Border Crossing in Search of Scoters

28^th Jan.  Rising at 6.00am on a cold winter’s morning is not my usual pattern of behaviour, but by 8.00am Sam and I were braving the icy cold temperatures as we stood atop of Cheswick Dunes on the Northumbrian coast watching the sea for signs of Black Scoter.  A sighting wasn’t to be and all that was seen over the sea was a lone Guillemot and a Red Throated Diver.  Nevertheless, our short vigil was worth it if only to see the sun rising, the Cheviots lit by early morning light and breath in that biting air.  A flock of Greylag Geese were in the field adjoining the car parking space and we gradually warmed up as we travelled further north towards the border, Musselburgh, East Lothian being our objective.  We noted Common Buzzards and skeins of Pink-Footed Geese along the way, the latter giving a real feeling of winter as they drew letters in the clear sky.  It didn’t seem long before we were admiring distant views of Bass Rock and the Island of May.  The corpse of a Badger was seen on the road, sadly quite a regular sighting these days.

Bar Tailed Godwit

Bar Tailed Godwit

We were soon parking up near the sea wall at Musselburgh having passed by Wigeon on the bank of the river.   We began our walk along by the sea wall by watching waders in the still bitingly cold air.  Oystercatcher was the most numerous species and small flocks of them were in flight over the sea throughout our walk.  Also seen were Ringed Plover, Grey Plover in numbers, Knot, Sanderling, Turnstone, Redshank, Bar-Tailed Godwit and Curlew.  Flocks of Goldeneye were close to shore on the water and their colours showed brilliantly in the clear air and sunlight.  I’ve completed this walk on several occasions over the years, but never have I found it so cold as today and I was thankful for the little warmth there was from the sun in sheltered areas.  There were only a few hardy folks about until later in the morning.

Goldeneye

Redshank

Oystercatcher

It wasn’t long before we were having close and stunning sightings of Velvet Scoter, about in some number.  There were no Common Scoters to be seen.  We searched the flocks of Velvet Scoter for the reported Surf Scoter, but it remained elusive.  There were some very good sightings made of Long Tailed Duck and a single Great Crested Grebe was found as well as the Eider Ducks and Red Breasted Mergansers.  Rock Pipits occasionally lifted from the sea wall or flew close by it.  We spoke to a photographer who had taken images of Velvet Scoter and he asked us to identify what they were.  I was watching over the sea just before we turned off to visit the lagoons and I suddenly realised that I was surrounded by people.  It seemed to be a group being led by maybe the RSPB.

Ringed Plover

Our visit to the lagoons was cut short when we found them frozen solid and holding only a Wigeon and two or three Curlews.  The lagoons were originally created by Scottish Power as a place to dump fly ash from a local power station and now offer a good bird watching site, but not on this occasion.

By the time of our return walk the tide was way out and the waders more dispersed.  Sam may have had a distant and brief sighting of Slavonian Grebe, but chose not to count it as a definite sighting.  We had been surprised not to have seen any of this species.  On our way to Aberlady we stopped for another look over the sea but found little.  Then a visit to the golf course found us and one or two other birders failing to find any sign of the reported Shore Larks.  Our next stop was at the SOC Centre at Waterston House where I enjoyed looking at the books and gaining some warmth.  I couldn’t resist parting with some cash in exchange for a signed first edition of Derek Ratcliffe’s Peregrine Falcon (Poyser).  It’s been on my list of wants for a while.

We decided to miss out the walk at Aberlady in search of Short Eared Owls and make straight for Gullane Point before the light faded.  We’d heard there was a large concentration of Common Scoter just off shore here and that it contained a Surf Scoter.  Once parked up we tried three pathways before we found one that gave us decent height for viewing flock of Common Scoter which seemed to mount to 2/3,000.  Along the way we saw Fieldfare and heard Stonechat.  It became apparent why we saw no Common Scoter at Musselburgh, they were all here!  No easy task finding a Surf Scoter amongst this raft of birds, but Sam managed it.  I could not initially get my eye on it but persevered and once found wondered how on earth it could be missed.  To use the birding parlance ‘a cracking sighting’, a lifer for Sam and a UK first for me.  It was almost like a lifer for me, because although I saw many of the coast of Vancouver in 2001, they really are just names on a list and I don’t have any real memory of them.  This Surf Scoter at Gullane will not be forgotten.  The fact I did eventually find it prevented any tension on the way home!!! ha ha.  There were a few Velvet Scoter amongst the larger raft of Common Scoter.

