2023 A Mixed Start (Purp update)

Best Wishes to All

I hope it is a year full of  good wildlife news.

A trip to Northumberland early this year and three highlights were Water Pipit, Snow Buntings and Hen Harrier. Better still I was able to catch up with AP and GW

Today I came across this Purple Sandpiper. Colour-ringed and probably one from Svalbard. I have sent off details and hope to get a reply. Received a very quick response from , Kjell Mork Soot. Bird ringed as a young female on 30/08/2021. Location Longyearbyen, Svalbard. This was the first sighting since then (16 months).

Love the delicate streaking on this Redshank at Whitburn this morning.

Sanderling

One of the South Shields, Snow Buntings.

My first failed twitch of the year. Yesterday I visited Northumberland but when I got home I received a call about the Walrus at Blyth. I wasn't ready to head straight back up through the tunnel so, just like last year at Seahouses, I planned an early morning trip today. Just as with the Seahouses Walrus it was a big mistake. I arrived well before sunrise but Thor had slipped away about 45 minutes earlier. I spoke to one of the team keeping watch overnight. She showed me some amazing pictures. One was taken with a thermal imaging camera and it showed the Walrus as a huge mass of heat alongside all the cold landing platforms. Secondly an image, taken after it had left, of the frost covered landing area and it showed a huge area ice free where it had been overnight. 

Top Dog  Turnstone

New Years Day, Flower Hunt.

This has become a bit of a tradition. I usually go to Alnmouth with my mum. We record the plants in flower. Normally we expect to easily get into double figures. This year the venue changed to the Leas and Trow Quarry. Only 3 recorded; Gorse, White Deadnettle and  Groundsel. Today on a walk from the carpark to Whitburn Steel I managed a better selection: White Deadnettle, Common Chickweed, Shepherd's Purse, Groundsel and Winter Heliotrope.

Resolutions

Last year I managed to keep one of them 'Not to find a rarity in 2022'.

This year I am back to my normally grumpy mood and CBA,

Oh and before I forget. I saw one of the Whitburn Weasels this afternoon even though I was hoping for a rather bigger mammal at the start of the day.

 

Fifty Metres

 

Dunlin

Ninety Minutes spent at the foot of the muddy cliffs at Whitburn produced 24 species of birds and some most enjoyable birding.

Curlew

Some unusual species feeding on the cliffs.

Ringed Plover

Golden Plover

Yes it's on the cliff.

The Sparrowhawk returned for another Starling today. The alarm calls of all the birds alerted me to its arrival. Again it quickly killed the bird and headed away to the clifftop gardens.

Wren

Chiffchaff

A bit of a surprise but it quickly moved into the longer grass.

Redshank

Not looking too comfortable on the cliff face but I guess there were some tasty morsels around to attract all this bird activity.

Redwing

Another nice surprise.

So here is the list: Grey Wagtail, Wren, Chiffchaff, Goldfinch, Stonechat, Pied Wagtail, Starling, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Redwing, Sparrowhawk, Redshank, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Sanderling, Curlew, Redshank, Grey Heron, Snipe, Oystercatcher, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull and Cormorant.

All within a 50m stretch of coastline, Magic!

Oh not another!

Snow Bunting

This was one of five from their favoured spot yesterday.

'Beachcombing'

A short walk from Roker Park, to the Marina and back to the park along the shore. No sign of the Kingfisher which has been using the boats as a feeding platform. However, when I reached the Old North Pier the tide was in and only a small patch of beach was exposed. Most of the dog walkers were further north where there was more space. Straight away I noticed some bird activity. Along with a couple of Pied Wagtails and a Robin there was this lovely Black Redstart. I found a rock to sit on and watched as it fed around me and engaged in the odd squabble with the other birds.

The next day saw me checking a small area of beach near Whitburn, Bents Cottages. Over 500 Black-headed Gulls were feeding and a terrific Grey Wagtail (anything but Grey) was with the nearby Pipits and Pied Wagtails.

This morning, I decided to save myself the bother of removing snow and ice from the car and walked from home to Harton Cemetery. It was such a nice morning I decided to continue towards the Bamburgh Pub (without a pit stop) and on to the Leas. Then headed for the clifftops and South towards Redwell Lane.

Again, large numbers of Black-headed Gulls in the area, a skein of Pink-footed Geese flew South and Fulmars were gliding along the cliffs. I returned home via Horsley Hill.

A great morning even if the birds were in short supply.

 

Uncertainty

A scattering of Snow Buntings along the NE coast always helps lift the mood on a quiet birding day.

Pochard

A good bird to stumble across on the South Marine Park, SS. If you think the water is a strange blue colour your are correct. I'm sure there is a reason for this artificial  colouring? This used to be a decent place to look for wintering ducks and grebes in the past.

Whitburn Steel

30+ Rock Pipits and a similar number of Pied Wagtails feeding on the seaweed grubs. Always good to sift through them. The variation in colour and markings are amazing. It is no wonder that the Rock, Water, Buff-bellied were all lumped together at one time. Winter Littoralis and Petrosus are difficult to separate so I'll have to check the spring birds next year to see if any Scandi birds are obvious.

Sparrowhawk

Protecting its breakfast.

Hume's YB Warbler

Sound recording from a couple of weeks back.

 

December

Sunrise

December

I guess a lot of people will be focusing on Gulls this month. Plenty of regular sites on my new patch for finding 'White-wingers'.

Parks and Woodlands will be worth checking for finches and tit flocks. The walk to the Academy pools were quite productive yesterday a Treecreeper and plenty of Bullfinches on show. I bet there is a wintering Blackcap and Chiffchaff to be found.

I have been all over the patch this week; Roker Park, Marina and Beach. Shields Pier and beach, Whitburn (managed to see the Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler), Boldon Flats and Seaham blast beach.

 05/10/2021

This Rock Pipit was found on 21 November and was still present today 2nd December. Orange ring UES. It was first ringed 05/10/2021 Lista Fyr, Norway.

A trip to Saltholme was very productive with 3 different Marsh Harriers on view, Peregrine, Merlin, Sparrowhwk and Kestrel. Plenty of wildfowl to sift through and I'm pretty sure I saw a Green Sandpiper in flight (Not that unusual as there are a few which overwinter in Northumberland each year.).