otters around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland. I quickly changed our plan due to high levels of disturbance at our first site, and as soon we were at our alternative start point there was an Otter 🙂 …

  • Harrying; Otter mini-Safari 26/10/17

    I collected Jan and Hannah, and Tony and Mary, from Low Newton and we headed south towards Druridge Bay… In contrast with recent weather we had blue skies, fluffy white clouds and even some sunshine 🙂  A flock of Whooper Swans were heading south offshore and the assemblage of waterfowl included Greylag and Canada Geese,…

  • Seabird Spectacular; Birdwatching magazine Reader Holiday 25-28/06/17

    Day 1 25/06/17 After collecting Malcolm, and then John, from Alnmouth railway station we headed to Seahouses and the Bamburgh Castle Inn for the start of a short break concentrating on the seabirds of the Northumberland coast.  Nigel, Janice and Cliff and Lesley had already arrived and at dinner we discussed the plan for the…

  • 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…

  • Winter’s Icy Grip; Bespoke Lindisfarne Safari 25/02/2016

    There’s a special quality to the winter; stark, icy landscapes filled with vast flocks of wintering birds grip the attention and leave you marvelling at the inhospitable conditions our winter wildlife contends with.  We can wear a range of incredibly technical clothing, and head back to the car, or even indoors, if conditions deteriorate but…

  • Winter Wonderland 21-24/02/2016

    Our Winter Wonderland holiday started on Sunday evening with Ben and Diane, and David, arriving at the Bamburgh Castle Inn. Day One 22/02/16.  Our first full day was around Lindisfarne and the North Northumberland coast and everything that makes the area so good in the winter put in an appearance.  Purple Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit,…

  • The hunter, hunted; Lindisfarne Safari 19/02/2016

    Our second successive day on and around Lindisfarne was accompanied by an incredibly stiff breeze, which contributed to a fascinating encounter… I collected Andy, Jill and Catherine from The Swan and we collected Alison en route to the north of the county.  Waiting for the tide to clear from the causeway, we spent the first…

  • Rain song in beautiful light; Northumberland Birdwatching 12/03/2014

    Last Wednesday was a trip I’d been looking forward to for some time.  Janice and David have visited Northumberland annually for many years and it was David’s 50th birthday so Janice had arranged an afternoon out for him 🙂 Arriving at Cresswell, I was impressed by the naked-eye view of a Red-throated Diver from the…