Bay at Gullane

A last visit was made again to the golf course at Kilspindie in another attempt (failed) for Shore Lark.  Pied Wagtail and Tree Sparrows on the feeders were the best things on offer and no one else we spoke to had had any luck.  Sam pondered over the name Aberlady and wondered if it had any religious or romantic derivation.  I’ve since looked it up and it is in fact derived from Gaelic, Obar Lobhtach/Lobhaite, meaning Rotten River Mouth.

The light was now dimming and so we made off on the two-hour journey home passing the odd flock of Pink Footed Geese.  The temperature reached zero, the bright reddening mass of sky gave way to darkness and the roads had been gritted near home.  Frost was beginning to set in.  It had been a great day in great surroundings on both sides of the border and we had almost forgotten our failure to find Black Scoter this morning.

Sad News. 

As I was typing this report Sam called me to let me know that he had read that our friend Brian Robson had died earlier this month.  We have both known Brian for several years.  My own first meeting with Brian took place during a time when Birdforum was in its heyday and there were local birding trips arranged, very much a thing of the past now as is my involvement in the forum.  I think the first outing that I saw Brian on was when we watched for Roseate Terns at St Mary’s Island.  In his younger years I think Brian had been a bit of a ‘twitcher’, but more recently his views of birdwatching were more in line with my own and he concentrated on his local patch at Killy and St Marys Island.  He was a good knowledgeable birder and a good man and I know he often read my blog.  Brian’s knowledge went back many years and I remember him telling me about his early bird watching at the Rising Sun when it was managed to encourage birds.  My last meetings with him were over tins of food in Morrison’s as we did our shopping.  You will be missed Brian.  RIP.

In Good Company at the Feeding Station

26^th Jan.  Forecasts of strong northerly winds on Sunday has altered birding plans for the weekend, but today Sam and I decided to pay a visit ‘south of the border’ to Washington WWT which I haven’t visited in years.  On arrival and having passed through the formalities of ‘are you a member’ etc we made off in the direction of the hide.  Passing through Hawthorn Wood we found several Lesser Redpoll high in the trees, but because of poor light didn’t have the best of sightings.  Siskin and Goldcrest were amongst other species seen here.

Bullfinch

Bullfinch

We found the hide busy with photographers and more casual visitors, but found our seats and remained in them for over two hours during which I experienced the best feeding station visit that I can remember, even if changing conditions did mean I was a tad chilled by the time we left.  There can’t be many feeding station experiences which beat this one.  During our visit we counted twenty-four visiting species of bird and numbers of Grey Squirrel (come on they aren’t so bad).  I’ll list each species seen below, some of which were seen in good numbers.

Grey Squirrel

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Highlights for me were the Brambling, the Lesser and Mealy Redpoll which were allowing close up comparison, The large number of Bullfinches and the Bullfinch song so easily and so often overlooked (I’m sure it was by most folk in the hide), the pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker on a number of occasions seen together, the close up Treecreeper and the Sparrowhawk which left on this occasion without having caught prey.  It was also good to see so many visitors getting excited about and enjoying so much the bird sightings on offer, which in the main were of common birds.  Did all these people know what they were watching?  In some cases, possibly not all of the time, but this didn’t seem to matter.  The lady next to me identified her first Mealy Redpoll and I don’t think will forget that in a hurry.

Mealy (upper) and Lesser Redpoll showing contrast in size and colouring

Siskin

Goldfinch

We left the hide feeling very well rewarded and had a walk along by the river and the pool.  There wasn’t that much to see here with the most notable sighting being a Goosander.

Long Tailed Tit

Treecreeper

Treecreeper

We warmed up over a cup of tea, chocolate and coffee and walnut cake in the centre where most folk seemed to have headed for.  By the time we had checked out the books the temperature was really dipping and the light was fading fast, so our plans for moving on to Rainton Meadows were put aside and we headed for home where I listened to the commentary on the pathetic offerings of Newcastle dis-United and thought about our plans for a birding trip on Monday.

Brambling

Species list at the Feeding Station.

Pheasant, Sparrowhawk, Moorhen, Wood Pigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Blackbird, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Willow Tit, Long tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Magpie, Chaffinch, Brambling, Lesser Redpoll, Mealy Redpoll, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Siskin, Bullfinch and Reed Bunting plus Grey Squirrel.

