January 16 2013

At last a rest day where I wasn’t working, or travelling, or drinking or suffering from the dreaded Norovirus bug!

It seems that, this year, everyone is doing some sort of challenge. So not to be out done and left out, I did my own today. It’s TTCEGNMTOHYFI, that’s the Take The Car Everywhere and Go No More Than One Hundred Yards From It challenge!

It has a very simple scoring system, today’s score was 4

It means nothing, it’s just a random number.

I started this morning nice and early on the causeway at Holy Island, an excellent place for this kind of challenge, as you don’t even have to get out of the car.

The car temperature gauge said it was –6 degrees as I left the house, steadily warming up during the day to +2 degrees. I felt cold only once, during a very nice sunrise…

ice floe’s on the road

From the car…

Bar-tailed Godwit

Grey Plover

Whooper Swan

Herring Gull

Long-tailed Duck

Further down the road on the way back, both Kestrel and Merlin were seen

the Merlin had been as close as the Kestrel was to the road, but my mode of travel spooked it down the hedge a bit

Budle Bay was surprisingly quiet, but Stag Rocks was canny. A Great Northern Diver, 6 Red-throated Diver, 3 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Fulmar, 40ish Common Scoter and 20ish Long-tailed Duck

but just one Purple Sandpiper.

Approaching Seahouses, this beauty stopped me in my tracks…

Short-eared Owl

Eventually I end up at Cresswell, just as some bloke in a bright red coat gets out of his car to try and photograph the Pink-footed Goose flock, which was right next to the road. Needless to say most of the flock moved into the middle of the field, he then flushed the rest when he pulled up behind Ian’s car and got his telescope out to look at the birds; the dipstick was a birder!!!

Fortunately a small group close to my car didn’t flush…

and so, at the end of the birding day, I had seen 73 species

April 15 2012

So we head out West in the hope of a pleasant spring morning, only to have freezing winds with some heavy snow showers, winter is back (for today). At Derwent Reservoir, there were Little Ringed Plover, House Martin and Willow Warbler (all new year birds for me) as well as Swallow, Goosander and Great Crested Grebe but the un-doubted highlight was a male Merlin that flashed through causing panic in the Linnet flock.

We head off from here in the hope that we will leave winter behind, but it was not to be; winter stayed with us all day, however the birding went from just canny to excellent!

First off, we have two of these…

…this one gave a nice fly-by showing a full crop from the fish it had been dining on. The other had been flying back and forth with nest material!

Then just up the road, we have two of these…

…and these two were getting a bit frisky too!

December 4 2011

First stop today was at Druridge Bay Country Park, where there was no sign at all of the Greater Yellowlegs, or during another four quick stops there through the day. But I did see a second winter Glaucous Gull which flew in from the North heading for Chevington I think, as it didn't land on the pool.

Just down the road, at West Chevington, a huge Northumberland count of Eurasian White-fronted Geese are present, with Greylag,

 

and Pink-footed Goose.

White-fronted Goose albifrons

Most of the flock was distant, but these two on the deck were just off the road.

While having a last look for the yellowlegs at Hauxley, I heard of a Desert Wheatear at Beacon Point, Newbiggin.

So I had to go and have a look!

I think that’s my fifth in Northumberland.

At times, the wheatear came as close as five feet. I was on the “cliff” top (it’s about eight feet high!) path and the bird was on the cliff below me. Far too close for pictures.


Also here, five Short-eared Owl and a Snow Bunting. The sun had set when I took this shot, this is at 1/50 sec at  F/5.6. With a little tweak in photoshop, it looks not too bad

November 22 2011

After a very late finish last night (or very early this morning!), a fairly early morning phone call asking me if I would like a shift today, was answered with a resounding no!

So, after being rudely awoken, I set off to make the most of the day. First stop, Big Waters, where two Bewick’s Swans have taken up residence. Too far for pictures, I was just happy that they had hung around so that I could see them; they have been too scarce in Northumberland lately.

Just up the road, at Prestwick Carr, after a bit of searching, the Great Grey Shrike is seen, way, way off in the distance. In fact so far off, a guy who looked through my scope said it was a Great Spotted Woodpecker!

I stopped at a different view point on the way out, and saw that I was much closer to where it was, but into the light. Trying to get the right side to take pictures, I lost sight of it. I was just about to give up when the bird flew in and hovered about twenty feet in front of me, in perfect light. Sadly, I had far too much lens on and couldn’t focus on the bird!  This time I did give up, as again I had lost the bird, flying off to the north. As I was driving away, the shrike flew over the car from the west carrying a prey item, which looked like a bird. I was sure I had seen the shrike cache the prey, but after it flew off, I was unable to find the larder. It did return and some canny shots were taken.

 

I head to the other end of the Carr and spend an hour with the Short-eared Owls, at least seven today.

 

Also about, the ring-tail Hen Harrier, always too far for a worthwhile picture, six Common Buzzard, a Willow Tit and five Bullfinch

So while at this end, I got talking to some other birders who had been for the shrike, and they mention that they had seen eight Bean Geese! So its back to the other end and there they are just visible, they are in this picture…

By now I was getting cold and I bid farewell to all who would listen and I headed off. Leaving it late, I had a quick walk up to the hide at Big Waters, and with the last of the light, got some pictures of the Bewick’s Swans…

…and the Whooper Swans

October 2 2011

This evening I joined the crowd at Prestwick Carr for the Owl-fest.

At least eleven asio owls were on show, probably all were Short-eared, the few that showed well definitely were.  And a Little Owl heard calling, a canny evening out!

Short-eared Owl

Northumberland