Back to VizMigging

The wind moved into the west which brought an end to exciting seawatches. It's since turned south-s'easterly which can be good for VizMigging  -visible migration - which for me means observing and counting birds on their autumn migration from a single vantage point. I'm normally in Tarifa at this time for the most spectacular VizMig in western Europe, it wasn't to be this year...

Instead, my vantage point was the 'big dune' at Druridge this morning. No flocks of Honey Buzzards, Short-toed Eagles or White Storks but a great vantage point at the innermost part of the bay which funnels coasting birds in to one point. I only had an hour or so before work from 7.30am to 8.30am. The wind was light and the skies were clear.

Typical view of a passing Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipits and Swallows were piling through as I arrived and continued to do so. House and Sand Martins came through in lower numbers with only a few Skylarks and Pied/White Wagtails. A few waders included 2 Ruff, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit and four Snipe. 

The final tally for one hour was:

Barn Swallow - 557

Meadow Pipit - 288

House Martin - 36

Sand Martin - 14

Skylark - 4

Pied/White Wagtail - 2

The last couple of evenings have been warm, sunny and calm and I've had a couple of brief looks on the sea. Yesterday I photographed a wader coming in-off, it flew over my head as I photographed (I nearly went-over backwards) and had me stumped at first. Any guesses what it is?

Out of context wader

The Scoter flock numbers around 350 but is always changing, last night there were two Great-crested Grebes with them, tonight two Tufted Duck. The flock is constantly changing and requires regular scrutiny if a 'Surfy' is to be found. 

Tonight I had two treats, an aerial battle between an Arctic Skua and a young Sandwich Tern and a beautiful sunset. An adult and juvenile Roseate tern were nice as it won't be long until they're gone. 

Let battle commence

 

Off they go

Sunset, that's the Simonside Hills behind the turbines. 

Still seawatching

Last week I was mostly seawatching. Well, since then, the wind has remained out of the north and I've continued to be 'mostly seawatching'.

I've had two sessions on the patch and two trips to Snab Point for rarer species, just to give myself a better chance of seeing them. 

On Tuesday evening I had a two-hour seawatch from the dunes at Druridge. It started quietly so I decided to count 'everything' - I don't normally do this, because, when you're counting a long string of Gannets, you might just miss a skua or shearwater slipping through. Anyhoo, I did count the Gannets - 977 in two hours, give or take. That's about 500/hour on average. 

Other highlights from Tuesday evening included:

Pale-bellied Brent - 7

Bonxie - 2

Arctic Skua - 1

Roseate Tern - 1

Sooty Shearwater - 2

Manx - 8

and a Grey Heron  - not a common sight on a seawatch.

Full list on eBird

On Wednesday afternoon, a Fea's type Pterodroma petrel was tracked north up the East Coast. It was due at Newbiggin after 5pm, but I was cutting it fine, leaving the office at ten-to, I headed for Snab Point. I hadn't even got my scope set up when news came through from Church Point. Six minutes later I picked it up about 2/3rds out turning and towering, I got a fella, Dave, who was also there onto it and we watched it for the full three-four minutes it took to pass us and head north into the Bay. Despite the distance, the light was fabulous and the dark 'V' from the wings to the back could be made out as it banked and turned. What a bird! Much better views than the one I saw from Druridge a few years ago. 

This morning, Janet and I were back at Snab Point before work. A juvenile Sabine's Gull had been tracked up the coast. Shortly after being reported at Newbiggin we got onto it, straight out, above the horizon. It was really obvious compared to the Kitti's we'd been watching coming through. A bit of a 'tick and run' - we headed back to work.

This evening I headed back to my dune perch, with a new bit of kit. A foldable camping seat. This one just has a back and base, no legs, so ideal if there is a dune to sit on. I've been standing recently but it's hard work standing for three hours, let alone six or seven. 

It started quiet. There weren't even many Gannets. 

About forty minutes in I picked up a pale-phase Skua to the south, about half way out, the flight was slow and buoyant and I fancied it was a Long-tailed Skua. As it came closer my suspicions were right, a beautiful dusky-grey and white adult long-tailed skua, drew level with me and continued north. What a bird!

