Where have all the
Bloggers Gone? This year seems to
have seen several local bloggers disappear, or at least almost disappear. I think this warrants a song!
Where have all the bloggers gone,
Long time passing,
Where have all the bloggers gone,
Long time ago,
Where have all the bloggers gone,
Enticed by Twitter every one,
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Long time passing,
Where have all the bloggers gone,
Long time ago,
Where have all the bloggers gone,
Enticed by Twitter every one,
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
As you see I remain
(despite a recent short disappearance) and continue to enjoy the blogs that do
appear so hope you keep them coming folks.
The Curate’s Egg. This year of 2015 has seen me enter my
eleventh year of volunteering with the RSPB (an experience analogous to the
curate’s egg), although my only input of late has been leading walks. In recent
years these have been alongside Samuel Hood and we began 2015 with a well
attended New Year Walk at Spindlestone and Budle Bay. This coming year we begin on patch at
Killingworth which is perhaps less picturesque, but equally interesting. I hope a few attend and catch the area before
it is almost completely covered in concrete and brick as per North Tyneside
Council plans! I’ve made some good
friends along the way during my volunteering, met a few interesting people and
hopefully inspired a few folk to take a keener interest in nature and
conservation. As someone who supports
RSPB ideals, I do wish that the organisation would make itself more visible to
the public in this area, although I wish to take nothing away from the great
work done at places like Coquet
Island, Geltsdale and
Saltholme etc.
Killy’s Organisation of the Year Award. This award once again goes to the Natural
History Society of Northumbria which does such a great job in involving and
informing the public about natural history and conservation. This is an organisation that I am proud to be
a member of.
Short Eared Owls. I mention Sam above. Most of my birding adventures include Sam and
early in the year a birding highlight was watching three Short Eared Owls at Warkworth.
It was through Short Eared Owls that Sam and I became such good friends
and it is a species that is close to top of both our lists of favourite
species. One of my real rewards has been
following Sam’s progress and development as a photographer and naturalist and
he has done himself proud this year especially, and my own year seems a tad
boring in comparison. Incidentally Sam
has won and been highly commended once again in December in the RSPCA
Photography Awards and I include an image here from his highly commended
portfolio. I won’t list all the other
achievements of this young man’s in 2015, as I’m hoping that Sam will get round
to writing up his adventures himself at some point. :-) We have of course watched the Short Eared Owls more recently at St
Mary’s Island, although sadly there have been
none on patch this year.
Killy’s Personality of
the Year Award goes to none other than… hushed silence…drum roll…….yes…
Samuel Hood!
By courtesy of Samuel Hood.
The Patch. To use a line from Bob Dylan, the patch it is a changing! This was noticeable when Sam and I made a recce
on 29th for our New Year Walk. The lake
has been quiet much of the year, and most unusual was the lack of Pochard
recently, a species that we know is facing problems on a wider scale. Is it the weather, the water and eco-system
or down to plain old poor management?
Building work has been completed near my favourite insect area and
although not yet encroaching upon that area, works traffic led to spoiling of the area, and work has
begun on a large area planned for housing along the road. We watched Goosanders and Goldeneye
on the lake, found the likes of Treecreeper,
Nuthatch and Great Spotted
Woodpeckers in their favoured area, and best of all had a great sighting of
a Sparrowhawk in display flight in
the sun. Fox and Grey Squirrel
were also seen. Early in the year we
spent a few evenings on a newly explored are of the patch where we found a
large flock of Golden Plover, and
displaying Lapwings with the likes of Grey
Partridge and Brown Hares
nearby. The Mute Swan numbers are now right down, but happily a pair produced
young for the second year running after no successful breeding on the lake for
a few years. Sadly despite having five Great Crested Grebes on the lake
earlier in the year, lots of display and nesting attempts, there was no success
in producing young. That’s the first
failure for several years. Some possible
reasons have been mentioned in my blog over the year. Killy’s Idiot
of the Year Award goes jointly to the couple who deliberately spent time
ramming the Great Crested Grebe nest
with a remote controlled toy boat whilst the adult bird sat on eggs at a late
stage of incubation. When I approached
this pair (not children, but a pair of 30+) I was told by them they didn’t
realise that there was a bird on a nest.
Polite words fail me!
I was able to add three new species to my patch list this
year. Not uncommon birds by any means,
but good sightings all the same. These
were Stonechat, Jay would you
believe, and very recently Gadwall. There are presently two male and a female Gadwall on the lake and we hope that
this may herald more Gadwall on the
lake over time. The likes of Shoveller and Oystercatcher are now often seen.
Oh and I mustn’t forget that family of four Whooper Swans seen resting on the lake before we watched them take off
and continue their journey.
Orange Tip Butterfly at Holywell.