The observant will have noticed that I have treated the redpolls as separate species.  I’m sure I’m not alone in doing so when it comes to listing. :-)

Operation Greylag

21^st Jan.  Perhaps with temperatures so low today our operation could have also been named ‘Operation Brass Monkey’.  The operations name was simply coined because as yet, I had not seen a Greylag Goose in 2019 and so was today determined to do so.

Lapwings on ice.

 We began at Big Waters where much of the water was frozen and we found that the small hide has all the security of a bank but providing a little more comfort than the last time I entered it.  It offered good views of the flock of Lapwings on the ice, and a few other waterfowl including Wigeon and Teal.  A single Grey Heron stood vigil at the side of the pool and a Jay flew in front of the far trees.  Bullfinches, in particular, had been active when we arrived at the car-park area.  Grey Partridges were heard in the fields and on seen on our return walk.  The more spacious hide offered us sightings of more waterfowl including Gadwall and Goldeneye, along with Canada Geese in the fields, Common Buzzard, another Jay in flight and the call of Water Rail.  Two Roe Deer offered a nice sighting as they wandered around the edge of the pond.  The feeding Station was well attended and visitors included the usual high numbers of Tree Sparrows, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Willow Tit Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Reed Buntings, and Yellowhammers et al.

Lapwings.

All in all, Big Waters was quiet but not as quiet as our next port of call, Prestwick Carr.  As Sam said at the time we do seem to pick the coldest areas to visit on cold days and today Prestwick Carr felt desolate.  We hardly saw a soul and birds were very scarce except in the vicinity of the feeders.  We did have some very nice sightings of Willow Tit in the hedges along the ‘bumpy road’, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker showed itself briefly.  The fields held only goats, horses and sheep and the quietest part of the walk was as we tramped up past the sentry box although a flock of Golden Plover did fly overhead.  Sam heard a distant Greylag although I didn’t.  On our return walk along the ‘bumpy road’ (I’m sure this road has been stretched) we heard Fieldfares and saw three or four of them in the hedge-way.  Another Common Buzzard was seen once we were back in the car and on the road, and Kestrel had also been seen.

I finally caught up with Greylag at Holywell Pond, a flock of at least one-hundred and fifty of them and we watched as they took flight in small skeins and took to the field next to the pond.  I wondered if they were lifting as extended families.  We later saw the flock rise again, possibly returning the short distance to the pond.  There was very little else at the pond, so whilst you may not think Greylag are anything to get excited about I enjoyed the sighting anyway, and they are in fact rather attractive birds.  A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers had entertained us at the feeding station.

Greylag Geese at last

As we walked through the silent fields we did see a large flock of Pink-footed Geese towards the coast, rising in the distance.  Having again noticed the scarcity of birds in the hedges we did come across a flock of Linnet and a flock of at least seven Reed Buntings, but sadly not the hoped-for Bramblings, a species we had watched here last winter in some numbers.  We didn’t enter the dene but instead ended our walk at the pathway that leads along between dene and fields which give us good sightings of calling Treecreepers and Nuthatches.

So, overall a bitterly cold day and a seemingly quiet day.  I say seemingly as we still managed to see at least fifty-six species of bird, and our first Roe Deer and Rabbit of the year!  It had been good to be out and about and re-acquaint ourselves with local areas, and we had walked a few miles.

One-Hundred and Onward

16^th Jan.  Lee and I had intended to head straight to Druridge today, but instead changed plans and focussed initially on Snow Buntings, me for the year list and Lee because he was yet to see them at St Mary’s Island.  It didn’t take me long on arrival to find the three Snow Buntings on what was a quite morning, but prior to spotting them I’d seen Golden Plovers flying above the sea, so Snow Buntings proved to be a rather nice 100^th species on my year list.  A good way to reach one-hundred I thought.  Thankfully the morning was dry and bright, if somewhat cold.  Not such good photographic opportunities as on my previous visit but still good sightings of what are after all very confiding birds, if only birding was always this easy!

Snow Bunting

Spurred on by the Snow Bunting sighting we decided to delay moving up to Druridge and try for the Black Redstart at Tynemouth and The Firecrest in Northumberland Park.  The Black Redstart proved to be once again an easy find and was accompanied by Rock Pipits.  The only downer here was that we got wet as a short but heavy downpour came from the direction of the sea, the only wintry shower we had to face today.  The downpour was followed by sunshine and amazingly good light.  I was never confident of finding the Firecrest as I have had two previous failures with this one, but as we arrived at the park my confidence lifted a little when we found several birders apparent intently watching something.  On this occasion I did have sighting of the Firecrest, but it was a very poor sighting and I think a further return is on the cards.

