Dank

Dank - it's a good adjective and is commonly used at this time of year to describe the weather. Today was dank. Janet and I walked around by the farm in hope of seeing Collared Dove, Yellowhammer or even a Merlin but we were without luck, The year-list is still on 176.

Much of the week has been dank. Even with my walks being at lunchtime, there's hardly been enough light to warrant taking the camera out. Yesterday morning started out bright but very cold with a hard frost, but the dank soon set back in and there's been next to no wind for a few days. We tried to catch some finches in the dunes without success, in fact there were hardly any birds at all, the 130-strong flock of birds that I saw on Friday must've been elsewhere. There were at least 30 Twite with Chaffinches, Goldfinch and Linnet.

Twite feeding in the dunes

Same bird

Male Stonechat on the fence by the cyclepath

I was thrown slightly on Friday by a bird on the big pool. It was a duck, bobbing about, fast asleep and I only had my bins. 

Mystery duck

When it woke and lifted its head it was identifiable as a female Common Scoter - it was just a bit out of context on the big pool. 

Female Common Scoter on the big pool

Otherwise it's been relatively quiet. There's been a vocal Chiffchaff by the path to the hides all week, it was still there today and Woodcock have flushed every time I've walked through the bushes. Three Ruff were with over 50 Redshank on the field north of the Coal Road on Monday.

I had a look on the sea on Thursday, a nice Great Northern Loon was close in, close enough to see some 'checker-boarding' on its back. A Med Gull went south and about 21 Red-throated Loons were also on the sea. This was the view from the dunes.

Sunshine on The Cheviot from Druridge through a 400mm lens. Hedgehope is the domed hill to the right of the photo and that's Swarland in the middle-distance. 

Wet and windy walk

We dodged the worst of the rain for our walk around the patch this morning, the wind has moved around to the north, force four or five at times, already whipping the sea up, with white horses against the lead-grey sky. 

After walking north and only seeing a few thrushes in the bushes, we walked back by the beach, the Gannets and even Common Scoters were quite close to the shore so I tried my luck with some photos even the light was very poor. These shots are all in colour, although, with some of them, you wouldn't think so.

Scoters and Gannets battling against the wind

Scoters headed north - this may as well have been a monochrome shot

Scoters against the sky

Juvenile Gannet against the breakers

Same bird as above 

Adult Gannet in a bit of sunshine

Same photo but monochrome

Sanderling on the beach

A bit of colour but a monochrome bird - male Blackcap feeding in the Elderberries

Blustery Day

Today was sunny and bright but blustery with a gusting s'westerly, strong enough to encourage most birds to seek cover. Janet and I had walk around the patch but didn't see a lot of birds until we got to the Budge fields. A pair of stonechat were with a single juvenile north of the of the bushes.

Stonechat amongst the mugwort

Even with the hides as shelter, viewing conditions were difficult as the SW wind was blowing straight in through the windows of the little hide. There were lots of waders including at least 56 black-tailed godwits and three ruff.

Some of the 56 black-tailed godwits

We tried viewing from the Budge screen but that was worse. I didn't have my scope with me but it was probably just as well. The three avocet chicks from the first brood are getting big now and should fledge, I couldn't see the two from the latest brood or the redshank chicks.

Despite the wind, it was warm in the sun which brought quite a few insects out. I didn't have the macro lens with me so just some iPhone shots to identify the species - a job for later in the week.

Yesterday started-off awful with thick fog followed by a mixture of mizzle and drizzle. By late afternoon, visibility had really improved so I headed down to the patch. I thought I might have a look offshore, just on the off chance of a passing albatross. After a few minutes scanning the sea, I realised that the strengthening SW wind had brought the terns closer inshore to feed, so despite the awful light, I had a go at photographing them. The sandwich terns were the only species that fed within range, the common and roseate terns were a bit further out and the Arctic terns stayed well out of reach as did the pair of adult great-crested grebes.

