Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Tag: Whooper Swan

  • Expect the unexpected

    Whenever we have a trip with clients who have been given gift vouchers, I always wonder what they expect.  Some will have chosen gift vouchers when asked what they would like, some will have been given them by our existing clients, and for some it must be a complete mystery tour.  When we get an enquiry we always try to determine exactly what our clients want, but at the start of a trip I’ll always enquire “is there anything you’re particularly keen to see while you’re in Northumberland?”  Then, the pressure is on to try and deliver that experience…

    I collected Patrick and Bronwyn from Amble yesterday morning for a day of birdwatching around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.  As we set off it was a beautiful morning; sunny, calm and dry and I soon determined that one bird they would love to see was Bittern – they’ve visited sites where Bitterns breed and Bitterns overwinter but not, so far, anywhere where the aforementioned birds were obliging enough to come into view for them.  An hour into the trip and it was already windy, bitterly cold and spotting with rain but the birding was good.  2 Bewick’s Swans in a roadside field were very obliging, nibbling on the vegetation as we studied them, 12 Goosanders sailed majestically across a lake, Patrick’s sharp eyes picked out an immaculate male Sparrowhawk on a fence post and the air was filled with skeins of geese (Canada, Greylag, Pink-footed, White-fronted and Bean), a Skylark battled into the wind and Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Pochard, Mallard and Great-crested Grebe were picked out from the flock on the water.

    A brief visit to Newbiggin to track down a Mediterranean Gull (or four) was followed by lunch overlooking the North Sea. Heading up through the bay, Red-breasted Mergansers were displaying and a Short-eared Owl (the first of three for the afternoon) perched on a roadside fence-post.  Reedbeds were illuminated by that beautiful winter afternoon light (I wax lyrical about it frequently, but it really is a breathtaking backdrop to the wildlife and part of the experience).  As the afternoon light began to fade, Venus appeared overhead, a herd of Whooper Swans trumpeted their arrival for the evening roost and a Grey Heron shot out of one reedbed, flew across in front of us, landed just out of sight and flushed a Bittern that flew almost the reverse of the route taken by the heron, along the near edge of the pool directly in front of us and dropped into a reedbed and out of sight!  Wildlife may be unpredictable, but those days when it seems to perform to order leave me, and our clients, with a big grin 🙂  After that what more was there to do than spend the evening relaxing back at home with a glass of good red wine. Cheers 🙂

  • Flight calls

    I collected Brian from Newbiggin on Saturday for a one-to-one photography afternoon around southeast Northumberland.  It was good to find a photographer with the mantra of ‘wait, watch, wait some more’ and we settled among the trees in a dappled woodland.  Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker all entertained us, Jays were chasing through the trees and Redwings passed overhead, their ‘seee’ calls still resonate deep inside me, nearly 40 years since I first heard them over our school field and then found a bundle of soft feathers where one had fallen prey to the local Kestrel.

    We had a brief spell of reasonable light, but the afternoon was mainly characterised by drizzle and gloom; not ideal for photography, but an atmospheric background for the birds that were moving about pre-roost.  Then, more calls from the skies as we sat close to a small pond.  First, Pink-footed Geese, yapping distantly before coming into view like a distant swirl of smoke as they headed to roost.  Then a group of 8 Whooper Swans, heading north.  As they vanished into the gloom, the rain increased and brought dusk forward.

  • It’s Sunday, so it must be Lindisfarne

    After enjoying an all too brief view of the ‘super Moon’ on Saturday as I drove eastwards across Northumberland on my way home from the North Pennines, we’d got something completely different in the booking diary for Sunday; guided birdwatching on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.  Having Sarah along as an additional guide was a real bonus as well.

    Gillian and Roger are existing clients, and this time we’d got other members of the family along as well – Roddy, Lucy and Alec.  We’ve done plenty of family trips with young children, but a request to see “Seals, Lions and Tigers” from a 2-year old was a new experience for us!  We managed one of those three 😉

    Black-tailed Godwit (a stunning bird, well on it’s way to breeding plumage), Pale-bellied and Dark-bellied Brent Geese, Oystercatchers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Red-breasted Mergansers and Long-tailed Ducks were all well appreciated.  Gillian picked out a tiny dark dot, high overhead, as a Skylark sang his evocative melody, and Roger spotted a Goldcrest, with a very very gold crest, as we ascended The Heugh.  18 Whooper Swans flew over the island, accompanied by a single Bewick’s Swan.  With that species so scarce in Northumberland during the winter, we wondered if it was the same bird that we first found, a few miles down the coast, in late December.  All too soon, it was time to return the family to the starting point of the tour and make our way down the Northumberland coast, along Druridge Bay and back to the office.

  • Autumnal February

    Finishing a mini-safari at dusk combines two of my greatest pleasures; showing our clients the wildlife and landscape of Northumberland, and still being outside as it gets dark.