Snow Bunting

We did eventually get to Druridge for a short time.  Druridge Pools were very quiet indeed and we found nothing of real note there today, although did have a very good sighting of a flock of Pink-footed Geese in the fields and close to the road on our journey there.  I also added Little Grebe to the year list and had the chance to admire Goldeneyes that looked stunning in the sunlight on the north pool.  We took a short walk northwards along the back of the dunes, but saw only Reed Buntings and Goldfinch.

Goldeneye

Having found no Little Owls, our next stop was Widdrington Pool.  It was bright but bitterly cold up there and there was no sign of Smew today.  Whilst watching Red-breasted Mergansers we were advised that we had missed a Peregrine Falcon fly past by the only other birder up there braving the conditions.  After a few minutes the other guy picked up a Peregrine Falcon again in the distant trees and we managed to get a decent if long distant sighting of this bird, thus putting me on one-hundred and three.

On our return home, we had a short day today, we found numbers of Wigeon at the north end of Cresswell Pond, but we didn’t stop here.

Probably now time to stop boring people with my year list until I reach two-hundred.  I’m personally quite impressed with it so far in terms of quality of sightings rather than quantity.  Time to catch up with a bit of reading now before taking to the field again.  I’m now reading the new, Collins New Naturalist Book, The Burren and it’s a good one.  Also looking forward to reading John Coulson’s new book, Gulls, in the same series when it is published in the spring.  One of my favourite ornithological authors is Tim Birkhead and he’s giving a talk concerning his research of Guillemots, which will take place for the NHSN on 1^st Feb at 7.00pm.  That’s one not to be missed and I’m thinking the place will be packed out for this one.

A Windy Patch Walk

13^th Jan.  I didn’t let the wind deter me from keeping to one of my resolutions and I walked to the north of the patch today, not with any great expectations of seeing many birds because of the conditions.  The sun was shining however, it was mild and the light was good.

Just as I thought I was going to see little but corvids I got my eye on a distant flock of birds that eventually proved to be in the main Fieldfares, along with a few Redwings.  As I stood by the edge of the fields Chaffinches flew up into the trees and I heard alarm calls, at the same time the Fieldfares and Redwings took off.  The action had been caused by a Sparrowhawk which flew across the hedge within a few yards of me.  The hawk hadn’t disturbed three Grey Partridges in the centre of the field.

I continued my walk following the pathway across the fields until I reached what I count as the northern boundary of my patch.  The flash which often attracts waders was completely dried up and there was nothing to be seen or heard in the hedges.  A Common Buzzard did appear over one of the more distant hedges.

On my return walk I found that the one-hundred plus flock of winter thrushes had resettled in the field, but there was now no sign of Grey Partridges.  What I had previously thought to be a large sandstone type stone in the opposite field turned out to be two Brown Hares hunkered down from the wind.

Although in the main farmland, this area gives off a feeling of wildness not found on other sections of the patch, especially now that so much work is ongoing throughout the area.  Long may that feeling of wildness last.  The minutes were ticking by fast as I kept an eye on the changing skyline.  Changing in more ways than one in that from one of highest points from which the lighthouse at St Mary’s Island is clearly visible, a one-hundred - and eighty degree view contains several areas of wind turbines, something I guess we are all having to get used too.

The ‘noise’ of House Sparrows gradually increased as I re-entered the housing estates.

15^th Jan.  Nice to find Tree Sparrow at the Rising Sun C P today and even nicer to see this species apparently doing well there.  My year list creeps slowly towards 100 (now on 98) which I am hoping to pass before the weeks out.  I’m still to find a Greenfinch this year!

The C P was generally quiet, although I found a Common Buzzard on a fence in the farm area and watched a good display of typical circular feeding given by Shoveler’s on the pond.  Water Rail had been recorded at Duke’s Pond, but I had little chance of seeing it as dog walker with mobile phone stuck to ear allowed his dog to run through the pool chasing the birds.  He managed to unglue ear long enough to ask if I was watching the birds (as if he cared) and if so he would remove the dog.  Dog was removed and about ten minutes later further along the path a horse with rider was panicked and had to be settled down when an uncontrolled dog came at it barking.  Yes, you have guessed, the owner still had his phone stuck to ear further along the pathway, about 60 yards from the dog.  Nice dog, shame about the owner, there always has to be one! 

