Tag: Stonechat

  • Ducks in the dark; Druridge Bay Bespoke 24/10/17

    I collected Nicola and Bill from Lesbury and we headed down the coast for an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay… We’ve reached that time of the year where wildfowl numbers are starting to really grow, and Greylag, Canada and Pink-footed Geese were all heard and seen.  Whooper Swans remained aloof and apart from Mute…

  • Larking about; Druridge Bay bespoke birdwatching 22/05/17

    Yesterday was Pete and Jan’s 10th trip with us, and we were heading for NEWT’s local patch… Travelling south from Embleton we stopped off to enjoy cliffs covered in Fulmar and Kittiwake before stopping off at Boulmer to search for the Shorelark.  We watched a small flock of these fantastic birds during the winter, but…

  • May magic; Otter Safari 09/05/17

    After a week away from home, leading a wildlife photography holiday for another company, I was looking forward to getting back to all things NEWT and as I collected Mike and Barbara from Low Newton, ahead of an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay searching for Otters, I was thinking that the afternoon sunshine was…

  • Slimming; Otter Safari 21/04/17

    The first drops of rain speckled the windscreen of the car as I arrived at Church Point to collect Luke and Louise for their third day out with NEWT this week – an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland searching for Otters… With the lovely weather of recent days replaced by an…

  • Choppy; Otter Safari 14/04/17

    Friday was Adrian and Ruth’s 2nd day out with NEWT, after Monday’s Cheviots Valleys/Druridge Bespoke tour, and I arrrived at Church Point to collect them, as well as Sandra and Paco, and Rachel and Andy.  A torrential downpour passed mercifully quickly and we were on our way for an afternoon and evening around Druridge Bay…

  • Northumberland in the win(d)ter; Winter Wonderland holiday 19-22/02/17

    Day 1. 19/02/17. I arrived at the Bamburgh Castle Inn for the start of our Winter Wonderland holiday, then met up with with Christine, John, Linda and Rosie in the bar and outlined the plan for the next two days while we enjoyed a fantastic meal. Day 2. 20/02/17.  Our first full day was targeting…

  • Arrivals; Holy Island bespoke birdwatching 20/10/16

    Yesterday was Pete and Jan’s 9th trip with NEWT and we headed to a location that they haven’t visited with us previously… Heading north from Embleton we soon encountered the first rain of the day, and by the time we reached the Holy Island causeway the mud and shallow water around the array of Redshank,…

  • Searching; Otter Safari 18/10/16

    A day around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland was in store as I arrived at Church Point to collect Sam, Luke, Perdi and Georgina. Ghostly white Mediterranean Gulls were drifting through the assembled cloud of Black-headed Gulls as we prepared to head a few miles inland, and a Swallow over the caravan park was an…

  • Dodging the showers; Lindisfarne Safari 09/08/16

    The unpredictability of the weather in northern England is one of the reasons I love living here.  Early August and you just don’t know whether there’ll be clear skies and sunshine, or something akin to the depths of the autumn… I arrived at Kingston Park and met up with Chris (for his third trip with…

  • Mini-beasts in the mist; Lindisfarne Safari 14/06/16

    I met up with Malcolm and Jill and we headed across the causeway onto Holy Island, in conditions that looked slightly misty… The simple song of a Reed Bunting echoed in the mist as the curious hypnotic ‘sharming’ of a Water Rail came from deep in the reeds.  As the mist thickened, visibility dropped and…