    I met up with Alastair, Roz, Keith and Marian mid-afternoon last Thursday for a few hours of wildlife and birdwatching around Druridge Bay and Southeast Northumberland.  As I got out of our Landrover in the car park at Church Point, it occurred to me that it was so cold and misty that I’d be really quite excited if it was mid-October 🙂  Even so, in mid-February a mini-safari finishing at dusk is still exciting.

    Beside the River Coquet, a wave of panic rippled through the Jackdaws and Woodpigeons.  No sign of any cause though.  Then another wave of panic and a Sparrowhawk raced by, narrowly missing a Black-headed Gull perched on a fence post.  A group of Roe Deer were spotted by Marian, walking along a ridge opposite us and vanishing behind the bushes before reappearing and then vanishing again.  At least 28 Goldeneye were displaying on the river, the comical contortions of the drakes providing good entertainment.  Almost as good as the entertainment provided by the sense of humour of all 4 clients 🙂

    A flock of 25 Goldfinches was well appreciated, as were all of the tiny lambs in the fields nearby and no fewer than 9 Grey Herons all sitting around one small pool.  A pair of Pintail were dabbling, as dabbling ducks do, and Alastair’s sharp eyes provided a Barn Owl for the list as it ghosted it’s way through the sky above the flooded meadows.

    Dusk beside a pool with a wader roost is almost indescribable; Lapwing, Curlew and Dunlin all huddled close together is quite a sight but the thing that takes almost everybody by surprise is the noise.  The level of vocalisation between the birds is extraordinary, and then the Lapwings fall silent as they begin to fly off to feeding areas.  Then, as the light faded to a level where binoculars, and even our eyes, weren’t really sufficient anymore, the trumpeting of 24 Whooper Swans coming to roost rounded the day off.

  • Wax(w)ing lyrical

    Yesterday was a Druridge Bay Safari and, after collecting Katrina, Craig and their boys from Church Point, I was astonished to see how much snow was on the ground as we drove towards Cresswell.  A Stoat played hide-and-seek with us…and proved to be masterful 🙂

    The plummeting overnight temperatures had frozen nearly all of the pools along the bay.  Each one still had it’s own little area of open water though, and these held a lot of ducks.  Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Tufted Duck and, almost indescribably handsome, a drake Pintail were all enjoyed by everyone.  A mixed herd of Whooper and Mute Swans provided an identification diversion and a few Pink-footed Geese flying over nearby fields alerted us to the presence of several thousand feeding below them.  After marvelling as the entire flock lifted into the air we were then transfixed by a Barn Owl hunting over the reedbeds at Cresswell.  A brief detour into Ashington for a spot of birdwatching, Northumberland housing estate style, where we had excellent views, and enjoyed the trilling calls, of 37 Waxwings, was followed by a walk along the Wansbeck.  With bone-chilling temperatures, not a breath of wind, and a river that was mirror-like the walk was sublime. We don’t get a lot of days like that, but they always feel special when we do.  Goldcrests called from the trees, Canada Geese were clamouring around Castle Island and almost the entire length of river that we walked along was dotted with Goldeneye, as the sun dropped below the horizon.

  • Snowy Sunday

    Yesterday we took advantage of the bright sunny weather to visit Druridge Bay and check out a couple of sites in preparation for an otter/badger Safari on Tuesday.  We had been out on Saturday with the same intention, but the 35mph+ northeasterly winds, and treacherous road conditions led to an early return home…

    As we drove past Cresswell, Sarah spotted a family of Whooper Swans in a roadside field.  As they seemed fairly settled, Sarah decided to capture an image of them in the snow.  Luckliy we did this there and then, as there was no sign of them when we passed by there an hour later.

    Whooper Swans near Bell's Farm
    Whooper Swans near Bell's Farm

    Checking all of the unfrozen water that we could find in southeast Northumberland did eventually produce a brief sighting of an Otter.

    Druridge Pools was remarkably photogenic; a handy dog-walker added to the photo opportunities and Teasels are really attractive covered in snow or frost.  There was a noticeable movement of Skylarks along the coast as well; 200+ as we walked from the Oddie Hide back to the car.

    Druridge in the snow
    Druridge in the snow
    More attractive than when they're in flower?
    More attractive than when they're in flower?

    Once we were back at home, Sarah was watching the comings and goings at the feeding station when she called through to the living room “Brambling!”.  I ran to the window just in time to see it fly over our neighbour’s garden and out of sight.  I set the camera up ready and eventually it appeared at the end of our garden with a flock of Chaffinches.  Then it vanished again…and appeared in our neighbour’s garden.  Another disappearing act and, after what seemed like an eternity, it flew in from the churchyard on the opposite side of our house.  That wasn’t the end of the story though, as it hid in the thickest tangles of our apple tree for over an hour before offering up a reasonable shot.

    A cracking winter garden visitor
    A cracking winter garden visitor

    Now I’m back at the desk in my office, collating survey data, preparing newsletters and catching up on e-mails…but I can still see the birds at our feeding station, and a rather optimistic Sparrowhawk displaying over Choppington Woods.  A New Year but some old friends; Birdwatching, Northumberland and a dSLR.