It picked up after that, with a couple of Bonxies and Arctic Skuas, and then a group of five Arctic Skuas together at half-five, close-in. Two adult Pomarine Skuas had been tracked north and they promptly came through just before half-six. Nice pale birds complete with spoons. Three little gulls, more Arctic Skuas and four Purple Sandpipers went through.

It had turned into a canny seawatch. I was thinking of going home to make tea when a juvenile Sabine's Gull appeared in the bottom of my scope, filling it. It was close in!

Now this is where my new seat was my undoing...

The Sabine's was in my scope, it landed on the sea, I panicked looking for my phone to try and video it (as it was that close). The phone had fallen onto the sand, as I reached from my new seat for it, it shifted, so did I, and the scope went over. I set it back up but couldn't find the bird.  If I'd been standing up, as I have been for the last year or more, this wouldn't have happened. Frantic scanning of the sea where it was last seen and then, back on my feet with the scope set up properly, a prolonged scan yielded nothing. Gone! F'ing seat!

Two more tracked 'Poms' came through at 19:18 - both adults with spoons and four Little Gulls were on the sea, two adults and two juvs.  

Full list here.

During a quiet spell tonight, I contemplated the pros and cons of modern communications that allow birds to be tracked up the coast. This morning, when the Sabine's Gull was at Tynemouth, I knew I had time for a bowl of Muesli before heading for Snab Point. You can now twitch seabirds. Whilst this undoubtedly means that more people get to see rare seabirds, it does take some of the fun out seawatching. Even though my views of the Sabine's gull at Druridge were brief this evening, before falling off my new seat, I still enjoyed that experience more than the tracked bird at Snab Point this morning which gave prolonged views. 

Tracked birds still need to be found by someone. I love seawatching and still put the hours in when nothing is being seen. It doesn't work if everyone sits at home waiting for Whatsapp to ping. Long-tailed Skuas are my favourite skua (by far) so finding an adult tonight was a real treat, it wouldn't have been the same if I knew it was coming like I did with the Poms. As I said... Pros and cons.

Here's some gulls...

Juvenile Great Black-backed Gull

Adult Common Gull

Adult Great Black-backed Gull

Some seawatching

 The latter part of the week was dominated by very strong northerly winds - and that  means seawatching.

The wind really picked up on Thursday and into Friday morning but with my diary being full, I only had a brief window on Friday morning, I was in position for 07.25, hunkered down in the dunes as the wind was very strong, it was really busy with Auks, Gannets and Kittiwakes streaming north, a lot of them very close in, too close for some which would be under my scope. Just as I got settled I got onto a group of kittis very close-in and among them was something different - a juvenile Sabine's Gull. If I'd been settled in and concentrating on a single spot it would have been under my scope and I'd of missed it. 

I've never seen a Sabine's gull this close at Druridge before (I have at Church Point when I used to go there) and it was great to see it amongst adult and juvenile kittis for contrast. My first Sabine's since 2014 and my fourth for the patch - all September records in 2007, 2009 and 14. What a great bird!

It remained really busy, with hundreds of birds coming through but I only had an hour or so. Other highlights of my hour were:

Arctic Skua 1

Sooty Shearwater 9

Manx Shearwater 7

Red-throated Diver 1

and two Slavonian Grebes being tossed about on the sea.

Full list here

I had planned a sea watch on Saturday but the wind had strengthened and it was raining and reports from nearby spots weren't tempting me out - I think it was just too windy.

Janet and I had walk around the patch on Saturday evening seeing very little in the still-stormy northerly. 18 Pale-bellied Brents struggled north along the beach, just above the waves and 28 Barnacles went over, high. 

By this morning, the wind had really dropped. We'd opened some hooch that we brought back from Taiwan on Saturday night so I didn't get up early and only made it to the patch at 11am for another seawatch. It seemed quiet, nothing like Friday with few Auks, not Kittis and the Gannets well out. I gave it an hour :-

Sooty Shearwater 2

Manx Shearwater 4

Great Northern Diver 1

Bonxie 1

Barnacle Goose 19 (5N 14S)

Wigeon 27

Bar-tailed Godwit 2

Full list here

I also had ten Swallows, mostly going north! I headed for the bushes. It seemed quite quiet with nothing really calling - a single Chiffchaff was my highlight until I found a tit flock.

