WAGS in the Sun!

Industrial Beauty.

Small Copper Butterlies aplenty.

No, no, not those orange fake tanned things that attach themselves to the arms of over paid Premiership footballers and appear in that rag that has the cheek to call itself a newspaper. No, I mean Wags with class, Yellow Wagtails. I was birding in the sun today, best not complain about the heat I suppose, and there were numbers of Yellow Wagtails still around. I’m confident that I saw a female blue headed (flava) too. It had been seen by a member of the staff also. Not the numbers I had seen on my recent epic visit but still good numbers and some good sightings.

The sun had brought out lots of butterflies and I managed to list Large White, Small White, Green Veined White, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Wall Brown, Common Blue and Small Copper. I’ve never seen the latter in such numbers and it was the only species that settled long enough for me to photograph today.

Several warblers were heard. Blackcap, Common Whitethroat (seen in display flight), Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler. The pools on the reserve were in the main very quiet but I ticks did include Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Shelduck, Pochard and Gadwall, the latter in some numbers..

The Sand Martin colony was what first took the eye. It was apparently being invaded by a Weasel. Staff were busy trying to flush it out. I remember being at North Cave in East Yorkshire a few years ago and being told that the entire colony of Sand Martins had been wiped out by a Weasel.

Common Terns were numerous. Such graceful birds. Waders seen were Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Lapwing and Redshank. Reed Bunting was another bird seen.

I seem to remember the guy on the desk who I discussed the Yellow Wagtails with mentioning that there had been 200 people through the doors up to that point which was mid afternoon. He reckoned it had been a quiet day. The class room was certainly being made good use of by groups of youngsters. The first Green Veined White Butterfly that I found flew into a group of the kids and I thought I was going to have to push them out of the way. Bit tough looking some of these six year olds so I thought better of it.

Industrial area that it may be, I never fail to be impressed by the look of it, especially in the sun.

After leaving the reserve I counted at least fifteen Avocets along at the pools near the creek at Seal Sands. I ‘m told there are about thirty in total. Great to see these birds in such numbers in the north east. Another one of those birds that so impressed me as a youngster when I saw pictures of them in books. The creek was quite otherwise and time was passing so further exploration wasn’t possible.
First real birding in the sun I’ve done this year. A good day. Forty-Two species was the count. Wags and Avocets the birds of the day.

Perfect Light, Perfect Atmosphere!

Still some circles on the water.

Perfect light making for good reflections.

16th May. Tired though I was, I couldn’t resist taking a walk to the lake this evening to try and find the reported Black Necked Grebe. A heavy shower arrived as I walked towards the lake and no Black Necked Grebe was found on this occasion although I only really looked on the smaller lake where I had seen one a couple of years ago. Never mind, as when the heavy shower was over the light was perfect and the lake was showing at its very best, reflecting my constant thought that you don’t have to seek out picturesque surroundings to find beauty! I’d just been talking to a guy today who shared my views about the beauty of industrial areas. Not everyone shared those views, and seemed to forget that ‘beauty is I the eye of the beholder!’

As I looked down the larger lake at the reflected sunlight, the now well dispersed raindrops still fell, and formed small circles on the surface of the water. The lighting conditions were almost perfect and on the smaller lake the surrounding trees and shrubs were reflected clearly on the water. There were few people about and it was a calm and tranquil evening with plenty of bird song and an atmosphere only as it can be after heavy rain showers.

The Great Crested Grebes were feeding two youngsters and at least one other youngster was on the back of one of the adults. A pair of Common Terns fished over the lake and on occasions dived and caught fish only a few yards in front of me, whilst calling most of the time. One of the Common Terns eventually settled on the iron rails close by me and called constantly. I was surprised that it had let me approach so closely.
I walked home content with a very pleasant short evening walk, and as I passed the Nuthatch nest hole one of the adults returned to the nest with food. The Blackbird was singing at full belt as I closed the front door behind me.

Rain and the Rising Sun!

I am becoming convinced that there is a link to rainfall and my visiting the Rising Sun Country Park.:-) I was involved in a Walk and Talk event there today. As it happens, whilst the talk bit seemed to go very well, with some very keen and knowledgable youngsters attending, we never got as far as completing the walk as the heavens opened as we were about to begin it. Thankfully my talk had over run by about ten minutes so at least that prevented us all being soaked to the skin! Seems to be a regular occurrence this rain when I visit the park. Anyway the rain cleared the park of visitors.