Here's a few of the shots

Action shot

Contortionist

Common scoters - there were about 550-600 in the bay

Having a shake

This one was colour-ringed with black letters on a yellow ring - I've tried blowing it up to read the number, but it's the wrong way around.

On my way back to my car through the dunes, the cuckoo that has been around the dunes the last few days flew by me and I grabbed a record shot.

Heavily-cropped cuckoo

This young carrion crow entertained itself picking among the detritus of a bonfire - they are so inquisitive, even at a young age.

This looks fun!

Despite the pubs being reopened, I had no fancy for going to one. The Drift Cafe were open 'til 7pm with an American Burger menu so we went there instead - my first beer away from the homestead since lockdown.

Fog Blog

This weekend has been dominated by fog. Saturday started wet but the fog never really lifted all day, Sunday was brighter, it was grey and wet at first but it brightened up at times. The wind was light from the North East.

Why don't we get weekends like this in September?

It took us until after 3pm to get down to Druridge on Saturday, the wet start delaying our departure. Janet joined me and we had a wander around the patch looking for migrants - we didn't see many migrant birds but we did see lots of migrant hoverflies. All of a sudden, the cow parsley and buttercups were lifting with hovers  - a huge arrival. Spurn reported thousands and an observer on a North Sea oil rig had hundreds on his rig.

I'll do a separate hover blog later in the week when they've been identified.

It was a damp fog on Saturday and the light was awful so I left the SLR behind, which I regret as the there were so many hovers as well as this nice fresh ringlet butterfly which sat out well.

Ringlet

On the Budge fields, an little-ringed plover and a ringed-plover were on the mud and a whimbrel flew over with curlew - that was the highlights.

The avocet pair on the Budge fields still have their three chicks - a new breeding record for the reserves. It's been a funny year for breeding birds on the patch and I'm not sure why:

Avocet - new breeding record for the reserves

Bullfinch -  female with a brood patch caught last week and a pair present today - my first records outside of the October-February period other than a single August record

Coal Tit - normally a autumn and winter species only. I watched a pair taking food into the plantation today  - my first breeding record on the reserves

Lesser whitethroat - used to breed on the wider patch around High Chibburn but never in the bushes on the reserve - female caught with brood patch

and today a spotted flycatcher fly-catching by the entrance - either a very late migrant or maybe a breeding bird?

This morning I spent five and a half hours on the patch form 7am.  I was birding first thing then looking at insects and bugs. I've already mentioned the spotted flycatcher, coal tits and bullfinches. One, maybe two barn owls were hunting and lots of warblers had fledged youths with them including family parties of blackcap, whitethroat (x2) and sedge warbler.

Offshore a flock of 400-500 common scoter was out in the bay, I grilled them for surf scoter without any joy but did turn up at least two drake velvet scoters. Roseate terns were feeding amongst them.

I took the macro lens for a walk along the track to the hides - I only got about half-way, there was so much to see.

Tree Bumble Bee - Bombus hypnorum 

Odynerus spinipes - Shiny Mason Wasp

Not sure what this nest-like construction is

Early Bumble Bee - Bombus pratorum

Common Blue butterfly from above 

and the underside

Blue-tailed damselfly - Ischnura elegans 

This is Picromerus bidens Spiked Shieldbug (final instar nymph) with a caterpillar for consumption later. I think the  caterpillar is that of Autumnal rustic Eugnorisma glareosa

Common Scorpion Fly  - Panorpa communis

An unidentified spider dismantles an unidentified prey item

Not sure about this wasp yet. 

Stay tuned for some hover action later in the week!

A bit of ringing

Well, the bloody weather forecasters got it wrong again.

With thoughts of ringing this weekend, I've been checking out the forecast for this weekend since Thursday and it was constantly changing. By Friday night it looked like Saturday would be the better morning for ringing, dull with light westerlies, so I left home at 5am to set some nets up. When I pulled out of our street the wind turbines on the horizon were moving too quickly for my liking and it was glorious sunshine.