Chiffchaff

Here it is calling

It's always worth checking roaming tit flocks as migrant birds often join them like the Yellow-browed Warbler I found with them, a dullish looking bird, then a brighter individual which moved off north, I turned around and saw it or another bright bird - I think there was three but I'll only record two as the second bird could've done a U turn.

From the path by the midget screen, I counted 21 Swallows feeding above the bushes and 17 Barnacle Geese went south. Some waders have returned to the Budge fields at last, six Dunlin and three Redshank - it's a start.

What a difference a day makes

Two days couldn't have been more contrasting. Yesterday morning I was walking on the beach in a T shirt at 8am, today it was so cold, the winter coat came out!

The wind switched into the north overnight and the temperature dropped like a stone. A northerly at this time of year normally means seawatching and mid afternoon reports were coming in of Sabine's Gulls and Leach's Petrels from coastal watchpoints  - I was stuck in the office until 17.45. I eventually made it to my dune look-out by 18.05 - the light was poor and the birds were distant. It was getting dark after an hour and I was freezing cold so I quit then.

Highlights -2 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Bonxie, 4 Manx, 4 Pale-bellied Brent, 27 Teal, 3 Red-throated Divers, 1 Shoveler and 25 Sandwich Terns. An Arctic Skua was harassing Kittiwakes offshore, it even had a go at a large juvenile gull, chasing it very high into the sky before giving up. Three Mediterranean Gulls went South.

There were flocks of Kittiwakes, moving north but stopping to feed, but they were way-out. Not good for Sabine's spotting. There were about 400 Common Scoter still on the sea.

Tonight's full list here

Monday and Tuesday mornings I've had a walk around the patch, both mornings were quite good for vizmig, with Meadow Pipits still dominating. 

In an hour on Monday I counted 328 Meadow Pipits headed south, some stopped to feed, rest and drink. I heard two Tree Pipits amongst them as well as 23 Swallows, 11 Skylarks and 1 Grey Wagtail.

Resting Meadow Pipit

In the dunes beyond the Dunbar Burn, a big finch flock has built up numbering around 180 birds. I estimated 65% Goldfinch and 35% Linnet but it could be 60/40. Yesterday, they were spooked and all got up and six birds flew out from the flock calling - Lesser Redpolls. It was almost as if they'd been roosting with flock overnight.

Young Stonechat

My usual route these mornings takes me north along the road/coal road to the edge of the patch and back along the beach, returning to the car by the road. There's usually not much to see on the beach or sea with just bins, other than the Sanderlings feeding busily along the tideline. The noise of the sea drowns out any vizmig.

I promise this is a colour image - Sanderling feeding on the shore

Red-throated Diver offshore

Mondays list

Tuesdays List

Seawatching and some thoughts on it.

With strong northerlies forecast overnight and early morning I suspected I might be seawatching today especially as I had the day off work. When I woke at 6am it was lashing it down with rain, I turned over and went back to sleep, If I'd had to go to work, I would've got up and gone anyway but I had the luxury of more time.

I eventually arrived at my dune watchpoint at 9am, it was too windy to stand on the dune ridge so I hunkered down in the dunes on a useful perch as I could be sometime.

The first bird I saw was a Bonxie, close in too. There wasn't a lot of action until pretty much the second notable bird I got onto was a skua,  a bit further out than the Bonxie, quite distant. A grey bird against the sea with a more languid tern-like flight - Juvenile Long-tailed Skua! My fifth of the year incredibly. 

It was steady after that, Manx Shearwaters coming through in little groups or singles and a few Sooty Shearwaters including a single group of six together about half-way out. There were a few distant Skuas that went unidentified - that's one of the problems with Druridge but a couple Arctic skuas were closer and one came into the bay to harass terns and a couple more Bonxies came through. A drake Velvet Scoter came in very close, north,  on its own and a group of ten Pale-Bellied Brent were also really close.

By 9.45am I was regretting not getting up earlier, the sky brightened and the sun even threatened to come out and the sea went 'silvery' - not good, anything more than half way out was unidentifiable. I was temped to pack up but visibility improved a bit as a cloud came over so I hung on. I was pleased that I did as the bird of the day, and one of my best seawatching experiences at Druridge happened soon after. 