The weather did settle eventually allowing a few of us involved in the day to go for a walk down to Swallow Pond. With Swallows and Swifts overhead we stood and listened to the song of the Song Thrush. Birds on the pond included a family of Canada Geese along with Shoveller, Tufted Duck, Pochard and Lesser Black Backed Gulls, with Common Terns on the false island. The Blackcap made a loud alarm call from the trees and was eventually seen.

Bird of the day was the Green Woodpecker seen flying behind the trees, looking in the direction of the old slag heap. First time I have seen Green Woodpecker at the park. I went all of 2009 without seeing a Green Woodpecker and now I have seen two within three days!

Three Birders Go 'An Ouzeling.'

Heather Patchwork.

It was about here where the oxygen bottle would have come in handy!

Still a bit of snow on Cheviot.

Typical.....the damn council closes the bridge and gives no explanation as to why!

14th May. With spring temperatures continuing to plummet, it was with much anticipation that three of us left for the Harthope Valley and the Cheviots, counting our blessings that at least it was a dry day. Light and brief showers as we headed north failed to dampen the spirits as we counted Lapwings and Pheasants. Swift was seen at Wooler.

The coldness hit me as I stepped out of the car on our first stop in the Harthope valley but the smell of the fresh air and surroundings more than adequately took my mind from the chill. I had hoped that we would quickly pick up both Dipper and Grey Wagtails on the burn. A pair of the latter gave a brief sighting as they flew over head, but Dipper eluded us all day. We did begin to hear and spot the first of many Willow Warblers, and heard Blackcap. A Roe Deer was seen crossing further up the burn and Brown Hare was also seen. As we drove towards Langleeford one of the party spotted Common Sandpiper as it flew off from the road edge towards the burn, not to be seen again.

Once parked we decided to warm up with a walk up Hawsen Burn. Little did I know how warm I was to become! We’d barely started walking when Tom got his keen eye onto another Grey Wagtail, this one giving us a good sighting, as it stood on the rocks in the burn. We had several target birds today, although I didn’t hold out much hope of finding Black Grouse (I’m sure I’m not imagining that they are here, but my request for information brought little response, and none in fact from the RSPB, although I thank Liver Bird for his). I did have a little more hope of Ring Ouzel, the bird which had really focused the mind on this trip. I thought however we might have to work hard for a sighting. In the event we had cracking views of two male birds, both found comparatively easily by sets of keen eyes. It gave me my best ever sighting of this species, and one of our party, Carmel, a lifer! We had one bird very close to us and were able to watch it at length. Tom later got his eye on another which seemed to be heading to a nest with food and again giving a good sighting. It eventually flew over head giving an alarm call and seemed to watch us from the crag above. We decided to move on to avoid causing any additional stress.

We had quickly begun to hear then sight Red Grouse, which where to remain with us in numbers throughout the hill walk, and had heard Cuckoo, our first of the year, calling from the valley bottom. As we continued we had good sightings of at least two pairs of Whinchat. No Stonechats were seen at anytime today. Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were quite numerous and a Kestrel and the first of today’s Common Buzzards give good sightings. By now I was perspiring profusely.

Now at this point I have in the past turned back and retraced my steps down to the valley again, but not today, which was going to be quite an adventure. Just as well I had brought extra water. At one or two points I was thinking that an oxygen cylinder would not have been a miss as we made two or three steep ascents. This is where my little pocket camera comes in useful, as I can use the excuse of stopping to take a photo as I gasp in some air! Besides I didn’t want my companions tiring themselves. We looked north towards Scotland and even though it wasn’t the clearest of days we could see Bamburgh Castle and the Farne Islands. There were no birds in this area part from Meadow Pipits and Skylark. We came across several remains of Red Grouse but I decided not to bring a skull and bill home, although I was tempted. It was the bit of flesh remaining on the skull which put me off. We were in a good position to look down on the patch work heather land and note how it is being managed and look towards Cheviot which still had a couple of small areas of snow cover. We found a dip in the hillside which was sheltered so decided to stop here for a welcome lunch. This seemed to put new life into me.

By the time we were back into the valley we had walked for almost five hours. Two Reed Bunting were found and we watched numerous Willow Warblers and listened to Chiffchaff. As I tried to focus my binoculars on a small bird that had landed on the other side of the burn a Green Woodpecker flew into view, giving a brief sighting. It had flown up the burn towards the wall where I lost sight of it. We all had brief sightings of it later. A small Shrew ran near my feet as I sat down for a break. I’d only seen one White species Butterfly during the day, but the bees in the area appear to be on steroids and quite numerous!

