October 21 2012

I was out of bed this morning at 05:30; after a week of ultra early shifts, I had a lie in today.

 

So I was at Elwick, on Fenham Flats, Lindisfarne just after first light.

 

Thousands and thousands of Wigeon were on show from the hide. These attracted a Great Black-backed Gull which after a couple of low level passes, managed to catch and kill one, I’ve never seen this happen before.

Almost all of the birds in the pictures are Wigeon. There were a handful of Shelduck and Pintail, and the Brent Geese were off in the distance, towards the castle. Some decent size skeins of Barnacle Geese flew over, not sure if these were just arriving or if they have been here for some time.

 

A Merlin flew through, as did two Fieldfare and a Brambling.

 

From here I head North to Cocklawburn, just for a look. It was very, very quiet, as was Goswick, Budle Bay and Stag Rocks on the way back South.

 

So I just keep going until I get to Druridge Bay Country Park, where I call in to see if I can find the Slavonian Grebe that has been reported…

Chris had the bird to himself until I arrived, and in no time I had two hundred pictures of it (most of which got dumped)

 

So, from here it’s just a short drive to Cresswell. I spend an hour or so watching the Jack Snipe, in the hope that it will get into a position where I can get a decent picture of it; it didn’t do that!

October 13 & 14 2012

Saturday October 13

On an early morning visit to Cambois I bumped into Steve, who had found the Hume’s Warbler that was my target. We didn’t see it, however we did see two Yellow-browed Warbler together in the same bush, before they vanished.

We left here and went to Newbiggin, where there was no sign of the Red-breasted Flycatcher, not a sniff!

While here, a passing birder mentioned that there was a Paddyfield Warbler at St Mary’s, so that was the next stop.

As I arrived this thing popped up into the open and I just started taking pictures. I had taken about thirty before it dawned on me that it wasn’t a Paddyfield Warbler! At the time, Blyth’s Reed Warbler was mentioned as it’s identity…

who knows?
Sunday October 14
Back to Cambois, in the hope of calling Yellow-browed Warbler. Sadly, not a sniff from it! I did get this Brambling though.

Steve turned up again, after all, it is his patch. Also Steve, Phil, Dee and Ian. We didn’t see much other than 30 or so Lesser Redpoll and 20 Barnacle Geese over.
So I went to Cresswell. Common Scoter, two Scaup, Jack Snipe, Tree Sparrow were the best on offer

and a Dunnock that I just had to take a picture of

At Snab Point, a brief sea watch revealed nothing other that hundreds of gulls and Starlings with crows and Jackdaws feeding on some unknown source on the tide line.