A bird flew north, close-in and therefore low in my scope-view, so it passed through quickly, but it looked interesting and I tried tracking it through the troughs in the breakers, a shearwater, pale on the undersides but 'dumpy looking'. It was flying really slowly, moving back and forth, passing over and through the scoter flock, looking like it was feeding amongst them. It wasn't a Sooty, it had a pale belly anyway but the jizz was altogether wrong and it didn't have the contrast dark/white of a Manx and it just didn't look right.I was sure it was Balearic Shearwater. It landed among the Scoters briefly, before making a short flight and landing again, it did this three or four times, only landing for a few seconds before taking another short flight.These short flights gave good views when it wasn't in a trough and the dusky underwing, darker 'armpits' and dumpy appearance confirmed my initial ID. Eventually it moved off north, slowly again, feeding as it went. In hindsight I probably could have had a record shot of it, but I was too busy 'enjoying the bird'. This was my fifth Balearic at Druridge but by far the best views I've had of one here and my first since I saw two on 5th September 2013.

By 10:40, the light had really gone. I kept going until 11:05 to get the two-hours in and saw a few more birds including some Teal and a Golden Plover picked up on call just over the breakers, but it was high-tide. 

It was interesting to compare my figures with  headland watchpoints to the north and south of me. Obviously being in the middle of a bay I miss out on birds but I seem to miss out on some species more than others, Bonxies are a good example. I saw five in two hours today, Mark Eaton had 13 at Boulmer, Jack Bucknall had 13 (3 1/2 hours) at St. Mary's and Ben Steel had 19 in two and a half hours at Howick. 

I think powerful birds like Bonxies and to some degree Poms (I didn't see one today) don't drift into the Bay, they just take a straight line from Snab Point to Coquet Island so are too distant for me. I do better for Arctics than some headlands because the terns feeding in the bay draw them in and largely comparable for Long-tailed Skuas which seem to hug the coast more, or even curt off headlands (I've seen them do this at Church Point). Likewise, I do okay for Manx (and today for Balearic) shearwaters but struggle with the bigger Shears, with only one Cory's (in 2005) and no Great Shears ever. 

Despite the disadvantages of being in a bay, I'd swap a dozen of any of those species at Church Point for jut one on the patch. Above all, I love a good seawatch!

Highlights 09:05-11:05 (all N) (Full list here)

Pale-bellied Brent 12 (10N 2S)

Teal 56

Velvet Scoter 1 (drake)

Bonxie 5

Arctic Skua 4

Skua sp 6

Long-tailed Skua 1 (juv)

Golden Plover 1

Sooty Shearwater 11 

Manx Shearwater 24+

Balearic Shearwater 1

Two photos taken as I was packing up.

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull

and juvenile

Early warblers and a late skua

With a band of rain passing through overnight and a brisk south-easterly I thought that this morning had potential for a few migrant passerines to be dropped in and I was partially right. So an early-ish start was required and I was down on the patch just before the sun came over dunes. It started quietly, I checked the plantation and the bushes around the entrance and their was little life - three Swifts flew south, could they be the last of the year? There was a strong southerly movement of Barn Swallows too.

I wandered up the road and when the sun hit the bushes, things livened up. The sheltered spot by the path the path to the hides was alive with warbler, mostly Willow Warblers with the odd Chiffhcaff and Whitethroat. These weren't all local birds although some were as the adult feeding two freshly-fledged young proved.  A few of the Willow Warblers were attempting a song, as was a Chiffchaff or two, I fancy these are males of the year, testing out their singing abilities.

A moulting chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

male Goldfinch

I estimated 52 Willow and about 20 Chiffchaff and a few Whitethroat and Blackcap - no Sedge again though. A lot of warblers but no scarcities. A Grey Wagtail flew south, a scarce patch bird normally only seen on viz-mig in the autumn. On the Budge fields, there were two Ruff still and a handful of Dunlin and Redshank. These two Mute Swans made a splash-landing scattering the waders. 

