Your on my fence...

Popped to cresswell after work for some fresh air, but it was quite cold and damp there. The shelduck on the pond seems to have lost a few of her chicks..she's only got 4 now, and there was 8 or 9 of them. Usual culprits - blackheaded gulls, 3 reed buntings, 10+ linnetts, 2 grey heron, 6 mallards, 1 tufted duck. 2 teal and 1 barn owl.
It was good to see the barn owl as its a few months since we saw him last. Managed a couple of pics of the owl, but, from inside the car as he was sitting on the fence just past the farm near the hide. Hope the weather picks up as ive got 2 days off tomorrow...lie in

another blustery day..

Sunday 22nd June
Couldnt quite decide if it was going to rain today as it kept dulling over this morning..but what the heck.
Cresswell was the first stop at 11am.. but apart from 3 herons and 2 blackheaded gulls the pond was pretty well deserted...choppy but deserted.
We havent been to west fleetham since last summer so we popped up for a look around, but the pond was very quiet there too. 2 moorhens + 1 juvenille moorhen, 2tufted ducks.
Newham - 2 yellowhammers were just sitting in the middle of the road basking in the sun..and why not.
Howick - whitethroat singing his heartout.
Bamburgh stag rock stopped for lunch, there was quite a few female eiders 30+ but no males around which is unusual, 2 gannets, 10+ blackheaded gulls. Boulmer - eider with her 6 chicks..aah, 6+ oyster catchers, 40+ starlings, 1 pied wagtail, 1 juvenille pied wagtail. Stopped on the way through cresswell and the pond was still quite deserted so we nipped into creswell ices for an ice-cream...and home.

Is it me or does this castle look tilted

Saturday 21st June
We set out once again for the garden centre nr stanley, as last weeks attempt was a dismal failure. Believe it or not hub broke his bins the same day as i had to buy new ones last weekend so its been an expensive week, and no doubt he'll be wanting to try them out today. Arrived eventually! after getting lost a couple of times, as it was a little difficult to find but was well worth the visit. But what awful weather, it was lashing down and neither of us had a brolly, but the kind owner came to our rescue with a big golf umbrella so that we could have alook around a bit. We were amazed how cheap the plants were compared to these big garden centres and it shows how much of a profit these places must be making. Obviously they dont have the same amount of choice as a big centre, but we'll definitely go back when we need more things. I'd rather buy from a small buisness to help them along than a big buiness that wont even notice loosing my custom.
Saw 1 bullfinch nr the garden centre gates as we were leaving.

Broken bins

Saturday 14th June
Started today with plans to drive over to a garden centre near consett and then to marsden rock to see the kittiwakes and fulmers, but I dropped my binoculars and they totally fell apart so we had to go shopping to buy a me a new pair. I always get strife when we go shopping as I apparently take ages to choose what I want...?
Got my new bins, but had to cancel the visit to consett for today so we went off to marsden rock instead so hub could at least see his seabirds 30+ heron gulls, kittiwakes + chicks, 40+ blackheaded gulls. Marsden has changed quite a bit since i was last there as a kid, im sure it was much more of a holiday place than it seems to be now..shame really.
Headed off homewards about 4pm but went up too coldgate mill instead of going straight home as we really like it there and havent been for a little while. Theres a field just before you reach the ford wheres there's been a few pairs of lapwings nesting the last few times we've visited and they now have their chicks..great. On the ford there was 1 dipper, in the woods along the stream 2 long-tailed tits, blue tits, songthrush, buzzard, blackbird, 1 kestrel. Nice day to stroll around the woods but it started to rain quite heavily around 6:30pm so thought it best to drive home, but, we did stop off in cresswell as the rain eased off a little. The pond was pretty empty apart from 3 grey herons, 5 shelducks and 3 malards. The heron werent there for long though as a couple of crows kept diving at them until they gave in and flew off. 10+ linnets, 3 goldfinches, 4 pied wagtails, 1 whitethroat, 1 female pheasant, 2reed buntings. Tommorows forecast looks good, but it will be a trip to see our dads first..fathers day.