Lindisfarne and Coastal Route...Sunrise to Sunset

Sunrise, sunset

Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly fly the years

One season following another

Laden with happiness and tears

From Fiddler on the Roof Soundtrack

8^th Jan.  We left Killingworth in the dark and headed northwards towards Lindisfarne where we hoped to find good birding and good lighting conditions.  Sam took a detour to Widdrington so that we could catch sight of the female Smew not long after sunrise.  The day was beginning positively and the weather looked promising as the sky cleared and there was just a touch of a cold northerly wind.  A flock of Whooper Swans was seen as we carried on north.

Sunrise

The lighting conditions were Turneresque as we reached the causeway for Lindisfarne.  A pull in prior to crossing provided us with sightings of Yellowhammer, a mixed flock of Twite and Linnet and a lone Fieldfare.  At some point we saw a skein of Pink footed Geese.  As we crossed to the island I was admiring the patterns in the sky as much as looking out for birds.  Reaching the car-park we found only a couple of cars and 3 Lapwing alongside us, so for the earlier part of our visit we were to have the island to ourselves, more or less for a couple of hours, prior to a few more visitors arriving.

Sky over Lindisfarne

We followed our usual route where we found that waders were scarce, perhaps driven to another more sheltered area by wind.  We did find numbers of Grey Plover and other birds included Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Redshank, Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwit.  There were many Brent Geese in the distance and in the opposite direction numerous Shelduck.  Another flock of Whooper Swans could be seen in the distance too.  We also had a very nice and close sighting of a Long- tailed Duck.  We eventually walked through what appeared to be a deserted village, passed St Cuthbert’s Island and climbed before dropping again towards the harbour.  From a height we had good sightings of Red Breasted Mergansers, a Red Throated Diver, Great Northern Diver (seen by Sam), Eider Duck, Common Scoter and Shags.  We talked to another birder who informed us that he was looking for the Red Necked Grebe (we hadn’t realised there was one reported) and Sam quickly had it in the scope.  One of the birds of the day for us.  Grey Seals occasionally showed themselves in the water.   Ringed Plover were amongst birds seen in the harbour area.  A decision was made not to walk the lonnens as the wind was now so strong it was unlikely that we would see much activity.  It was going to be better we thought to move south again.  Teal, Grey Heron and Black Tailed Godwits were amongst birds seen before we left the island that we had had in the main to ourselves.  The causeway was not easy to negotiate, now in places covered in sand and grit and water such as had been the power of the wind.  We managed to keep on track, but only just!  A Little Egret flew almost parallel with the car.  Are we getting blasé about Little Egrets I wonder?

Sky over Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne Castle minus summer crowds

Next stop was Stag Rock.  The wind was vicious, as was the sea.  There was no one on the beach on this occasion!  Such was the conditions we stayed in the car, sighted the Purple Sandpipers and then left for lunch at Seahouses.  After lunch we strolled around deserted harbour on the off chance that birds had been driven into the harbour by the winds.  There were plenty of Eider Ducks and a Guillemot took off from the harbour waters.  There was going to be no boats leaving for a while as the high waves came in the harbour mouth.  We did manage to sight several Gannets and a lone Fulmar over the sea.  It was then off to Newham to search for these reported Taiga Bean Geese.

Rough sea at Seahouses and Bamburgh Castle

It wasn’t long before we found our Taiga Bean Geese, aided by the fact a couple of birders were watching them through their telescope.  Probably our sighting of the day made all the better by a background of skeins of Pink-footed Geese in the air.  Winter Birding at it’s best.  Record images were taken and we decided it was not in the birds’ interests or anyone else following us to get close for a better image.  A good bit of time was spent with the Bean Geese and their companion, a single Pink-footed Goose and the lighting conditions were perfect.  Great stuff as we discussed markings and adaptations of these birds.

Taiga Bean Geese (record image only)

A walk at Long Nanny in hope of finding Shoe Lark was a bit much to ask we agreed, not in this wind anyway, so we headed down to Druridge and had a walk in the hopes of maybe coming across a Short-Eared Owl in the dunes.  On arrival we found a stunning female Sparrowhawk perched on the fence and it can easily be understood why such birds can often be mistaken for Goshwak.  Anyway, we added this to our raptor list of the day, two Common Buzzards, one of them lit wonderfully by the sun on our drive south and at least three or four Kestrels also seen today.  A flock of Goldfinch were seen during the walk as was a single Reed Bunting.  I felt unusually fit as we stepped out on a walk back to the car, although I felt this might be a passing phase.