Splash landing

I popped back to the patch this evening, the light was awful for the Budge fields so, as the wind had swung easterly again, I had a look on the sea. It was fairly quiet to sea until I picked up an Arctic Skua, way out, it came closer until it was just over the beach, harrying a group of Sandwich Terns and allowing a few pics.

Spot the odd-one-out

 

 

Despite a few folk being around there were 45 Sanderling and 18 Ringed Plover on the beach. 

This week it has been mostly foggy

It's felt more like October than August this week, the cloud, got or mizzle has hardly lifted and neither has the temperature. Sadly, despite the murk and the wind having easterly in it, we didn't have the birds of October. 

It's been mostly misty this week - keeps the crowds away though

I've been down to the patch most days this week, some seawatching, looking for migrants, a bit of ringing and culminating in two 3 hour seawatches today.

I had a bit of lie-in this morning, but when I got up the Whatsapp group had news of Long-tailed Skuas heading north along the coast. About time there was some good seawatching as it's been a damp squib so far this week. I headed for the patch, arriving just after 9am. More messages of Long-tailed Skuas  - failed to connect with any of them, had they gone too far out for me? Lots of Manx Shearwaters, a single Bonxie and Arctic Skua and then at 10:40 a closer Skua, almost coming out of the Bay rather than heading north, a Pomarine Skua, no 'spoons' but a superb bird and close, it headed out into the bay.

I called it a day at 11.30 and headed home for coffee, worried I had missed the Long-tails but happy with my Pom. In the dunes I came across my first Wheatear of the autumn, a moulting juvenile.

Juvenile Wheatear

After lunch I was about to head for the allotment when Dave Dack kindly called me to tell me that more Long-tailed Skuas were heading north. I re-parked the wheelbarrow and jumped in the car and back to the dunes. Another report of five!! yes five Long-tailed Skuas past Snab Point - I didn't see them. I was about to hoy me scope into the sea and take up metal detecting. Then at 4pm I got onto a skua heading north, more bouncy and tern like in flight, it was looking good as it came north, about 2/3rds of the way out. As it drew level with me ID was clinched - Long-tailed Skua, the steely grey of the bird against the sea tied in with the jizz as it flew past, it didn't get very far before landing on the sea off Chibburn Links. After that another L-T Skua was reported with two Arctics from Newbiggin. 24 minutes later I got onto three terns - they were distant mind. It was good to compare 'jizz' though  - the first bird much more buoyant and 'aerobatic' than the two that followed, the cold-steely grey could be picked up at that distance -honest!

Two more Long-tails were reported past Newbiggin Church Point at 17.15. Thirteen minutes later I was watching them, closer than the previous skuas, amongst the pot flags this time. Amazing  - four Long-tailed Skuas. 

At 17.34 a Pomarine Skua went north at Church Point and amazingly exactly ten minutes later I picked it up, powering north. It got here quicker than the Long-tails and Arctics which is surprising when you watch them fly!

Manx Shearwater passage was heavier in the morning than the afternoon and even Gannets were thinner on the ground after lunch. A couple more Bonxies came through and an Arctic Skua was 'resident' in the Bay, harrying terns. 

Black-headed Gull headed north

Six hours well spent!

On Monday my walk produced a flock of 14 Goosander headed north and a pair of juvenile Buzzards over the dunes and perched in the bushes. This Grasshopper Warbler was by the Dunbar Burn.

Grasshopper Warbler skulking as they do

Goosanders headed north

I tried a ringing session on Tuesday morning before work but it was very quiet, I only caught 14 birds and 5 of them were retraps. It was almost as if the resident warblers had mostly cleared out, leaving a few willow warblers behind. Wednesday was very quiet too so I walked back by the beach and saw my first Turnstone of the year when three flew north and Whimbrel called overhead. 

Carrion Crow on the beach

One of 14 Cormorants over

Juvenile Blue Tit in the dune bushes

Seawatching on Friday evening produced a single Sooty Shearwater among a handful of Manx. About 250-300 Common Scoter are hanging around offshore with a few guillemots and couple of  Great-crested Grebes in amongst them. 

The week definitely ended on a high. It looks like the northerly will switch south on Tuesday, I hope we get another one before the winter. 

