Thursday 29 September 2016

Blustery and Rosy!


Yesterday I snapped this Hawthorn Shieldbug at the Budge Screen, Druridge.





After some early shopping I stopped at Cresswell to find it disappointingly quiet. Although the Wheatear and a Juv. Avocet were nice.


On to Druridge and a Spotted Redshank was back, sheltering beside a Greenshank. So back home, unpack the shopping, coffee and decision made; head for Wooler. I hadn't bothered so far because I didn't fancy peering into gardens looking for a bird, but when I was told that wasn't necessary it changed my mind.


When I finally got to the site (after visiting various farms and cottages in the 'real' Roseden),  (Thanks ACo for the correct directions!) it was very windy ... and the bird didn't appear for over an hour. It finally put on a fabulous  show just after a couple from Holy Island arrived (they only had a five minute wait  ..  grrr).


A very distinctive bird and the supporting cast of Tree and House sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Siskin, GSW and Common Starling kept me busy while I waited.





So being nearby I headed for Holy Island to catch the rising tide.


A great move as I saw: 12 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 2 Ruff , Pink-footed Geese and ots of Brent Geese. Terrific!


I also spotted this in Roseden which I think is Fox and Cubs .. must check it though.

Tuesday 27 September 2016

Westerlies ...


Early morning, Redstart, always nice.


Lesser Bindweed
(Convolvulus arvensis)


Bar-tailed Godwit


A good read! Helped me understand why I'm not too bothered about lists. Some nice historical info about early birding.


Kingfishers everywhere. Even managed to get IR to twitch this one


Lesser Bugloss
(Lycopsis arvensis)



White Dead-nettle
(Lamium alba)



Herring Gull


Migrant Hawker
I think?
(Aehna mixta)


Tuesday 20 September 2016

Dippers on Holy Island


A little late for Tall Ships?


Birding with STa at Cambois. No birds of note but nice to find plenty of Evening Primrose.



Monday morning waiting for tide to fall. No sign of the Thrush Nightingale but met up with several other Dippers.




Plenty of Brent Geese and good to find lots of Skylarks. Don't think they've had a good year in the bay.


Hope this is just Rosehip debris above the bill?


OI!


This fine bird was reported again at the Long Nanny. I imagine apart from the twitch on the first day, many haven't bothered because it is from a release programme in Spain. The fact that it may well re-orient and breed next year in Europe (in the wild) shows how fickle bird listers can be. Still if you're interested in birds this is well worth a visit. This super bird is very skilful at catching Bees and tremendous to watch. It even drew a crowd of Goldfinch, Stonechat and Meadow Pipits to watch it make short work of one monster Bee.



Sadly the heat haze made photographing the bird a little tricky.

Friday 16 September 2016

Good Decision


Yesterday (15th Sept) I decided to check all the Bay (most of the bay from Hadston and on to Newbiggin) for migrant birds. My rewards were: Redstarts, Goldcrests, Lesser Whitethroat and Wheatears. News (via AMc 'WhatsApp') alerted me to a good fall on Holy Island. It was 11am and I had time to drive there and remain on the island over the high tide.





Was it worth it?
YES!


Yellow-browed Warblers (at least 3)


Red-breasted Fly proved difficult to capture at first in Snook Plantation but this bird although very mobile did favour a more open canopy (probably because it was bullied out of the other trees by several Willow/Chiffs).


Thanks to AM for finding all these birds.



MC was also on the island and had a photo of his star find, (Pallid Harrier) sadly it as too foggy to relocate. It will be interesting to see if it is still around over the next few days. 

Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat and Redstart were some of the supporting cast. Slept well last night and can't wait to get out and explore this morning. Already PG Tips found at Spurn, not sure I'm okay with it being kept in a bag for over 30 mins to be paraded in front of audience? Although it's a bit hypocritical of me as this was how I saw my only Radde's Warbler. Won't do it again though; even if it is a male Siberian Rubythroat.

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Disappointing Day ...


... not this one! Just managed one shot as this Red Squirrel swam across the Ponteland pool.


Wall Brown


Little Ringed Plover (Bothal)



Bit of an influx. This one sat patiently while I took 30+ photos.




Just about 'grown-up'


Dorsal and Ventral Views



Knot



The two CR Sanderling have moved to Hauxley now. See previous post for details (Iceland and Orkney)


Well the day promised much. Overnight fog and Easterly winds but my best bird was a Garden Warbler at Chevington.