Butterflies. I’ve watched butterflies locally and a few
other areas including Smardale and the Bishop Middleham Old Quarry. The most frequent butterfly seen on patch,
including my garden is undoubtedly the Speckled
Wood which wasn’t to be seen at all in the area only a matter of a few
years ago. I’ve again had Holy Blue Butterflies appearing in the
garden and I believe that they are laying eggs on the Holly Trees here. The most significant find by Sam and I were
both Holy Blue and White-letter Hairstreak in Holywell Dene.
We believe that Holy Blue
would be uncommon here and we know of no one who has seen White-letter Hairstreak.
These were of course reported to the relevant agency, but unfortunately
no response was made to our request for information!
Holy Blue in the garden
Raven and chuff(ed). Sam and I were very, very chuffed to record a
Raven at Prestwick Carr on 27th
January.
Migrant Waders. Holywell Pond and surrounds certainly
delivered the migrant waders this year and I’m pleased that Sam and I were
first to find at least some of them. We
acquired quite a list over a period of a few days in August. These included Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper (at least a dozen
on the fence at one point), Spotted
Redshank, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Ruff and Pectoral Sandpiper along
with other more common waders. Soon
over, but a feast indeed and one of the years highlights. That close up Green Sandpiper with Water Rail on a quiet sunny and warm
evening was one of the best sightings of the year. I was accompanied by Sam and Tom on that
occasion.
You’ve Been
Framed…Bird of the Year. Always a
difficult one and it might change tomorrow, but I’m going for the Lapland Bunting seen on the path at St
Mary’s Island and mark my word it has been
framed! Bird of the year, perhaps
because it give me and Sam so much opportunity to study it and it is certainly
the best sighting I’ve had of Lapland
Bunting and for Sam it was a lifer.
Afterwards I saw a wonderful painting of this bird by City Birding on
his blog and Dick very kindly come to arrangement which allowed me to have
it. It looks excellent framed Dick and
it will soon be on Sam’s wall (if it isn’t already). Many thanks Dick and you have Killy’s 2015 Award for Kindness.
Mammal of the Year. Think it has to go to the adult with calf Minke Whales seen at Druridge Bay
by Sam and me. We have it on good
authority that to see a Minke with calf off the coast of Northumberland
is very uncommon. Sadly I missed several
things this year due to illness and one of the best of Martin Kitching’s Whale
Watching trips was amongst them. Happily
Sam was able to go and provide details of what I had missed and I know Martin
will remind me too every time he bumps into me! :-)
RSPB Walk of the Year. As I mentioned above, Sam and I lead
walks. The best one without doubt this
year was at one of my favourite areas of Northumberland, Harthope Valley. The fact that only one other person joined us
perhaps says a lot, but in fact led us to having a very special day. We had sightings of all the birds we would
have expected including Ring Ouzel,
Cuckoo, Green Woodpecker, Whinchat, Dipper, Red Grouse etc etc and an unexpected sighting later in the day on
our return of Hen Harrier. The latter sightings whereabouts was reported
to the RSPB only.
Harthope Valley
It’s a Good
Read. I’ve gotten through much
reading this year, but three books in particular spring to mind. The content of Common Ground by Rob Cowen reminded me very much of my experiences
on my own patch, its history, future, problems and wildlife. The
Invention of Nature, the biography of Alexander Humboldt by Andrea Wulf was
a good read, but if you’re after lots of details and the excitement of his
travels you’re far better I think reading Humboldt’s own works. The Biography very much focuses on his
influence upon others such as Charles Darwin, and how these individuals took
forward ideas based on Humboldt’s thinking.
My read of the year was the Poyser Bird
Observatories of Britain and
Ireland
and this wins Killy’s Book of the Year
Award. I’d often thought this book from the title
sounded boring, but having read it found I was wrong. It deals with details of all of the current
recognised observatories, history, birds and other wildlife, personalities
etc. I came across mention of a few
people I knew. An excellent read and
each observatoryis given individual attention from different authors. So a wide
range of styles.
Other Good
Experiences. Guess I could go on at
length here but I don’t want you yawning your way into 2016 so I’ll keep it
short. Some things that spring to mind
are the trips to Bass Rock (NHSN) and Northern Pennines (NEWT). The former offering Gannets, other seabirds and Velvet
Scoters at Aberlady, and the latter including the Black Grouse Lek plus lots of other great birds. I have to say that this year I have never
felt as cold as when I stepped out of the car and spent a few minutes in the
cold air of the uplands. I’m feeling
cold now thinking of it! Druridge Bay has certainly delivered this year
too. Great sighting of an unexpected Osprey at East
Chevington to add to the one over the sea at Seaton Sluice. Then there was the annual pilgrimage to
Slaley for the Nightjars and on and
on.
Bass Rock
Best Christmas
Present Ever. Keith Brockie print of
the Isle of May given to me by Sam.
Killy’s 2015 Award for Loyal Follower. Sedgedunum Warbler has followed me for years
so…………oh damn I’ve run out of awards.
Sorry John maybe next year! Pity
as they were good ones this year too.
All the Best to everyone for 2016 and may you keep your
heads above water and not suffer from wind!