Cresswell

Amble links

Coldgate mill ford

Zzzzzzz...

You know when you have to get up and your eyes just dont want to stay open..well i was like that this morning. I couldnt believe it was 06:30am and my hubby was up before me on a saturday too (its his lie-in day usually)..but he wanted to see if the little egret was still at Hauxley lower pond. So it was up and out and away. But, Ive got to admit im pleased we were out early, what a beautiful warm sunny morning, the sea was like a millpond it was so calm. When we arrived at the lower pond the hide was already occupied by an elderly gentleman with a huge lurcher. The hide isnt very big to start with, so this was going to be a bit of a squash..but the dog and its owner decided to leave and go walkies! The little egret was showing really well walking and feeding round the edge of the water. He was chased off a couple of times by a grey heron, but he came back each time. 30+ greylags - 20+ oyster catchers - sandwich tern - common tern. Theres also a female mallard with 4 chicks who was being harrassed by a male shelduck who also has 6 chicks on the other side of the pond. I hate to see the babies being attaced by adults it seems so cruel eventhough my hubby says its 'just nature'..sorry i cant watch..i suppose its the 'maternal instinct' in me..exit me. Had a couple more hours up and around hauxley, druridge and cresswell, then it was home again as we were invited to a wedding party up in St James, the hallowed ground...yawn, but we did have an excellent and really nice day birding. Just hope today and the weather is just as good..and a quick look out of the window i think it should be...

Two firsts in one evening...

Thursday 5th June
It just doesnt get much better than having 2 firsts in one evening!! Slight change of plan after work. The plan was to go and see if the shrike was still up in the long nanny as we missed it yesterday...but an alert to say that there was a Spoonbill on cresswells south pond made us re-think the route a little..so cresswell had to be the first port of call. Sure enough...the spoonbill was still there, and showing really really well feeding from the side of the pond. The pics below arent very clear as there was a heavy freth starting to come in from the sea. We spent about half an hour watching as he was fascinating, and in case it vanishes before we get the chance to go back again tomorrow...well worth the visit. Also there was 1 chiffchaff in the tree next to the car park singing, a pair of shelducks with (i think) 9 chicks, but they were a little hard to count as the female was understandably being very protective and shielding them from view. A single grey heron was being attacked by 2 lapwings because it came a little too close to thier young-ones, so he ducked into the reeds to avoid any further confrontation. Wouldnt you think a bird that size would stand its ground against a bird so much smaller? Onwards to newton-by-the-sea and the long nanny. There was already (not suprisingly) quite a few birders still there viewing the shrike..and were obviously in awe of this magnificent little bird who showed himself so well for everyone there tonight. There was a steady flow of people coming back and forth to look, and who could blame them. Couldnt take any photos as the batteries ran out on my camera....aagh. But not too worry though, the main thing was that we saw the shrike and that was the most important thing.

Warm sunny day

Wednesday 4th June
Wednesday's is one of my days off so i thought as it was a nice sunny day i would pack a picnic and have it ready for hubby coming in from work so that we could go straight back out again and have tea in boulmer or thereabouts and do a spot of birdwatching at the same time. Hubby hadnt recieved any alerts today to say the lesser grey shrike was still at long nanny so assumed it must be gone again, so boulmer was next on the list. We werent able to go out and about last weekend due to work etc so it would be nice to just go out. It was still quite warm when we got to boulmer and the tide was just on its way out, so should be a good chance of some waders. We took the car along to longhoughton steel and parked up. There was 60+ oyster catchers, 2 grey herons, 8+ sand-martins and a female eider with her little chicks....so cute. We visit boulmer quite a lot, but we've never seen as many pipits as we did this evening, it was great...such beautiful little birds. I must apologise as i know my photographic skills arent exactly great, but hey im still learing....