A Quiet Patch

Small Tortoiseshell



Large Skipper

16^th June. Although thinking that the wagon-way area of the patch would be entering its quiet faze now I still decided to take a walk along that way. I took a slight diversion before joining the wagon-way proper and found numbers of Swallow, House Martins and Swifts flying, at times very low over the fields. Skylarks were in the air too. It often seems that every bit of spare ground in North Tyneside is quickly gobbled up for housing and commercial use but it is still possible to look from the high ground and have a practically uninterrupted view down to St Mary’s Lighthouse and the sea beyond. I wasn’t the only one taking in this view today as a cyclist stopped to take photographs.

Once back on to the wagon-way I didn’t see too much to excite bird-wise although did eventually pass two Common Whitethroat territories, having good sightings of the birds. The odd Chiffchaff was heard. Further along the pathway a Yellowhammer was heard briefly and more Skylarks were in the air. Linnets were the only other birds of real note.

I did find six species of butterfly today, but not in large numbers. The first and most common was the Small White. Next came a Small Heath in the taller grassy area where I also found at least four Meadow Browns. Three Small Tortoiseshell (I was able to take a good look at the under-wings of one of them) were seen as well as one Red Admiral and two Large Skipper. The Large Skippers were found in almost the exact same spot as I had found them last year. Quiet, but never uninteresting!

One of the points I learnt at the butterfly conservation talk on Tuesday was that it is no longer thought that the invasion from Europe of the parasitic fly Sturnia bella is having a major effect on Small Tortoiseshell numbers. Whilst there has been a massive decline in this butterfly's numbers over recent years, numbers have gone up recently. Personally I couldn't help wonder if the warm periods experienced over the past two years was the reason for the increase and that perhaps the insects effects were just somewhat hidden. I suppose time will tell.

House Martins at Last!

14^th June. Not long returned from an interesting talk at the Rising Sun Country Park on Butterfly Conservation in North East England. A buffet and some wine made for a nice evening. Before I went along I at last saw some House Martins on patch. Fifteen birds were flying and chattering overhead south of the village area. These are the first ones I have seen on patch this year. There were a few Swallows feeding low over the lake today too. It’ll be interesting to see any information as to how these birds have faired during such dry weather and lack of mud for nests. As I watched the House Martins a female Sparrowhawk flew high above them. It kept appearing and seemed intent on finding a meal. I heard Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat. Good sightings were obtained of a Common Whitethroat returning to the nest with insects. A male Blackcap also gave a good sighting as it gleaned leaves.

Little wind today meant that temperatures jumped a level and it was a pleasant evening even as darkness came in. I had arrived home in time to see the very cute Water Vole on Spring Watch. Also the discussion as to whether Magpies and other corvids have a detrimental effect upon songbirds. The usual views of course were expressed by the RSPB and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. The views of some will never change, no matter how much research is done!

Harthope Valley

12^th June. I stood in the sunshine at Killy Lake watching the Great Crested Grebe family and hoping that the Met Office weather forecast would be correct and that there would be no heavy rain until 16.00hrs. Confusing, as the Evening Chronicle forecast heavy rain all day and the BBC home page changed its mind on several occasions as to whether it would be wet or dry! Never mind we were going to Harthope come what may and Tom, Cain and I were soon heading north and passing the odd Common Buzzard on the way. The sun continued to shine, but there were some threatening grey clouds over the Cheviots.

As we approached the valley Tom spotted Red Legged Partridge. On our return journey we were rewarded with another two Red Legged Partridge in the valley and on that occasion I saw them! Anyway, once into the valley we soon found Green Woodpecker as it flew to the right of the car giving a decent, but brief sighting. A stop by the bridge brought us our first Grey Wagtail of the day. The decision had been made to take the hike to look for Ring Ouzel so as to avoid any rain that might come later. Early on the walk we found two birds which flew in front of us and quickly disappeared. We were confident that they were Ring Ouzels. Tom and I had found them in almost the same area last year. We hung around for awhile, but the birds did not reappear. There were numbers of Meadow Pipits in the area.

