Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: White-beaked Dolphin

  • Fin-tastic

    We’re in one of our busier periods at the moment;  two trips on Thursday, two on Friday and then we’ll be out again tomorrow.

    Thursday’s two mini-safaris featured some of our old favourites; Little Owl is one of the best crowd-pleasers that there is, Dunlin, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Grey Heron  and summer-plumaged Knot  all went down very well and some attractive insects added a touch of glitter – Common Darter, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Small Copper, Red Admiral and Dark Green Fritillary are all easily overlooked (well maybe not Red Admiral), but quite stunning if you take the time to search for them and then look closely.  After finishing Thursday’s first trip, and dropping Kevin, Angela and Georgia back at Newbiggin, I went back to the office, dealt with a few e-mails, packed the head torches and bat detectors ready for the evening and then headed back out for the day’s second tour of Druridge Bay and Southeast Northumberland.  Then the heavens opened.  With windscreen wipers barely able to provide a clear view, traffic was crawling.  I was considering the unthinkable – cancelling a trip.  The rain eased and I collected Andy and family.  The trip list was very similar to the morning and then I thought it might be worthwhile to have a quick look at the sea.

    Now, seawatching is an obsessive pastime but it isn’t for everyone; I’m certain that long periods staring at the sea, hoping that something exciting will appear, don’t make for good client experiences.  So we don’t do it…very often.  The sea had been flat calm during the day and there was only a gentle breeze.  Ideal conditions for searching for cetaceans, in fact.  The number of e-mails, texts and ‘phone calls I’d had during the week was the clincher.  I knew that cetaceans sightings were increasing and viewing conditions were just right…surely the right time to take clients for a seawatch.  Gannets were passing by and we all scanned the sea.  Quickly I picked up 2 dolphins away to the south.  Then another 2, then 3 including 2 calves.  Through binoculars I had little doubt that these were White-beaked Dolphins.  A quick look through the ‘scope revealed all of the relevant ID features; tall falcate dorsal fin, white flanks arcing up behind the dorsal to form a pale saddle.  As everyone managed to see the dolphins, I scanned slowly to estimate how many dolphins there were.  At least 25 individual animals were found, and the pod was spread out over at least 6 square miles of the North Sea!  Another birder arrived and we managed to get him on to the dolphins as well.  It’s almost impossible to describe just how extraordinary such a sighting is.  Normally the best opportunities arise when you’re on an organised pelagic trip.  We’ve got 4 more of these this year; and with only one place remaining on September 18th, two places on September 4th and four places on August 12th, get in touch now on 01670 827465 to join us and experience the best pelagic wildlife and birdwatching opportunities available on the east coast.  August 12th will be a groundbreaking trip; we’re heading out to the Farne Deeps and reports from anglers and researchers suggest that the area could produce sightings of some spectacular wildlife.  Minke Whale, White-beaked Dolphin, Common Dolphin and Killer Whale have all been found previously.

    After the dolphins we had another of the species that always captivates our clients as a Barn Owl allowed a prolonged period of observation as it hunted along the coastal dunes.  As darkness descended and we headed back to our starting point the raindrops began to speckle the windscreen of the Landy again.

    The highlights of Friday’s first trip were Red Squirrel and Little Owl (for Kate and Lucy) and a very unexpected Green Sandpiper (for me).

    The evening pelagic took place with some extraordinary glowering skies to the north.  As the swell began to develop, we were treated to very close views of Gannet and Fulmar before returning to Royal Quays in the dark, but the abiding memory of the last week is the extraordinary spectacle of a little-known cetacean, hunting, leaping and playing in the seas off Northumberland.

  • A real challenge

    In the 17 years that I’ve lived here, I’ve always believed that Northumberland is one of the finest counties for birdwatching in the whole of the UK.  That belief played a big part in reaching the decision to launch NEWT, and it’s why we’re such an enthusiastic member of the Birdwatching Northumberland Consortium.  We’ll be at the Bird Fair in August (Marquee 1, Stand 53/54) so come along to meet us and find out just how good Northumberland is.

    This morning, though, my attention is on mammals.  We don’t do too badly for them either; Badger, Red Fox, Grey Seal, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer, Weasel, Stoat and Brown Hare all feature regularly on our safaris and, on our Northern Experience Pelagics, there’s the possibility of Minke Whale, White-beaked Dolphin, Harbour Porpoise and other cetaceans.  We’ve had some random sightings as well; a Bank Vole that sat munching on a leaf just a few feet away from us and a Mole that walked into a hide we were sitting in were both bizarre (especially the Mole; I hadn’t seen a live one for a long, long time).

    With the exciting news earlier this week of the first confirmed evidence in 16 years of Pine Marten in Northumberland, we’ve got a new challenge 🙂  We’ve spent some time in the last couple of years checking likely sites and following up reports that we’ve received.  Some of those have been very tantalising, and the species may be more widespread than people imagine.  Otters and Badgers are fairly difficult, but we’ve developed an excellent track record with those two species.  Pine Marten is going to be an altogether different proposition, but we relish a challenge.

  • Natural therapy

    This morning dawned clear and bright and my original plan had been to take the camera and head up the coast to shoot some of our stunning landscapes at sunrise and then use the available light and switch to a 500mm lens for some wildlife shots.  As it was I reluctantly decided against that option, mainly because I’ve got 6 stitches in my back and I’m going out as photographer on a survey boat tomorrow so didn’t want to put that in jeopardy (although let’s be honest – it’s a pelagic trip, so it would take a lot to keep me on dry land).  A couple more days will see the wound healing nicely and the forecast wintry weather should bring more photo opportunities next week.  I’m giving a lecture on December 27th so I’ve set myself the task of shooting at least 50% of the images for that in the next two weeks.  Hopefully starting with White-beaked Dolphin tomorrow.

    This afternoon I left the office and went for a walk around Choppington Woods, describing the reserve, it’s management and our plans for the future with the man who has the unenviable task of trying to do something similar with a somewhat less attractive bit of woodland elsewhere in southeast Northumberland.  As we stood on the boardwalk a Moorhen swam by and a flock of Siskins landed in the top of a bare Larch.  Always enjoyable to watch, they swirled around like a swarm of bees.  Redwings called overhead as they began dropping into the dense hawthorns where they roost and a Blackbird burst from a hedge in alarm as we startled it.  And there it was, the disappointment of the morning washed away by just getting outside and enjoying our local woodland.  Some of our clients have commented how incredibly relaxing they find our tours.  Perhaps there’s an escape for all of us (even if only briefly) from this modern, stressful world that we inhabit?