The sun was setting now and the wind had almost ceased when we had arrived at Druridge, so we decided to make one last brief stop at Cresswell just in case the Barn Owl was beginning to hunt.  We soon gave up on watching out for Barn Owl and we began to make for home, still under attractive skies, although darkening rapidly by now. 

Sunset

By the time Sam dropped me off at home in the dark we had been out for nine hours and it had been hours well spent on winter birding at its best.  The day being marked almost as much by those fantastic skies and brilliant light as it was by the birds.  Our day list had amounted to sixty-eight species including four species of geese, Taiga Bean Geese, Pink Footed Geese, Brent Geese and Canada Geese.  Taiga Bean Geese must be bird of the day with the Red Necked Grebe as a close second.  The fitness I had felt at Druridge soon wore off as I entered a warm house and I was cream crackered, but what a day, and I still say winter birding is the best!  My year list is now on a healthy ninety-five species all enjoyed at a relaxed pace.

2019, Birding Begins Close to Home.

We've only begun
Before the risin' sun, we fly (Carpenters)

Jan 1st.  I don’t as a rule make resolutions, but once again I’ve decided to stray from character and unexpectedly make some.  First on the list is a determination to spend more time on patch whilst there is still time to enjoy it before the planners and builders move ever closer with their concrete and bricks.  Second, having talked at the end of 2018 about using all the senses whilst communing with nature, I’ve decided that I need to ensure that I am practicing what I preach and so brush up on this skill in 2019.  Third, I am to organise my book collection into some order and be more discerning in what I read and collect in future and this may include ditching a few books in the direction of a charitable organisation.  Incidentally my first read of the year is a book from the 1980s, Flight of the Storm Petrel by Ronald Lockley.  Mr Lockley began to study Storm Petrels on the island of Skokholm where he lived prior to World War Two.

My birding got off to a rather relaxed start on News Years Day with a garden watch.  I’d like to say that I found an exotic visitor on the feeders, but it wouldn’t be true, although I’m only too pleased that we have our House Sparrows back which seems to suggest that the killer domestic cats don’t always get their own way.  After lunch rather than a long walk around the patch I spent ninety minutes in the vicinity of the village.  Sadly, I found that that North Tyneside Council have decided to put wire fencing around much of what is a good area for wildlife in an attempt to keep walkers to linear pathways.  I spoke with someone who had walked in this area for over seventy years who seemed convinced the area was going to be built on.  I had a wonderful thought that perhaps the council are to make it into a wildlife reserve, then I reasoned that I was more likely to see pigs flying over the tree-tops!  Birding was fairly quiet, although I did come across a feeding party of birds which included Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Bullfinch, Chaffinch and Goldcrest.  On my return home I passed a flock of calling Goldfinch which seemed unusually loud in the quietness of the afternoon and I was pleased to find the regular Song Thrush in the garden.  As darkness crept in I had amassed a bird list of only twenty-three.  However, there were 364 days of the year left for me to build on this so I was far from concerned.

Jan 2^nd.  The temperature had dropped today, but it was still mild for the time of year and I decided upon another short walk, this time down to the lake.  An early surprise was a skein of Pink-footed Geese overhead.  The smaller of the lakes held Gadwall, now regulars to the lake and Shoveler also having become a regular.  A lone Grey Heron stood on the edge of the lakeside with the sports centre as background.  The south side of the large lake is fenced off because of site work but this has had no apparent effect upon bird numbers.  Mild weather has meant that at least one of the Great Crested Grebes has stayed on the lake and more than likely will only leave now if the lake ices up.  There were good numbers of Pochard and Goldeneye, but very few Goosanders of which I counted no male birds today.  Other regular birds were about in numbers and I added Pied Wagtail and Mistle Thrush to my list.  With two short walks I had now  amassed a list of forty-two, only three short of the total from a long walk around the patch on New Year’s Day 2018.  I now had to prepare for my father’s birthday, he reaches ninety-nine on 4^th January.  Now if I have inherited his healthy genes, you could still be reading my blog in thirty years’ time.  Now won’t that be nice?!

