Home from hols

Home from our hols.
Wash-out is probably a better word...it absolutely poured down everyday with some thunder and lightening just for good measure. We were in north yorkshire (heartbeat) country. Its a beautiful place and wonderful countryside. We spent some time in yorkshire last year too when they were flooded out, so we probably should have known better..needless to say we will give the area a wide berth for a while. I wouldnt mind but it was a toss up between 'petistree' in suffolk which weve been to on holiday before and is a very pretty village with lots of nice walks and plenty of wildlife, or, north yorks...shouldve gone with the first option - but never mind it was a holiday and a break from work so shouldnt complain. Had an invite to a friends bbq as soon as we got home so weve not been able to go out and about yet, so we're looking forward to this weekend to get out and do some birding.

Whitby

Goathland

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....

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...

Wednesday 30th April
Been away for a few days in the lakes for my birthday, but its nice to be back.
Went up to Bassenthwaite for the day to see if we could see the Ospreys, as they werent about when we were there in march. Yes...finally we were lucky. Called to the visitors centre first as they have big screens in there where you can watch the webcams they have rigged up beside the nest they've apparently used for the last 8 years. But this year the female has decided she wants a new place...i can understand that, so they've built a new nest, but as yet they haven't been able to locate it so that they can rig up a new webcam. Anyway one of the staff told us that the ospreys can be seen (if lucky) back down the track where theres a layby overlooking bassenthwaite, as they say they are nesting somewhere in the woods to the right of the lake. So off we went and sat for a while and thought...no...just not meant to see them, but....yes they both showed up, the male and female...was definitely well worth the persistence, they are fabulous birds. At first glance and from a distance they look very similar to a buzzard. Would have liked to see them diving for food, but satisfied that we did see them after all this time.
While we were away we didnt actually see very much. We could hear lots of birds, but didnt get to see many, apart from a grey-wagtail, coal-tits, blue-tits, buzzard, mallards, greylags + chicks, siskins and chaffinch
Called into boulmer on our way home as the sun was glorious and parked up at longframlington steel, saw larks, 2 wheatear, meadow pipit, black-headed gulls, herring gulls, oyster catchers.
Cresswell 2 grey-heron, stonechats and linnets

Not there

Recieved a text monday 21st to say there was a bean goose at chevington so on the way home from work thought we'd have a look see, got there about 17:40 nothing in sight, in fact hardly a bird in sight, except for 8 whoopers flying overhead to another pond.
Recieved another text tuesday today saying Spoobill in hauxley, so we tootled up again from work...nothing....not a sausage.
Its been very quiet almost everywhere we've been in the last week. Hope things change soon.

Where are the avocets

Tuesday 15th April

Ever had one of those days...when you cant wait to get out of the office, especially when it feels like every person you've dealt with today seems to be incapable of understanding english...or do i speak with forked tongue!!
Got out fine again this afternoon, so we wanted to go and see if the avocets and the hooded crow were still around druridge and cresswell, but, the answer to that was no....well not while we where there anyway so we wandered along to chevington for a look on the pools which produced - 9 whooper swans - greylags - mallards - female goldeneye.

Nice evening

Monday 14th April
Great, the weather started out wet and dull, but, by mid afternoon it started to brighten up, and by the time it came to finish work and drive home the weather wasnt too bad at all. So it was 'make hay while the sun shines'...and off up to boulmer for a couple of hours via a quick stop in amble to pick up some fish 'n' chips.
We parked the car up on boulmer steel, and a chap that had just come up from the beach with his dog, was trying to persaude it to drop a poor little baby bunny he had in its teeth....put me right off my supper i can tell you.
Shelducks - oyster catchers - redshanks - grey heron - black headed gulls - robin and a pied wagtail

Weekend away

Saturday 12th April

We've been fed up with the miserable weather lately, so to cheer ourselves up we decided to treat ourselves to a weekend away, but wanted it to be somewhere not too far away to give the hubby a wee rest from driving, as unfortunately i dont drive (apart from him nuts)
So I did a quick search on the internet and booked us into 'Hardwick Hall' in Sedgefield. I would strongly recommend this hotel..it has to be one of the best we've ever stayed in. Our room was excellent, and luckily enough was situated at the front of the hotel which looks out onto the Hardwick country park lake. This meant we were able to literally lie in bed and look out of the window and watch the swans and ducks out on the lake...cant get much better than that. We ordered breakfast in our room, and, while we were sitting there eating, a grey wagtail landed on our windowsill next to the table, the daft bird could see its own reflection and nearly knocked itself out on the glass, what a beautiful bird to see so close up. I even put little pieces of my toast on the sill when it flew off to try and tempt it back....but no I suppose that was expecting a bit too much. Saw our first sand-martins of this year flying around the lake. On and around the lake as we walked there was - mute swans - 8 cygnets - Canada geese – coots – moorhens – mallards – tufted ducks - robin – great-tit – blue-tit – song thrush – blackbirds.