We soon heard our first Whinchat of the day and had decent sightings of them. One male gave a stunning sighting as it followed us past what we think was a nest close to the pathway. As good and close a sighting as I have ever had of a Whinchat. We saw five (at least) Whinchat in all. A decent sighting of the Ring Ouzel was proving to be not so easy. We did find Red Grouse and Kestrel. Later in the day we had excellent distant scope views of a Kestrel on the nest with three chicks that looked close to fledging. A really nice high point of the day. Cain takes the credit for find the nest and carrying his telescope. Not easy considering the hiking to be done. A party of four Ravens was heard calling and seen flying high over the hills. We reached the point where we could view Scotland in the distance. Still no good sighting of Ring Ouzel. A Kestrel continued to hover above the crags. I tried to make out a bird on the skyline which turned out to be a pair of sheep’s ears! The only butterflies seen today were a very faded Peacock and a Small White. I did find a very nice Spotted Orchid, but botanising wasn’t really on the agenda today..

We began our descent and had not given up hope of Ring Ouzel sightings. Eventually Tom got his eye on a bird in the distance. It was a recently fledged Ring Ouzel and it looked very thin. The partial white collar was plain to see. I guessed parent birds would be close by and it wasn’t long until we had good sightings of a male and female Ring Ouzel on the ground. They eventually seemed to join the young bird. Another male Ring Ouzel joined them, but was chased of by the other male bird. So it had been hard work to find them but we did finally have good sightings of those four birds and taking into account the two early on the walk we had found six Ring Ouzels. These had definitely been the target of our day, but there was much more to the day then one species and even if we hadn’t found them it would still have been a great day. I think!:-)

We thought we were going to be caught in heavy rain as we made our way down to the valley floor. In the event the storm clouds passed over and we were in sunshine for much of the time. Red Grouse were seen again just before we hit the footpath past Langleeford. Another Kestrel was found. At least five Kestrels (+ the three chicks) were seen today, four of them in the valley area. Common Buzzards were seen and Curlews called intermittently as they flew over the valley. The odd Lapwing was also seen.

It wasn’t long before we had our second sighting of Green Woodpecker and also of Grey Wagtail, this one perched in a tree. Willow Warblers were around in great numbers and we also saw numbers of Lesser Redpoll. Gaining good sightings of the latter birds at times. One really good sighting of a Garden Warbler was had, but for me the star bird on this part of the walk was a singing Tree Pipit which hung around for sometime giving us an excellent sighting. It eventually took off and rose into the sky before flying off. There were quite a few Mistle Thrush about, Song Thrush and Yellowhammer were heard and Goldfinch seen. Jays were heard and two seen. When we returned and sat by the burn for lunch I expressed surprise that we had not seen a Dipper today. No sooner said when a Dipper flew up the burn. Unfortunately the same tactic did not work for Redstart and we failed to find one, although we did stop at the likely spot after lunch where we heard our first Chiffchaff of the day. Sand Matins, Swallows, House Martins and Swifts were around in some number in the valley. I seem to recall four or five Wheatear seen today.

On our way home we made a brief stop at Druridge hoping to catch sight of the Spoonbills, but found that they had left. We did watch the Avocets at Cresswell and found that one youngster still survives. We counted twenty-two young Shelduck which appeared to be following one pair of adults. Other Shelduck were about. A Stonechat was seen on the edge of the dunes. Time was getting on and the rain had now arrives as forecast by the met office so we didn’t spend much time in the area However we still managed a list of sixty-one species today which had included some very special sightings. It had been an excellent days birding. Thanks go to Cain for the driving. Thanks also to the Met Office for getting the forecast correct. Goodness knows where the Chronicle gets their forecast from! As for the BBC home page……well that’s just best ignored at all times! Despite the decent weather, numbers of cars parked in the valley and it being a Sunday, we didn't come across that many people. Now that's the way I like it!

