Bank holidays just aren't long enough!

Friday 23rd
We just dont seem to have had much free time in the last few weeks to get out and about - what with family committments etc, so we thought 'blow' and decided to finish work early on friday and have a wander up to Fenham-le-moor reserve. We just chilled for a couple of hours near the beach enjoying peace and quiet and the bird songs.
There wasnt much around the shore as the tide was in, but there's always the resident wren who always lets you know when she's around by going beserk in the hedge next to the 'lookout' path. Single whitethroat sat on the top of the pile of used straw dumped in the field next to the hide where it sang his heart out, and a few siskins played hide and seek with us...now you see us now you dont....frustrating because you can hear them and know where they are, but, can you heck see them!.
Saturday 24th
Just had a lesuirely drive about, had lunch out and ended up beside the large pond opposite the farm at 'mitford steads'. There was 5 baby mallard chicks there a few weeks ago, but they were nowhere to be seen today...hope theyre still alive somewhere near. But, there are plenty of mallards there to keep you entertained - and they certainly do that along with 3 very territorial white geese - 4 goldfinches - 3 chaffinches - tree sparrows having a dirtbath - 2 pied wagtails - 1 great tit and a buzzard soaring overhead.
Sunday 25th
Bird alert went off early to say 2 temmicks stints were seen at druridge pools, so thought we would shoot off before breakfast and see if they were still there. When we arrived there was quite a few cars parked near so it was likely the stints were still there..and..amazingly they were. It was difficult to see them at first as they were hidden a little by grass but they did emerge and show really well. We arent able to answer all of the alerts as they go off as most times we are at work, so by the time we get there the birds are usually long gone and nowhere to be seen, so this makes a really nice change.
We had arranged to stay overnight at Hardwick Hall sunday/monday so we wont be able to go birding before dreaded work again on tuesday...bank holidays just arent long enough are they.

To nice to stay in all day

Sunday 18th May
Up early...cooked breakfast...i washed the car while hubby done some more work on our never ending kitchen refit. When you get in from work at nights the last thing you feel like doing is starting work again, so work on the house tends to be pushed aside and left for the weekend...unless its a nice sunny day like today.
Well it started out nice..but as soon as i had washed the car and polished it off...yep...it started to rain. Typical so got down to work in the kitchen, but it didnt take as long as we expected so when the sun came back out again this afternoon we didnt waste any time going out for a few hours as the nice weather doesnt last very long these days so we make use of it when we can.
Just had a leisurely drive up through longfamlilngton, rothbury, up through the lee, edlingham and back through alnwick, warkworth beach and back by cresswell and home. Didnt see much today except for a really cute little deer on the rothbury moor pictures not as clear as i would like as it was taken throught the car window as we didnt want to frighten the poor thing. But its been a lovely day today and its always nice to just get out around the lovely countryside.

Around the Cheviots

Saturday 17th May.
Brilliant day in the cheviots...apart from the odd shower of fine rain it was a bumper day of birds. Started at Langleeford - grey heron - mallard - goosander - buzzard - peregrine falcon - red grouse - pheasant - oystercatcher - lapwing - common sandpiper - common snipe - curlew - black-headed gull - wood-pidgeon - ferrol rock dove - cuckoo - green-woodpecker - skylark - meadow pipit - tree pipit - grey wagtail - pied wagtail - wren - dipper - robin - stonechat - whinchat - ring-ouzel - blackbird - song thrush - mistle thrush - garden warbler - 4 blackcaps - willow warbler - 4 wrens - goldcrest - longtailed tit - coal tit - blue tit - great tit - jay - carrion crow - chaffinch - linnet - yellowhammer.
Some where firsts like the ring-ouzel and whinchat but the cuckoo was just amazing. Was a real pity didnt have the camera...but such is life. Off to wooler for tea..

Nasty day

Plan today was to check out the bird alert for 'Black terns' in Bigwaters, but the weather was really awful this morning, so we decided to do the asda run instead....uurgh. Trying to park in that place is a total nightmare! even on a sunday, and to say the hubby doesnt like shopping is an understatement! if he had his way supermarkets and people with pushchairs trying to push past 2 or 3 trolleys in the aisles should be neuked from the planet....so after we finished our shop we popped over to the pond in the buisness park for 5mins to see if any of the mallards or canadas had produced any chicks...

Some nice weather at last then..

As we are still on hols we've just been going out for days around northumberland. Drove up to Ford and Etal which is off the coldstream road 'cornhill-on-tweed', we go there a couple of times a year as we buy most of our plants from a nursery in etal run by a scottish couple. Both ford and etal are lovely villages, and etal has the only thatched pub in northumberland. Of course the Heatherslaw 15" gauge steam railway is always an attraction for the hubby as it runs from heatherslaw to etal every hour. Plus theres always Ford Moss Nature Reserve (Grid Ref. is NT 963 376) always worth a visit too. A good day out...