There are times when you can visit the same location on successive days and see exactly the same wildlife, other times something you saw the day before has moved on but there’s compensation in the form of something unexpected…<\/p>\n
I collected Julie and David from The Swan<\/a>\u00a0and we set off for day of bespoke birdwatching, combining the best of our uplands\u00a0with the post-industrial birdwatching wonders of southeast Northumberland.\u00a0 As we headed inland towards the Cheviot valleys<\/a>\u00a0the spectacular scenery (not for the first time) elicited a number of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the passenger seats of the car. Crossing the ford where the Harthope Burn becomes the Wooler Water we enjoyed very close views of those two riverine specialists, Dipper<\/strong><\/em> and Grey Wagtail<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 I’m enthusiastic about most, if not all, birds but male Grey Wagtails<\/strong><\/em> are truly stunning birds, and one that often holds our clients entranced for extended periods of time.\u00a0 We continued along the valley, and set off to walk up a narrow valley leading up into the hills from the main valley.\u00a0 Red Grouse<\/strong><\/em> were cackling all around us, flying from one side of the valley to the other and occasionally perching in full view, imperiously staring at us as we followed the burn their territories.\u00a0 A female Ring Ouzel<\/strong><\/em> flew down the valley, over our heads and away to a distant clump of trees, a pair of Sparrowhawks<\/strong><\/em> displayed ahead of us,\u00a0and we stopped for lunch.\u00a0 Our post-lunch walk was another spectacular one.\u00a0 This time in a steep-sided valley, with Peregrines<\/strong><\/em>, Kestrels,<\/strong><\/em> Common Buzzards<\/strong><\/em> and Ravens<\/strong><\/em> soaring overhead, Mistle Thrushes<\/strong><\/em> carrying food to hungry nestlings and the song of a male Ring Ouzel<\/strong><\/em> carrying on the strengthening breeze.\u00a0 An icy April shower added to the wild, remote feel of the valley and we headed back downhill into glorious sunshine.\u00a0 Our assemblage of raptors (including the honorary member – the Raven<\/strong><\/em>) didn’t feature the Osprey<\/strong><\/em> I’d seen the day before, but we did have a real bonus bird…one of the things about birding in narrow steep-sided valleys is that birds appear very unexpectedly, and on this occasion it was the enigmatic ‘Phantom of the Forest’ as a male Goshawk<\/strong><\/em> broke the skyline in front of us and beat his way powerfully across the moors.<\/p>\n