Bullfinch Song

9^th June. A walk on patch this evening gave me a wonderful sighting of a male Bullfinch fully lit by the sun and so showing off the remarkable plumage colouring to the full. A great sight to behold. Even better was listening to the bird’s quiet and quite mournful song which is so often drowned out by other bird song. I don’t hear it very often in the field, but I am well accustomed to it as I play a tape of the song during one of my talks for beginner bird watchers. Tim Birkhead in ‘The Wisdom of Birds’ (strongly recommend this book) points out that the Bullfinch is unusual as it does not sing to hold a territory, but simply to attract its mate. The Bullfinch is thought to be monogamous and pairs stick together year round. Although the song of the bird is a weak one it does have great abilities in the sense that it is known to be able to learn new songs from humans. Such was the Bullfinch’s ability to learn the tunes of folk songs, that there was once a thriving market in the sale of these birds. Apparently as English folk songs were very popular the market in London was especially strong. Of course they were often kept in cages as pets, not just for the ability to sing but because of the male’s birds sheer beauty. I may have this wrong but I seem to remember that the late James Alder (local naturalist) kept a rescued Bullfinch for sometime. The Bullfinch certainly has a song that I won’t forget and it reminds me of the equally mournful song of the Dupont’s Lark that I listened to in central Spain.

I was actually listening for Grasshopper Warbler this evening, but I still haven’t heard any on patch. I did hear more than one yesterday, but that will be another blog. I did hear the song of Blackcap at length tonight and eventually got my eye on the bird. I later found another pair which appeared to be nesting close to Dunnocks. On the way to the lake I closely watched as a Common Whitethroat moved through the bush.

Numbers of Swift flew overhead at varying heights as I watched a young Great Crested Grebe follow a parent bird around the small lake. It was soon joined by its remaining sibling, so the parent was being kept busy. It seems to me that a second brood may be being attempted, as the other parent sat in the same area as I last watched it on what appears to be a loosely built nest. I noted that one of the other Great Crested Grebes has made a return on the larger lake, but seems to be alone still. A Coot sat on the nest as a youngster swam nearby and the other adult carried sedges to and from the edge of the lake to the nest. Despite the baldness of the floating reedbed I note that it has not prevented the pair of Greylag Geese producing a brood of five hungry goslings. The whole family were alert to the feed being thrown into the lake and were soon taking their share as the adult bird chased of the Mallards.

The sky was still full of Swifts as I returned home on what was now a rather chilly evening.

Twitching Circus at Hartlepool Headland!

6^th June

For the benefit of Mr. Kite
There will be a show tonight on trampoline
The Hendersons will all be there
Late of Pablo Fanques Fair-what a scene
Over men and horses hoops and garters
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!
In this way Mr. K. will challenge the world!
The celebrated Mr. K.
Performs his feat on Monday at Hartlepool
The Hendersons will dance and sing
As Mr. Kite flys through the ring don't be late
Messrs. K and H. assure the public
Their production will be second to none
And of course Henry The Horse dances the waltz!

(Lyrics (with minor alteration) from Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band)

As you know I’m not into twitching in a big way, but I do make the occasional exception, as my header shows. Today (Mon) was such a case and I joined the twitching circus at Hartlepool Headland along with Tom, Cain and Phil and I guess several hundred other circus members. Top of the bill was the White-throated Robin. The first one to appear on mainland Britain and only the third in total in the British Isles (last seen in 1990), as I’m sure people may have heard on more than one occasion!

I don’t care much for standing around in big crowds of scope and camera carrying hordes. This is not bird watching as I know it. However I did feel I ought not to miss out on this one. After standing for sometime near the bowling green with little more than a very nice Dunnock to show for it, I began to feel that our luck was not to be in. It was interesting watching how the circus was apparently being conducted and directed by one or two individuals. I noted though that few were taking much notice of their endeavours. When frustration set into the expectant participants, we were all advised to move back. Some began to do so until someone made the error of suggesting that the photographers stay put. That was definitely the wrong thing to say it seemed, and brought a few comments of ‘all or none’ or words to that effect. ‘None’ won the day. Others were getting agitated because fellow watchers were watching from what they thought the wrong spot and began to telephone friends to say so!

