Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: Turnstone

  • Crossing the causeway

    In what appeared to be worsening weather, I drove north to Bamburgh to collect Lyndsey and Petter for their Lindisfarne Safari…and then things improved dramatically, with warm sunshine tempered by a cool southerly breeze 🙂  We started in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, with Common Eider on the water, Turnstones on the rocks and Sandwich Terns and Gannets fishing just offshore.  A stop at Budle Bay revealed a Greenshank amongst the masses of roosting Redshank and we continued to Holy Island itself.  Waders continued to be the theme of the afternoon, with Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Curlew and Lapwing all either roosting or feeding on the mudflats close by and Whimbrel calling as they passed through.  As the tide fell, Grey Seals could be seen hauling themselves out of the water, ‘bottling’ in the afternoon warmth, swimming along with a remarkable turn of pace for such big animals, and splashing around like kids in a paddling pool.

    Late August, sunny weather, masses of visitors on Holy Island…and the wildlife is still as good as ever 🙂

  • Dodging the showers

    Things weren’t looking too promising as I headed up the A697 to collect Ian and Barbara from their holiday accommodation at The Coach House; rain, mist and fog were all conspiring to reduce visibility.  Once we were on our way towards Holy Island things improved though, and our walk on the island was in reasonable weather.  Plenty of Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwits were along the water’s edge and little parties of Guillemot and Red-breasted Merganser were spotted on the relatively calm sea.  Back on the mainland, things took a turn for the worse and the rain hammered down, making the mudflats seem to be boiling.  The numbers of Curlew grew and grew, all demonstrating just how vigorous their feeding technique is.  As everything began to disappear into the rain, the eerie calls of Grey Seals came echoing across the mud.  Eider, Common Scoter, Puffin, Shag, Cormorant, Guillemot and Razorbill  were all on the sea in the shadow of Bamburgh Castle, Turnstones were doing just what their name suggests, 2 Little Egrets were in Budle Bay and 3 Common Buzzards were soaring around as the sun finally began to beat down on the northern edge of the Cheviots as we returned to Crookham at the end of a day of changeable weather, and good birdwatching.

  • Those lazy, hazy days…of early spring

    I’ve often said that what really makes our tours so enjoyable is our clients, and yesterday was no exception.

    I collected Dave, Rachel, Emily and Thomas  from their holiday cottage in Bamburgh and we drove down the Northumberland coast.  The warm sunshine, and layer upon layer of birdsong, was more like late spring or early summer, and 8-year old Thomas was soon constantly attached to his camera viewfinder; a wildlife photographer of the future I think 🙂  Emily kept us all entertained with suggestions as to how native Northumbrians will evolve and why several common flowers should be renamed.

    Our picnic spot, overlooking Druridge Bay, produced an interesting observation.  As we watched a roosting flock of Turnstones, Oyestercatchers and Purple Sandpipers I could see a raft of birds well offshore.  Closer inspection revealed nearly 100 tightly rafted Pink-footed Geese.  Perhaps the mystery of where they roost when we can’t find them at their usual winter haunts is close to being solved?  It’s going to make our winter roost counts for the IGC a bit difficult though 😉

    As the red orb of the sun sank behind the slate grey clouds we settled into position by a coastal pool.  3 Roe Deer wandered through a nearby field, Common Pipistrelles hawked insects in front of us (described as “awesome” by Thomas), Mute Swans and Greylag Geese paddled serenely across the pool and the whole scene was given a surreal air with thick layers of mist hanging just above the water.  Still my favourite time of day…and there really isn’t anything better than sharing it with our clients 🙂

  • Whistle while you work

    Yesterday was one of what are rapidly becoming our favourite trips; afternoon/evening safaris.  I collected Claire and Stuart from their holiday cottage near Brinkburn Priory and we headed towards the coast.

    Our regular Little Owl watched us imperiously, before turning tail and scuttling out of sight as a dog walker came along the track.  The coastal pools along Druridge Bay are hosting an ever increasing number of waders; Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank, Knot, Ruff, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Common Sandpiper and Curlew were all roosting, a Spotted Redshank called but remained frustratingly out of sight behind a reedbed, and Greenshank and Whimbrel both responded to imitations of their calls.  Then, that most majestic of waders graced the air in front of us, although only briefly; a Black-tailed Godwit flew low over the roost, everything panicked, and a Peregrine carved through the flock before heading out over the sea and then away high to the north.  Little Grebes and Grey Herons were both well appreciated, then it was time to check some of southeast Northumberland’s finest mammal sites.

    Red Squirrels always go down well with our clients, and the one we watched feeding was no exception.  A juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker was equally obliging and we watched it for a while before moving on to our favourite site for Badger watching.  Probably the biggest Badger we’ve seen so far trotted across the hillside opposite us and a much smaller animal (maybe a young cub) made it’s way through the undergrowth just over the stream from our position.  As darkness approached we found ourselves on a hilltop with a Tawny Owl calling ‘ke-wick’ from the woodland below us.  After whistling at waders during the afternoon I imitated the quavering hoot of a male Tawny Owl and waited.  The bird called from closer.  I called again, and it came closer still.  Eventually it flew up into a bare tree, silhouetted against the final glow of daylight in the sky, only 20m away from us.  I switched to copying the bird’s ‘ke-wick’ call and it turned to face us directly, ready to challenge this impertinent intruder.  I remained silent, not provoking any further response, and the bird flew to a nearby tree, screeching defiantly as we made our way back down the hillside.  Common Pipistrelles and Daubenton’s Bats were picked up on the bat detector and seen as they flitted back and forth.  The final wildlife of the evening though was close to the cottage at Brinkburn, and was another piece of Northumberland magic; a doe Roe Deer and her fawn ran along the road in front of us.

    As Autumn approaches evening safaris mean finishing at a quite amenable hour, so give us a call on 01670 827465 to find out how you can share in these memorable experiences with us.