Spring Equinox in Wild Northumbria

20^th Mar.  It was the spring equinox today and our plan was as much to explore some wilder areas in Northumberland.  We soon found that a watch over Harwood Forest from Winter’s Gibbet was probably not going to offer much in the way of reward as the wind blew and we veiwed low cloud in poor light.  It wasn’t meant to be like this.  Skylarks sang and a few Meadow Pipits were seen, as I imagined how bleak it must have been when Mr Winter’s body hung here in 1792.  We moved along quite quickly with the intention of making a return later.  Several Common Buzzards had been seen on our outward journey and continued to be seen during the day.

Wild Northumbria

The sky had cleared a little and there was even a sign of the sun by the time we took a walk at Fontburn Reservoir.  Redpolls were heard as we left the carpark for a walk and numbers of woodland birds were seen, including Long Tailed Tits.  Skylarks continued to sing.  Perhaps the most interesting sighting was of the Wren displaying which brought back memories of the pair of Wrens I once watched fight almost to the death.  Cormorants, Oystercatchers and Lapwings were seen and I caught sight of a bird high on the ridge which I wondered if it could have been a Little Owl, but there was no certainty there.  This is certainly a site for a return visit.  Peacock Butterflies were seen, but not for long enough to photograph. A return visit to Harwood brought no extra sightings other than a Kestrel.  Sam had had a very good sighting of Goshawk here a few days earlier.

Winter's Gibbet

Our best sighting of the day was of at least 90 Whooper Swans on Sweethope Lough.    A stunning sight even though we had to watch from the road and through the trees.  Little Grebe was heard here.  I’ve recently learned that Sweethope was once owned by the industrialist Charles Parsons who is buried in Kirkwhelpington Churchyard, only a few miles away.  C A Parsons was founded 130 years ago and in 1968 employed 16,000 staff at the Heaton Works.  Makes me wonder where everyone works these days!  My father was employed at Parsons all his working life and as a child I used to enjoy looking at the Turbinia, built by Parsons, when it was in the museum in the Exhibition Park.  It can still be seen in Newcastle.

      But now they drift on the still water,

      Mysterious, beautiful;

      Among what rushes will they build,

      By what lake's edge or pool

      Delight men's eyes when I awake some day

      To find they have flown away?

      Wild Swans at Coole/W B Yeats

Next stop was the River Wansbeck at Wallington, although on this occasion we didn’t visit the gardens and hall.  A walk from Paine’s Bridge along the river brought sightings of Dipper, my first of the year, and a pair of Grey Wagtail.  The woodland here was holding high numbers of Nuthatch, many were heard and some seen.  A pair of Treecreeper was also seen and at 13.10 hours precisely a Tawny Owl give out a call.  High on my reading list for 2019 is a book by Laura Trevelyn, The Trevelyn’s and Their World.  It was after the death of local politician Charles Trevelyan, that the Wallington Hall estate was passed to the National Trust.

Paine's Bridge

As we drove away from Wallington I noticed that the weather was taking a turn for the worse and mist and rain soon set in so we passed Colt Crag Reservoir, but didn’t stop, although thought it an area well worth exploring in the future.

Capheaton was our last stop of the day as I wanted Sam to see the lake here, which is part of Capheaton Hall estate where Algernon Swinburne the poet used to visit his grandfather and who was also a regular visitor to Wallington Hall.  My brother lived at Capheaton some years ago so I know the area quite well.  Birds we found on the lake included 2 Whooper Swans, Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye.  Our first Chiffchaff of the year was heard calling here too.

We left for home in what can only be described as inclement weather, and drove along Silver Hill.  The name Silver Hill may refer to the hoard of Roman silver, though to be possibly from a temple, found here in the eighteenth century.  Much of the treasure was melted down soon afterwards, but some of it remains in the British Museum.  I remember when Silver Hill held a line of massive trees which in leaf was quite a stunning sight along the road edge and it was always a good area to find fungi.  The trees had to be cut down because of disease and what remains now seems to be in the main Silver Birch Trees.

Whilst a shame that the weather changed for the worse it had been a good interesting day and we will return.

   The swallows of dreams through its dim fields dart,
   And sleep's are the tunes in its tree-tops heard;
   No hound's note wakens the wildwood hart,
  Only the song of a secret bird.

   Algernon Swinburne