Sunday 13th April

Another lovely day...but time to leave Hardwick and back to reality and home again. We dropped our case off at home, and headed inland for a couple of hours as it was still such a nice day (and we've not had many of them lately) so wanted to make the most of it while it lasted. So we tootled up to ‘Ewarty shank’ mainly because its normally very peaceful as not many people seem to wander up that way apart from hikers and numpty's who go hand-gliding..
Yes it was lovely and peaceful, we only saw one other person all afternoon while we were there hiking...but we did have 100's of sheep and lambs for company too.
Heard a few curlews while we were sitting in the car, as I believe they breed up there, but we never seem to be able to catch sight of them though. Pied wagtail was having a bath in the stream, and we saw our first lark this year.
On the way home called to boulmer and longhoughton steele for a little while and the sun was glorious there. The tide was out and suprisingly there was very little bird life about apart from a couple of - dunlins - shelducks - blackheaded gulls - eiders - 1 Whimbrel on the waters edge.
Cresswell - 9 mute swans - mallards - canada geese.
Now that its lighter in the evening we might be able to get out for a little while after work...weather permitting

Back to normal.

Its nice to be back in the land of the living after 2 weeks with a viral infection, the fresh air was lovley.
Eventhough the weather forecast was sleet and snow showers, it was lovely and sunny when we let home and headed up the coast. But the sun seemed to disappear between widdrington and druridge and it looked really grey on the coastline up towards amble etc so we thought we would head inland instead for a few hours and maybe drive up to Coldgate Mill Ford to see if the weather might be a little better. It did brighten up again for a little while until we reached the alnwick moors....then the sky turned grey and the heavens opened for about 5 or 10 minutes. It did thankfully clear up enough though for us to carry on up to coldgate mill where we had nice walk up through the woods alongside the river. The dipper we saw there last time wasnt about, but we saw great-tits, long-tailed tits, robin, chaffinches, tree-creeper, goldfinches. Outside Chatton in a newly turned over field 30+ chaffinches and 3 pheasants were relieving the farmer of his newly planted seeds.
Warenton - 1 Roe deer
Stag rock - long-tailed duck, common scooter, eiders, shag, gannets flying north.
Howick - a buzzard over the woods.
Monkhouse pool - 2 greylags on the grass around the edge of the pool. 6 shelducks,1 golden eye, 60+ mixed herring gulls/black-headed gulls
Boulmer - 13 gannets flying north, eider ducks. Longhoughton steel 20+ oyster catchers on the rocks and 2 shelducks.
We're visiting family tomorrow, but, if the weather isnt too bad hopefully we might be able to have a run up to boulmer or bolam lake afterwards.

Home early

Unfortunately our holiday was cut short as i have somehow got a viral infection and feel 'yuck' so we had to come home early wednesday instead of today (saturday).
Such a shame as it was a lovely little village 'maulds meaburn' and a nice little cottage too called 'riversteps'. We arrived saturday afternoon 15th, unpacked and had a quick look around the place.
Excellent place if you want to just chill and relax - no mobile phone signal so nobody can bother you, no shops, no pub (but) there's a really nice one a few miles away in 'Orton' called 'The George' good food, friendly comfy pub with a big log fire. If you like a sunday paper they deliver to the bus shelter for you to pick up from there.
The river 'Lyvette' runs right through the middle of the village...very picturesque, so we were able to watch any birds on it from our cottage window as it was only about 15-20 yards away and its pretty fast flowing in parts so we got to see some dippers that sat on the stepping stones, 2 yellow wagtails, 2 mallards. We also had a fleeting glimpse of 2 goosanders for a few minutes before they took off when they realised we were there. The garden of our cottage, and the 2 adjoining cottages had plenty of birds for us too watch, tree sparrows, housesparrows, thrush, blue-tits, long-tailed tits, great-tits, coal-tit, 1 bull-finch, 4 dunnocks, 2 robins, goldfinch, wren, chaffinch, rook, jackdaw. Plus while i was cooking tea a black-pheasant appeared from nowhere and sat himself on the garden fence, about 2 yards or so from the kitchen window, but up close he was a beautiful dark blue, what gorgeous colours. He came into our garden and next doors each of the few days we were there. There is a male and female kestrel to be seen flying around the riverbank and a grey heron landed on the river at the far end of the village, but couldnt get a close look as it would have frightened him off.
I was gutted that we had to come home early because of me being ill, but hopefully we can go back when the weather gets a little warmer...