When Lee Evans left followed by friends, I thought well that must mean there is going to be a no show. However they had simply gone around the corner. Everyone else eventually made for the new viewing point. The view unfortunately was blocked a twelve foot wall and this is when the real fun of the circus really began. Whilst circa fifteen twitchers stood upon the roof a small white van, I found Tom and Cain in negotiation with a builder over his ladders. I thought they were negotiating very well until interrupted by someone else who thought he could negotiate even better and apparently saw it as his job to intervene.

By now individuals were attempting to get up onto the top of the wall by any means possible. The wall became a gallery of various body parts. I think a few of a certain age ought to have known better! I watched Tom pull himself up the wall attached to the legs of another twitcher, and thought, I ain’t going to try that. I did ponder on the idea of asking Phil if I could stand on his shoulders. I thought better of that too as he may have wanted me to return the favour. I thought it best to try for the ladders. By now ladders were appearing from all angles as builders merchants were being hijacked at every opportunity. Just as I arrived for my turn at the ladder the damn bird disappeared, and in any event the owner of the ladders wanted them back as he had been working all day and wanted to get home for his tea. I think he underestimated just how hard the circus participants had sweated whilst looking out for this bird!

Now that ain't working, that's the way you do it
Let me tell you them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb
We got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators
We got to move these colour T.V.'s

Dire Straits lyrics

I did eventually get to the top of a ladder, and without a safety net I’ll have you know. I believe there is a photo in existence which may appear at some point.:-) Still didn’t get my bird. Having found that Tom, Cain and Phil had had good sightings there was no way I was going home with them not having seen this White-throated Robin. On my third attempt up the ladders I did finally get a very good sighting. White-throated Robin joins my life list. Ouite a nice bird I must admit.

I seem to remember much action up and down ladders still taking place when we moved on. I wasn’t aware of any injuries occurring. A minor miracle in itself I reckon. Despite what seemed mayhem I have to say most people were behaving very well and lining up at the ladders in an orderly fashion. We were soon off to Seaton Carew and yes we did have a fine sighting of the very much more obliging adult male Red Backed Shrike. Only my second seen in Britain. I’ve seen many on my travels but can’t really remember seeing one any better than I did today. It was a relaxing end to a surreal day, with Kittiwake, Guillemot and Great Crested Grebe showing on the sea.

I have to admit I tend to enjoy my little forays into the world of the twitch.:-) Although I guess I enjoyed the Red Backed Shrike as much as anything and I prefer to bird in peaceful surroundings.

No photos here I’m afraid but I’m hoping to see some good ones from Cain (Holywell Birder).

Thanks for the good company and laughs guys.

Sunny Patch

A colourful sight.


The Red Admiral was too flighty to photograph!

Parent and youngster doing well, and the Amphibious Bistort beginning to flower.

31^st May. Conscious of having neglected the patch recently I took a walk down to the lake this afternoon. Despite the sun I saw no butterflies on the outward walk. I hadn’t checked on the Great Crested Grebes since having found one of the three youngsters lagging in size behind its siblings. I wasn’t surprised to find only two of the three young still surviving. One was resting with one of the adult birds in amongst the now flowering Amphibious Bistort which will soon be carpeting the smaller lake in red. The other youngster was constantly calling and being fed as it followed its parent around the lake. As I watched the grebes a Common Tern flew overhead and both Swallows and Swifts were in the air. Swifts still out numbering the few Swallows that are in the area. There were at least five Lesser Black Backed Gulls with Black Headed and Herring Gulls on the roof of the sports centre. Coots and Mallard were followed by young. The Mallard chicks appeared as if they were only a few days old.

I returned via the sports fields. Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler sang as I watched a male Common Whitethroat. It kept disappearing into what seemed the nesting area, but showed well each time it reappeared. Part of the horse field was taped off and a mass of colour from buttercups and red clover. I eventually found a butterfly. It was a Small White. Then as I walked through the trees the sun shone through the wings of a Red Admiral Butterfly which was found in typical habitat. It was impossible to catch an image, as it was so flighty. It quickly disappeared into partially sunlit area. I think I caught the calling of a Great Spotted Woodpecker as I walked home.

