End of the Month

Fieldfares

Over 400 Fieldfares were in a field at Druridge along with 200 Starlings. They moved slowly inland, field to field. Were they new arrivals from the North or East (or birds driven from the West by colder weather)?

Stormy weather makes birding tricky. Keeping the scope steady enough to pick out a Black Scoter at Bamburgh proved to be a challenge too far. Once Storm Henry has passed I might give it another go.

White-fronts have been appearing over the last week.

Gebes still feature highly at Chevington.

Couldn't get close to this bird to get a sharp image, but the colours were amazing.

I wonder why it's called a sawbill?

I'm no usually interested in keeping a list of birds seen, but January seemed to have been a very productive month on the coast. So a quick tally shows I've notched up 134 species on the coast and mst of them on my local patch. One year I reached 198 on the patch (missing some common seabirds and House Sparrow). I think I might justkeep a casual check this year ;-) ... .

Black-headed Gull ... update

These two Black-headed Gulls were ringed in Oslo, aged 3Cy+. Since then they have wintered in Northumberland before returning each year to Norway. Full details below!

Resightings of a Colour Ringed Gull

Thank you for your report of a CR-ringed Gull. Under you will find the details. In the event the bird is dead and you still posses the ring(s), we kindly urge you to send (them) to us. Resightings of our CR-ringed Gulls could be reported to Lista Ringing Group, Box 171, 4558 Vanse, Norway, on E-mail: gulls@ringmerking.no or the WEB page http://www.ringmerking.no/cr.

This list of ringingdata and ring reading data is intended for personal use only. If you want to publish data from this list please contact us before publication;

For birds ringed in Norway;
Morten Helberg at email morten.helberg@bio.uio.no

For birds ringed in Denmark;
Kjeld T. Pedersen at email ktpedersen@snm.ku.dk


CR-Code White ring with black code: J1TL LBM;RBWN(J1TL)
Ringing Centre Stavanger Museum (Norway) Ring number K03055
Species Black-headed Gull  Larus ridibundus
Sex Male Age 3 cy+

Date	Place	Coordinates	Observers	Days/km/°
29.04 2013	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Lome, Carsten Sandøy, John	-
30.04 2013	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Isaksen, Kjell	1/0/0
14.06 2013	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Sandøy, John	46/0/0
01.07 2013	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Evenrud, Jon Johansen, Arnkjell	63/0/0
02.07 2013	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Mjelde, John Martin	64/0/0
20.11 2013	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Hodgson, Mike S.	205/897/240
14.12 2013	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Elliott, David	229/897/240
20.02 2014	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Elliott, David	297/897/240
16.03 2014	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Fisher, Ian	321/897/240
23.04 2014	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Molværsmyr, Sindre	359/0/0
30.04 2014	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Lome, Carsten Sandøy, John	366/0/0
09.05 2014	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Norland, Anne Kari	375/0/0
14.05 2014	Hovindammen, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°55'13"N 010°48'01"E	Sandøy, John	380/5/337
25.05 2014	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Lome, Carsten	391/0/0
28.06 2014	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Sandøy, John	425/0/0
29.10 2014	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Barlow, Chris	548/897/240
30.10 2014	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Rickeard, Andy	549/897/240
12.11 2014	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Rickeard, Andy	562/897/240
13.12 2014	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'39"N 001°34'59"W	Hodgson, Mike S.	593/897/240
03.01 2015	Duridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'39"N 001°34'54"W	Bone, Sara and Phil	614/897/240
18.02 2015	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Forshaw, Derek	660/897/240
19.02 2015	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Forshaw, Derek	661/897/240
31.03 2015	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Norland, Anne Kari	701/0/0
04.04 2015	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Fjeld, Per	705/0/0
26.04 2015	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Sandøy, John	727/0/0
18.05 2015	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Fjeld, Per	749/0/0
09.06 2015	Østensjøvannet, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'51"N 010°49'57"E	Molværsmyr, Sindre	771/0/0
01.08 2015	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Easterbrook, Mark	824/897/240
09.11 2015	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Easterbrook, Mark	924/897/240
13.01 2016	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'39"N 001°34'59"W	Fisher, Ian	989/897/240
15.01 2016	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Elliott, David	991/897/240

Resightings of a Colour Ringed Gull

Thank you for your report of a CR-ringed Gull. Under you will find the details. In the event the bird is dead and you still posses the ring(s), we kindly urge you to send (them) to us. Resightings of our CR-ringed Gulls could be reported to Lista Ringing Group, Box 171, 4558 Vanse, Norway, on E-mail: gulls@ringmerking.no or the WEB page http://www.ringmerking.no/cr.

