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Autumn passage; Northumberland Coast Bespoke Birdwatching 01/09/2015
The start of the month brought returning clients, David and Mary who were out with us in 2009 and 2012 and who we see at the Bird Fair each August. Starting at Newbiggin we set out south down the coast and soon found ourselves standing on a track with nine Blackbirds ahead of us, along…
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Porpoiseful birdwatching; Druridge Bay Safari 06/07/2015
mid-Summer can be a quiet time for birdwatching, but there are some days where everything just falls into place… I arrived in Seahouses to collect Nigel and Barbara for a day birdwatching further south on the Northumberland coast, and we headed towards Druridge Bay in beautiful hot summer weather. With a flat calm sea we…
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Spring arrivals; Druridge Bay Safari 30/04/2015
It’s been a cold windy spring, and a few of our summer visitors seemed a bit tardy; we found our first Sand Martin and Chiffchaff later than we would have expected, but the day has been coming when things would start to happen… I collected Jan and Peter from Church Point and we set out…
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Life, the universe and everything; Otter Safari 04/04/2015
As I arrived at The Swan to collect Alan, Sarah and Sam it was looking like a glorious spring day. The plan for the day was to search all of our regular Otter sites around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland. Chiffchaff, Chaffinch and Robin were all singing, Little Egret were stalking through the shallows (almost…
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Charming; Bespoke Birdwatching 10/11/2014
Even after 40+ years birdwatching, there are times when I’m not sure whether the thing that excites me the most is a lone rarity, a life or death interaction involving one of the predators we encounter, or an impressive flock of something common… I collected David and Dot from Gosforth and we made our way…
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The Chase; Kielder Safari 14/10/2014
We’ve always tended to stick to the coast during the autumn and winter, but our Dark Skies experiences are attracting a lot of interest, particularly with clients who’d like to combine a wildlife tour with stargazing. Of course, the stargazing is rather weather dependent… I collected Lorraine, Steve, Debbie and Gary from their holiday cottage…
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Eye to eye with the predator; Bespoke Photography 21/10/2013
The chilly morning air was biting as I arrived in Seahouses to collect Peter, Caroline and Aidan. With camera gear loaded into the back of the car we headed down the Northumberland coast with two species in particular on our target list for the day – one relatively easy, one slightly less so… I’d planned…
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Dragons
Our returning clients theme continued last week, when I collected Elaine and Sue for an Otter Safari, concentrating mainly around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland. We first met between Christmas and New Year 2008 when they joined myself and Sarah on a guided walk on Holy Island. On that day Elaine photographed this stunning Stonechat…