We walked up the valley for some way through the wooded area, but small passerines were few and far between apart from the Willow Warblers and Chaffinch and an odd Blue Tit. No one was complaining however as it had been such a good day. On retracing our steps we did find Mistle Thrush, Curlew (which had been earlier heard), Pied Wagtail and a male Sparrowhawk in the trees on the bank of the burn. We did notice at one point just how steep the bank of the burn is and commented on how easy it would be to topple over here.
I think we had all been well satisfied with the way the day had worked out and as we left we watched two Common Buzzards above us, and at least two more were seen on the journey home. The Oystercatchers remained in the same areas as we had seen them in the morning. We also managed to add House Martin and Starling to the day’s list which came to I think forty-five bird species. Despite the darkening sky and shower as we drove home we all managed to arrive back dry, apart from a pair of damp feet! :-)

Flower Power!

River Blyth


River Blyth


Wood Anemone Anemone nemorosa

Common Dog Violet Viola riviniana

Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scriptus

Water Avens Geum rivale

Bluebell Wood

8th May. I hate to say this, but I do remember when flower power was cool man, cool! It was certainly cool again today, in fact it was very cold at times. Anyway, I feel it is a while since I gave attention to my botanical side so today proved to be a recent exception.

Starting out at Prestwick Carr I did find that a walk I had planned there in January is a non starter as there seems to be no where to park cars even in Prestwick Village, so I’m having a re-think on that one. No parking spaces and not much in the way of birds today apart from Swifts, Swallows and numerous Willow Warblers. The red flags cut the walk short, although it didn’t seem to prevent others. I value my head however. We set off sooner than expected for Plessey Woods.

Many years since I went to Plessey Woods. I remember at school it was the favourite area for ‘conker’ collection. That game of violence, brute force and daring seems to have been hit by health and safety rules in some schools. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. Let’s get the inconsiderate dog walker out of the way first. Now that’s a good idea, getting them out of the way, that is! The River Blyth seems to be used as a dog bath. I suppose when their pillock owners allow them to jump all over you they have at least been washed first. Sadly the area seems to be another ‘person’ walkers paradise. Someone should really get some control over this lot as it spoils, what is a really pleasant area. I did manage to see some birds despite the best efforts of this minority group. I hasten to add I do have good friends who are dog owners, or at least I did have before they read my blog!

Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff and Blackcaps were numerous. The later I found singing in several territories. Birds of the day were really good sightings of Jays, of which there were several. Early on the walk Dipper was found and a Grey Wagtail was spotted flying up River. I never did find it on likely spots along the river and suspect the constant string of dogs in and out of the river had something to do with that. More Swifts and Swallows were found along with House Martins.

It was the flowers which took the eye today with patches of Bluebells (the real thing not the uglier Spanish Bluebells) coming into flower and the woods being awash with Wood Anemone and Wild Garlic, the latter just beginning to come into flower in places. A nice flower, shame about its scent. Some people tell me they like it. Other flowers of note were Primrose, Common Dog Violet, Ground Ivy, Woodruff, Wood Sorrel, Wood Forget-me-not and Water Avens. I informed a friend that the leaf of the Wood Sorrel tastes of apple and can be eaten. Holywell Birding told me that and had me chewing some last year. So if anyone drops down with poisoning tonight I shall send the court summons your way Cain! :-) We could always blame the dogs!
So a very pleasant walk was had today with some wonderful views up the river. I finished the walk with a mug of hot chocolate, and warm.

Whitethroat Returns to Patch

3rd May. My first stop today was at the Nuthatch nest hole. I stood for quite some time in a very cold wind and was beginning to wonder if the nest had been deserted, when in flew a Nuthatch. I waited a while longer, but it didn’t come back out of the nest. I was so cold by then I can’t say I blame it!

Next bird of interest was a singing Blackcap, one of two seen today. Good numbers of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were singing as I visited the area that I knew from experience hold Whitethroat. I again hung around for sometime, but at least this time I was in the sun and warm. I was just about to move on when I got my eye on my first Whitethroat (male) of the year. Not that early I know, but last year it was 17th May before I found one on patch in this exact area. Pleased with my sighting I began to move off when I heard a Grasshopper Warbler calling. I decided to give some more time to watching for it. I never did find it. I eventually made off to the area where I had heard the Grasshopper Warbler a few days ago, but that area was silent.