Two thirds of the way through my Poyser edition of The Dippers and expect to finish it this week. The Dipper is one of my favourite birds, but I’m not that impressed by the book. It seems to lack the depth of other Poyser books that I’ve read and I think in this case it is grossly over priced. Anyway I hope to be watching the real thing soon and hope that this time it will be without disturbance!

RSPB Saltholme

Industry and nature can live side by side!

Ruff. Not a good photo, but an excellent sighting.

18^th May. The all weather birders were up and off to Saltholme before the dawn chorus had started to fade. Initially travelling through heavy rain on on the back seat of the hottest bus in town. We spotted Kittiwake as we crossed the Tyne. By the time we approaching the ‘|Boro’ all was dry and a wind was steadily picking up. Having changed buses we got off a stop early so as to approach the reserve on foot. We found that the pools that had been so productive for us last year around the same time were this year nothing more than bone dry ground. We did have many sightings of Sedge Warbler and a good view across the reserve from the road. Sparrowhawk was picked up by Tom and seen out of the corner of my eye. Kestrel gave betters views. We soon had a pair of Garganey in our sites and we heard, and possibly briefly saw a Reed Warbler as we approached the entrance of RSPB Saltholme. We soon found Black-tailed Godwit and Knot from the Teesmouth Bird Club hide. Other waders seen as the day progressed were Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover (no sign of the Little Ringed Plover), Lapwing, Redshank and Ruff. The Ruff was a beauty in almost full summer plumage. It was seen right out side of the hide! A single Barnacle Goose had been seen. Other geese today included a single Egyptian Goose showing well, Greylag and Canada Geese.

Swifts were numerous and with us all day. There were far fewer Swallows and Sand Martins. As we walked around the reserve it was quickly becoming clear to us just how quickly things were advancing and how well the reserve is settling down. Birds of the day was most definitely the Yellow Wagtails. We are still pondering over whether or not we saw the blue headed wagtail. Whitethroats, Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits, and Goldfinches were seen and Blackcap heard. Listening for and to the birds was not easy owing to the strengthening wind but at least the sun came out.

Shelduck, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveller, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck and of course the pair of Garganey were all seen. Someone had estimated that there were 150 Common Terns. I would have said that there were more. They were continually bringing in their fish catches. As we watched them Tom noticed a very large egg next to one of the Black-headed Gulls. We wondered if it had rolled from the nesting Canada Goose which was close by. Lesser Black Backed Gulls were about.

We stopped for a short spell in the reserve café. Our original intention was to try and get along to Seal Sands and Greatham Creek. Not easy without a car (if you value your life) although the staff had been happy enough to summon us a taxi. Instead we decided to spend more time around the reserve. Some of the rare waders had moved on and the dry conditions were not in any case good for waders. However there was plenty to fill in our day and we didn’t leave until teatime. Another look at the Yellow Wagtails and the Ruff was most welcome.

It seemed that Great Crested Grebes were everywhere and we did eventually pick up two Little Grebes.

We actually ended the day with a day list of sixty bird species. Most of which were seen on or in the vicinity of the reserve. Both of us recorded more year ticks. In my case these were Reed Warbler and Yellow Wagtail.

As we waited to return to the Middlesbourgh we spoke to a lady who had visited the reserve to seek inspiration for her poetry. She told us that because of glaucoma her sight was very poor. Despite this the birds appear to have inspired her. How could they not. It was time to leave the industrial belt of Teeside behind. A really inspiring area in itself. Sadly there seems to have been an incident earlier in the day with an explosion and at least one body being found in suspicious circumstances, and others being taken to hospital for treatment. Helicopters seemed to circle the area from our arrival until our departure.

Another great day. Both all weather birders enjoyed a bit of shut eye on the way back to Newcastle on another hot bus.:-)