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jan 6^th.  Today Sam and I planned to visit some sites within or at least on the boundary of North Tyneside, thus not straying to far from home.  We began at Northumberland Park hoping that we might find the Firecrest.  We failed with this one last year and failed again today, along with several other birders.  We felt we had given plenty of time to this task and during our stay we did have good sightings of some woodland birds including a pair of Nuthatch.  We heard Great Spotted Woodpecker and had a fleeting sighting of it.  Stock Doves were also seen.  There are worse places to watch the sun rising in the sky and studying Goldcrests!  I tend to be critical of North Tyneside Council, often with good cause in my view, but I’ll give credit where it is due and I have to say Northumberland Park is an excellent area and very well cared for.  Grey Squirrel was seen here along with Brown Rat.

Coal Tit

Next stop was the Fish Quay which was very quiet with nothing of note although plenty of Cormorants and the odd Turnstone was seen.  We soon moved on to Tynemouth where we had better luck with the Black Redstart which appeared as soon as we arrived and showed well, on one occasion next to a Grey Wagtail.  The Black Redstart was attracting several birders.  Rock Pipit was also seen and I enjoyed the peace and quite and the sound of the sea.  Common Scoter were seen at the entry to the Tyne.

Great Tit

St Marys Island was busy today and we were unable to find the Snow Buntings on this occasion.  I did add Teal and Wigeon that were on the wetland to my list and several waders including Lapwing, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone, Sanderling, Redshank and Curlew.  Common Scoter were seen again and on this occasion the raft included a female Velvet Scoter identified by face pattern as the white wing was not showing.  Bird wise it was rather quiet here so we have several waders to catch up with and as the tide was high at Seaton Sluice we were unable for find our targets there either.

Our final stop was to be Gosforth Park Nature Reserve.  If there is one reason to be a member of the Natural History Society of Northumbria, the reserve is it.  Of course, there are several reasons and I’m very pleased to see the work that is being done by the society especially with young people.   As I think I have said before, there are other agencies that could learn from this.

Having entered the reserve, we spent some time at the feeding station where good sightings were had of numerous woodland birds including Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker.  As we later walked around the reserve Jays and Siskin were heard and a Squirrel seen disappearing in the tree tops.  It was probably a Grey Squirrel, but I understand Red Squirrel has returned to the reserve after some long absence so we did try to identify this one with some certainty, but were unable to locate it.

Spot the Bittern!

As we arrived at the small hide I joked with a lady just leaving that she would no doubt have lots of photos of Bittern.  She casually said ‘oh it’s sitting in the reeds’.  I assumed she was joking and said, ‘oh yeah’.  We opened the hide door and decided not to bother entering as it was so packed, then we noticed that cameras and binoculars were being pointed so we got inside to find everyone watching a Bittern and it was perched high in the reeds.  Apologies to lady!  For at least the next hour we watched this Bittern as it turned and preened and showed its plumage off wonderfully.  This was a perfect example of how this bird relies upon camouflage to remain hidden and it took some folk quite sometime to find it.  In many ways this was a better sighting than seeing it out in the open.  Sam saw it swallow a feather and we are assuming this is done for the same reason/s that grebes swallow feathers (something I have written about in this blog the past).  After all, these species have a similar diet.  We’d come to the reserve with the Starling roost in mind, but that was soon forgotten once watching the Bittern and in any event we saw no Starlings.  This Bittern sighting will without doubt be one of my sightings of 2019 and the atmosphere had been added to with the calls of Green Woodpecker, Water Rail and Willow Tit.

Cormorants watch over pond as light fades.

I noted that everyone in the packed hide were keen to give their seats up to others so that they could have a good sighting and to point the bird out.  That’s how it ought to be, but sadly on a minority of occasions in the birding world some are never so keen to share, which is their loss as sharing is one of the real signs of a true birder/naturalist.  One lady I am pleased to say saw her first ever Bittern encouraged to keep looking by me, which makes me feel warm inside.  There was an amusing minute or two as everyone searched the dark hide for a young man’s camera cap.  He eventually found it in his pocket.  Everyone said, ‘don’t worry we’ve all done that’.  I’m not sure if I have! Ha ha

We called into the Ridley hide but nothing was going to beat the Bittern although it was a nice way to wind down as the light began to fade, and in fact we did find a Little Egret in the trees. 

So, my year list now moves onto seventy and I’ve ‘Only Just Begun’.  Today was one of those special days and we met some nice people along the way, and the Bittern was one of those special sightings.  Great Day.

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