6th May. I
took a walk down to the lake after dinner and expected to get little further
than this, which didn’t matter at all as the atmosphere on a quiet, warm and
sunny evening was grand. Dry, sunny and
warm, could it really be a Bank
Holiday? The changing of seasons was
more noticeable than at any time this spring, which at times has threatened to
be a non-event. The Great Crested Grebes were busy at the nest, with the sitting bird
deciding to take to the water for a few seconds, then with seeming difficulty,
climb back on the nest and almost Penguin like, stand and move part of the nest
around. A Grey Heron looked at its best as it stood by the small reed-bed for
some minutes before taking to the air and flying across the lake. A group of youngsters walked past engrossed
in their chat and totally oblivious as to what was going on next to them on the
water. Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler sang, and a Common Tern dived and skimmed the water. My peace was broken when my mobile phone rang,
but not before I had picked up the call of Reed
Warbler. (I was unable to locate the
bird, but will be back) Lee wanted to
know if I fancied a quick trip up the coast.
It would have to be quick as it was now 6.45pm. I warned him that the Purple Heron and Great
White Egret were no longer being reported.
Lee often needs a rarity to keep his interest going. He mentioned Temminck’s Stint. :-) I thought a quick trip would be worthwhile
anyway, so prepared to be picked up within a few minutes. We had an interesting journey as Lee’s friend
from Kurdistan accompanied him and we had a chat about our various travel
experiences and her brother who had recently visited Newcastle.
I believe he has just returned to Erbil in Kurdistan. Anyway he is a keen photographer, so I await
details of his website, and I must read up about Erbil
as in all honesty I can’t say I’ve heard of it.
Although with recent history surely I must of, and it has now just
slipped my mind!
We soon arrived at Druridge Pools, although not as early as
we had expected, as engrossed in the chat we found ourselves heading past Red
Row! We found a Common Snipe right outside of the hide and Little Grebe close to the edge of the water, but the lowering sun
made a photograph pointless. It was a
flying visit so we didn’t have long to search for birds so I made that clear
when someone asked me ‘if we had seen
much’. I am always fearful that when
I say ‘no there’s not much about’
that they go along the path and find a first for Northumberland and then wonder
which clown they had just spoken to. Not
that I’m too concerned as to my image in birding circles, as there are far more
important things in life to concern me.
I never the less wouldn’t like to bump into the same person five minutes
later only to be told what I’d
missed.:-)
Willow Warblers
were singing and showing well right outside of the hide, Sedge Warbler song was more distant and a Grey Wagtail was near the flashes.
We watched the likes of Grey
Heron, Shoveller, Teal and Redshank
whilst the call of Curlew was in the
air. Lapwings were dotted about the area. We then made off quickly for Cresswell Pond
so as to arrive before sundown. Lee remained keen, as the person we had spoken
too had told us that the Temminck’s Stints (now two of them) had relocated to
the spit at the pond.
The air was full of midges, but thankfully nothing appeared
to be biting. Sadly we have too few
evenings like this in the UK,
and especially on the Northumberland coast, but when they do happen they ought
to be enjoyed. We stopped at the
causeway and immediately spotted two of the Avocets and then Yellow
Wagtails. There was at least seven
or eight Yellow Wagtails here
amongst the Pied Wagtails. Avocet
and Yellow Wagtail were both year
ticks for me.
I got my sunset but not a sundowner!
I took a look through the bins at the hide and noticed eyes
pointed towards the sand bank. This had
Lee going thinking that the Temmink’s Stint were being watched, so as the sun
was going to be lost very soon we made off towards the hide. We found Tree
Sparrows in the hedges. The sound of
Sedge Warblers was everywhere. If I’m honest, I just couldn’t begin to
estimate numbers. Once in the hide we
also had a reeling Grasshopper Warbler
close by. We also found a friendly group
of local’s drinking wine. Not sure if
Lee thought this was appropriate in a bird hide, but I was just hoping that
they might offer me a glass of red wine!
Sadly the bottle or bottles
now appeared empty. I wondered if the
group were seeing birds that I wasn’t.:-)
There were no Temminck’s Stint, but Lee seemed to cope. However there was another pair of Avocet showing really nicely and at
least eight more Yellow Wagtails on
the sand bank. These were definitely not
the same birds seen by us at the other end of the pond as our friendly wine
drinkers had been photographing them while we were watching the other
birds. I eventually got my eye upon Sedge Warblers, still singing loudly
across the reed beds. Along with them
were number of Reed Bunting and at
least another six Yellow Wagtails
which had taken to the reeds.
It had been a short, but very rewarding visit. I had almost become intoxicated with the song
from warblers and the stunning colour of the wagtails, and sadly only the smell
of red wine! If I ever gate crash one of
your hide wine evenings I can let you know now I prefer red to white. Perhaps I need to think about taking my own
in future.
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