This list of ringingdata and ring reading data is intended for personal use only. If you want to publish data from this list please contact us before publication;

For birds ringed in Norway;
Morten Helberg at email morten.helberg@bio.uio.no

For birds ringed in Denmark;
Kjeld T. Pedersen at email ktpedersen@snm.ku.dk


CR-Code White ring with black code: J6CZ LBWN(J6CZ);RBM
Ringing Centre Stavanger Museum (Norway) Ring number 6153473
Species Black-headed Gull  Larus ridibundus
Sex Unknown Age 3 cy+

Date	Place	Coordinates	Observers	Days/km/°
19.04 2013	Løkketangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'29"N 010°31'20"E	Helberg, Morten Lorentzen, Nils Helge	-
26.04 2013	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Mjelde, John Martin	7/1/135
29.04 2013	Engervannet, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'38"N 010°31'32"E	Pedersen, Johnny R.	10/0/33
01.05 2013	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Pedersen, Johnny R.	12/1/135
14.05 2013	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Pedersen, Johnny R.	25/1/135
20.11 2013	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Hodgson, Mike S.	215/883/239
10.01 2014	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Patterson, Tom	266/883/239
20.02 2014	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Elliott, David	307/883/239
20.03 2014	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Uggerud, Ivar	335/1/135
31.03 2014	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Mjelde, John Martin	346/1/135
21.06 2014	Solvikbukta, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'33"N 010°33'06"E	Sandøy, John	428/2/85
24.06 2014	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Pedersen, Johnny R.	431/1/135
27.06 2014	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Uggerud, Ivar	434/1/135
26.07 2014	Druridge Bay, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°18'00"N 001°33'00"W	Perry, Ken	463/881/239
26.07 2014	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Mills, Lowell	463/883/239
25.08 2014	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Rickeard, Andy	493/882/239
13.12 2014	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'39"N 001°34'59"W	Hodgson, Mike S.	603/883/239
18.02 2015	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Forshaw, Derek	670/882/239
19.02 2015	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Forshaw, Derek	671/882/239
22.03 2015	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Lie, Morten Lome, Carsten Mjelde, John Martin	702/1/135
23.03 2015	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Mjelde, John Martin	703/1/135
26.03 2015	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Mjelde, John Martin	706/1/135
09.04 2015	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Mjelde, John Martin	720/1/135
16.04 2015	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Mjelde, John Martin	727/1/135
26.04 2015	Furuholmen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°52'30"N 010°32'57"E	Helberg, Morten Lome, Carsten Molværsmyr, Sindre	737/2/140
29.04 2015	Engervannet, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'38"N 010°31'32"E	Lie, Morten	740/0/33
29.04 2015	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Mosand, Edna	740/1/135
12.05 2015	Frognerparken, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°55'33"N 010°42'13"E	Molværsmyr, Sindre	753/11/69
16.05 2015	Frognerparken, Oslo, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°55'33"N 010°42'13"E	Lome, Carsten	757/11/69
07.06 2015	Sandholmen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'07"N 010°36'49"E	Lome, Carsten	779/5/97
11.06 2015	Kadettangen, Bærum, Akershus & Oslo, Norway	59°53'12"N 010°31'53"E	Mosand, Edna	783/1/135
01.08 2015	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Easterbrook, Mark	834/883/239
22.10 2015	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Easterbrook, Mark	916/883/239
09.11 2015	Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'38"N 001°34'52"W	Easterbrook, Mark	934/883/239
15.01 2016	Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, Great Britain	55°17'41"N 001°34'44"W	Elliott, David	1001/882/239

Still More

Several failed attempts to relocate the December Black Reds but eventually one was tracked down after being reported at Blyth. Then of course the Tynemouth bird also reappeared. Tynemouth did provide a different close encounter. A Woodcock flew straight towards me at head high, it curved over my shoulder and into a wooded compound.

A day at Budle Bay and Stag Rocks provided lots of wonderful spectacles. Hundreds of Shelduck, Fabulous Long-tailed Ducks and 12 Snow Buntings.

Chevington provided at least two reliable spots for the wintering Water pipits. Two flight views of a Bittern were special. Hoping one day I'll look from this hide, find it on the ground and get a photo. The Slavonian Grebe continues to show well but the Black-necked Grebe is proving harder to find.

The feeders around the bay are starting to attract more birds. The country park has a flock of 12 Lesser Redpolls and a couple of Willow Tits.

At  home the 4 Tree Sparrows have returned after a two week absence and have now joined the 14 strong House Sparrow flock. A Long-tailed Tit was a brief but welcome visitor. Finally a Little Owl is back at its favoured haunt at High Chibburn Farm.

Loving January

Highlights of last few days; Iceland Gull QEII CP, Bittern Chev and Treeceeper.

The Water Pipit at Chev is much more cleanly marked than the Druridge bird (in my opinion).

5 Roe Deer were see this morning.

A breeding bird but not easy to see. Delighted to find two today.

I managed to fluke a view of the Bittern at Chev (18/01/2016). Having heard it was at Chev when RS had a dusk fly by a couple of weeks ago. Today I was told about it being photographed on the settling pools. It is such a pity some people don't put out their sightings for others to enjoy.

The Redpoll flock is still entertaining visitors. Sadly I couldn't capture a sharp image of the 'white' one.