And so it was... bright and breezy with the wind out of the west. The worst conditions to ring at Druridge. I persevered, but gave up by 9am having only caught 6 birds.

Today was supposed to be bright and breezy again, but the wind was to be stronger and move more southerly. I didn't wake up until 7.30am (it had been a late night) and looked out of the window - still calm and overcast... I was at Druridge and nets up by 8am.

Despite the late start, I caught 20+ birds, mostly juvenile warblers.

There were two highlights. The first was catching a whitethroat that we first caught in July 2014 as an adult female - so the bird was at least five years old. Not a record by any means - the BTO record longevity record is seven years and nine months, but it does man that this little bird, weighing only 13 grams had crossed the Sarah desert at least eight times.

Five year-old whitethroat

The second highlight was controlling ( this means catching a bird that has been ringed elsewhere) a reed warbler. We will have to wait to hear from BTO exactly where it was ringed. Reed warblers are a bit of a success story at Druridge. They started breeding in the little Phragmites reedbed in the south-east corner of the big pool about six years ago with one pair, before that they were a passage migrant.This year we have already ringed six breeding males and three females and today, our first juvenile of the year.

Controlled reed warbler

On Friday I popped down to the patch after work. Terns were feeding close into the shore including a handful of roseate terns, I even managed a photo of one of them.

Sandwich tern

Sandwich tern

Roseate tern

Offshore, a good flock of common scoter has built up in the bay, numbering up to a thousand. They were dispersed into several smaller groups on Friday, here are some of them...

Some of the 1000 common scoter in the bay at the moment

On the Budge fields there were two wood sandpipers, a little ringed plover and 15 black-tailed godwits. These waders were joined by a whooper swan on Saturday that has been knocking about on the bay. A water rail was calling from the corner of the big pool this morning and a few whimbrels were in the silage fields with the curlews

Ian Fisher and I have been checking the egrets and herons in the shelterbelt this year, we did our final check tonight but I'll write about the outcomes next time.

Wader clear-out

I was down on the patch a couple of times today having only managed one visit during the week, on Thursday. There were 18 black-tailed godwits and a ruff of note on the Budge fields.

Today however there weren't many waders at all, just a few curlew and lapwing. There were lots of butterflies out in the sunshine this morning, but trying to photograph them was very difficult due to the strong westerly wind. 

There were as many dark-green fritillaries as I have ever seen, well into double-figures. This one was in the dunes, a crap photo, but I liked the detail of its eyes.

worn dark-green fritillary on thistle - open for detail

ringlet on yarrow

Also on the wing were lots of ringlets, meadow brown, common blue, small copper, wall, red admiral, speckled wood, small tortoiseshell and small skipper...

There were also lots of burnet moths on the newly-in-flower ragwort. All of the burnets I photographed were narrow-bordered five-spot burnet moths. 

narrow-bordered five-spot burnet moth on ragwort

Whilst photographing butterflies in the dunes, I heard such a commotion - high-pitched squawking followed by people shouting. I looked up to see a springer spaniel, off the lead, scattering a family party of grey partridge left, right and centre. The owners were obviously concerned at the noise the young partridges were making and desperately tried to get the offending dog back. They had absolutely no control over it whatsoever.

The offenders with the dog back on the lead

They turned around when they saw me taking their photo.  I caught up with them later and the springer was still off the lead. I pointed out the error of their ways and signs asking people to keep their dogs on a lead during the breeding season and gave them a leaflet about taking dogs to the coast. Shortly after, two different women appeared with another springer doing exactly the same thing. 

These soldier beetles were clearly enjoying the summer sunshine!

Soldier beetles

This evening I had a look on the sea, the tide was out but the light was nice. The scoter flock has now built up to about 600 birds and they were really close inshore. I went through them a couple of times, but could only see common scoters - July is a good month for surfies! Five juvenile type goosanders flew north.