Other birds seen today included Wren, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, House Martin, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Greenfinch along with the usual tits, corvids and pigeons. As I made of up the hill to home I caught sight of a Sparrowhawk high in the sky. It was soon out of sight.

A Quiet Start to May

Tunstall Reservoir

1st May. It was an RSPB Local Group trip to Wolsingham and Tunstall Reservoir today. I like this area and had been looking forward to the trip for sometime. It was cloudy and cold, but dry. Apologies to Sedgedunum Warbler, as I believe John thinks my blog is a little more exciting after I have had a good soaking! :-)

There was little in the way of birds in Wolsingham village but a couple of us got our eye, although not a good sighting, of what we were sure was a Goldcrest flitting from tree to tree and I seem to remember it was here that we had the first of only a small number of Swifts seen today. On the journey we had ticked Kittiwake as we crossed the Tyne, and found a Kestrel. The only Lapwings of the day were also seen on the journey, in small numbers.

As we started the walk towards Tunstall Reservoir, I realised it was going to be cold! It has to be said that the bird life was sparse on the higher ground. There was little song other than Willow Warblers, Chaffinch and Wren. I did hear the occasional Curlew, but it wasn’t until towards the end of the days walk that I actually saw a few. There were no raptors in the air at all, and I assume no thermals to encourage the Common Buzzards which we had thought probable. A few members did hear Common Buzzard mewing at our lunch stop. The bloodied remains of a female Pheasant were found and the consensus was that it had been taken by a Sparrowhawk.

Tom got his eye on Wheatears quite high up on the fell and we were able to point out these to a few members. In fact, I even managed to point out a male bird which turned into a bit of slate coloured stone. I did admit my error, if only reluctantly and once I’d been found out! It was rather amusing that when we caught up to the rest of the group we were being hushed and pointed in the direction of Wheatears. I refrained from telling this group that Tom had found some that they had missed, on higher ground, about fifteen minutes previously. The birds I was picking up were all females, but I’m told there were several males too!

As we began to get closer to the woodland one or two people heard Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen, initially on the ground, as we were trying to find an elusive Mistle Thrush. Three or four other Mistle Thrushes were found feeding in a field a little later. Grey Heron was seen in flight as were Black Headed Gulls. There were a number of flocks of racing pigeon in the area and we wondered if these had just been released. Meadow Pipits were seen as we were watching the Wheatears. One of several Coal Tits was seen at the lunch stop.

We were soon down into the woods at Tunstall Reservoir. I enjoy the walk through these woods and have usually been lucky with the target birds of today which were Redstart, Pied flycatcher and Wood Warbler. We found none of these species today and we began to wonder if in fact we were a little early. We did find a rather rude motorist who felt the need to blast his horn at length as we entered the woods, even though it was quite obvious everyone had heard the car coming and were clearing the narrow road. He then felt the need to stop, wind his window down and pass a comment about people standing on both sides of the road, when in fact it was quite obvious that there was enough room for him to drive straight through, a fact that he acknowledged was correct when I told him so. Perhaps he owned the area, or at least thought he did, or was perhaps just having a bad day! It’s certainly not only in towns where you find rudeness, that’s for sure!

The first bird we saw in numbers was the Nuthatches. I think a few people were amazed at just how many there were. Treecreepers were about too and Willow Warblers were numerous too. Some of us only heard one Chiffchaff during the day. The usual commoner woodland birds were seen and at least three Jays were heard and seen very briefly before they flew deeper into the woodland. The song of Song Thrush was heard througout the woods. I didn’t on this occasion find the usual Common Sandpiper but some others did. Oystercatcher was heard flying down the reservoir, and seen by some. A Grey Wagtail was seen at some point by a few members.

We had seen and heard Greylag Geese flying over and found some more towards the end of the walk along with Mute Swan. Brown Hares were found in the fields and two Roe Deer were seen in the woodland. Some members had heard an owl calling, but were unsure of the species. There was a small flock of Goldfinch at the edge of the woodland, but the Siskin was never confirmed.
It had been an enjoyable and invigorating walk despite the disappointment of not finding any of the most sought after target species. We did end the walk a little earlier than expected which may have reflected the quietness of the bird life. At least it had seemed very quiet to me. Even so, having added House Martin, plus a very brief sighting of Red Kite on the return journey at Rowlands Gill, we did end up with a bird count of fifty-six. There’s plenty of time to find the Redstarts et al!