The easterly winds have deposited huge numbers of Jellyfish on the beach. This is a Lion's Mane Jelly. 

Lunchtime look

No updates from the patch over the weekend - I actually headed inland, which is a rare thing. Janet and I visited Kimmer Lough on Saturday - no photos from that day as I forgot to put a card in the camera and had to lug it all the way round our walk and take no photos. That'll teach me!

I din't make the same mistake on Sunday when we headed to Kielder via Harbottle Woods,  upper Coquetdale, the Otterburn Ranges and the forest Drive. We spent an hour or so at Harbottle, along the forest track, looking for hovers and other insects.

I popped down to the patch in my lunch-break yesterday for an hour, to have a look at 'The Post' and for hovers. I bumped into a local bee expert and we saw the flower bees coming and going and a very brief glimpse of one of the Megachille leafcutters carrying a large piece of leaf into the post. I got one chance of a photo just when the wind blew a stem of grass into the way.

Megachille sp obsured by grass

There were a few interesting hovers along the track

Eristalis tenax (f)

Eupeodes corrolae (m)

Syritta pipiens

I also found this Colletes bee - likely to be Davie's Collete (Colletes daviesanus) but not sure... and some other bits and bobs

Colletes bee - Colletes daviesanus?

Blue-tailed Damsels in 'mating wheel'

Arty shot of 7-spot ladybird

Potato Mirid again - Closterotomus norwegicus

Noon Fly - Mesembrina meridiana - my first of the year

A look offshore for an hour last night produced nine manx shearwaters north and a single arctic skua, on the beach roost there was single Mediterranean Gull, but it was early and the roost was only starting to build.  Tonight, a bit later, I counted at least 12 Med gulls! But nothing else of note.

A bit of this and that

I've done a bit of this and a bit of that this week - seawatching, ringing and looking for wee beasties.

On Monday evening I had a look on the sea - lots of terns feeding now with  Roseate Terns being particularly noticeable - given that there are at least 129 pairs on Coquet Island that makes perfect sense. From my vantage point in the dunes I can also look the other way and from there I saw three different barn owls successfully hunting for food for their growing broods, one or more probably two cuckoos in the dunes and a short-eared owl. The latter has been reported between the Pools and Chevington and is now keeping the 'toggers' happy. If felt autumnal  - the gull roost on the beach is starting to pick up and I had my first Great Black-backs of the autumn.

List here

On Wednesday morning I got up at 04.30 and set some nets up to ring. I had to get back for work by mid-morning so only put up four nets. The catch was mostly warblers - a mixture of adults and juveniles. I did catch a juvenile Coal Tit, Coal Tits are normally birds of autumn and winter here but I know that they have bred in the plantation this year. A good breeding record.

I caught 37 birds including retraps, warbler numbers were:

Blackcap  - 2 Juvenile 4 adult
Whitethroat - 2 Juvenile
Willow Warbler - 3 adult
Chiffchaff - 2 juvenile
Reed Warbler - 4 adults (2 retraps)
Sedge Warbler - 4 adult, 1 juvenile
Grasshopper warbler - 1 juvenile

Cuckoos, short-eared owl and barn owls were still about.

Between net rounds I tried to photograph some digger wasps on the fence posts

Digger wasp Crabro cribrarius - A male, you can make out the enlarged plates on the forelegs

Last night I had half an hour looking for hovers and bugs before the light went and an hours seawatch. Two Cory's shearwater had been tracked up the Yorkshire coast yesterday but hadn't been seen north of Seaham, still worth a look I thought. Highlights were:

Manx Shearwater - 30,  all north in groups of up to 10
Arctic Skua - one roaming around harrying terns
Whimbrel - 1 north
Curlew - 2 'in-off'
Common Scoter - a raft of about 750 birds off Chibburn Links

Distant arctic skua

black-headed gull

The 'toggers' were out in force for the cuckoo and short-eared owl.

List here

Some macro shots from last night

Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)

Marmalade hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

Hoverfly Eristalis pertinax on ragwort

Potato Mirid - Closterotomus norwegicus

Spiny Sheildbug - Picromerus bidens

Leucozona lucorum

Scorpionfly species - a female Panorpa sp.