coppicing

The National Trust had a group of volunteer in coppicing the trees at Druridge recently. Well I say coppicing, to be honest its more like a cross between coppicing and pollarding - a hybrid technique.

Recently coppiced/pollarded alders

The reason we do this semi-pollard/coppice thing is two-fold. Firstly, it stops the rabbits eating the regrowth, secondly, it provides safe nesting 'cups' for birds amongst the new stems, clear of the ground.

It looks brutal at first, all of the trees hacked down, but this is essential work. My territory mapping exercise last breeding season proved this. The number of species and number of territories was higher in the recently coppiced areas. The strip of trees and bushes at Druridge is primarily alder and hawthorn, with ash, willow and some whitebeam with other oddities.

If left, the alders would get quite high, the only birds that would nest would be magpies and crows, the height would further limit the area of the Budge fields for breeding waders. I'm off tomorrow, so were going down to Druridge to a bit more coppicing, it grows so quickly once it is cut, we can't get round it all quick enough!

Alder is quite pale colour straight after it is cut, but it soon turns this lovely orange colour.

Bright orange brightens a grey day at Druridge

 Today wasn't so grey, by far the warmest day of the year so far. My work took me to Seahouses where the drake eiders are looking rather resplendent in their breeding plumage!

drake eider looking rather dapper

back on the patch

I'm back, and still recovering, from a trip to the Aiguamolls Natural Parc in Empordia near Girona in NE Spain, it was a work trip and was incredibly hard work, but very enjoyable.

Aiguamolls is a bit like a massive Druridge, imagine if East Chev, Druridge Pools and Cresswell Pond and all of the surrounding farmland were managed as one huge wetland - that is a bit like Aiguamolls. The reserve is both fresh and brackish water and is grazed year-round on rotation using camargue horses, they also use pumps to manage the water levels between ponds and fields.....If only Druridge could be like that.....SNAP OUT OF IT IPIN IT'S JUST A DREAM!!!

Not Druridge

I have had two visits to the patch since I got back, both brief. On monday evening there appeared to be a lot of passerines on the move through the bushes, willow warblers, chaffinches, sedge warblers etc.

Also, in the small patch of reed in the SE corner of the big pools, several sedge warblers and a reed warbler moved along the edge, reed warbler is a year tick.

Tonight, a quick look offshore and through the gull roost on the beach. There are about 180 common scoter in the bay with a single drake velvet scoter amongem. There was a huge gull roost on the beach by Chibburn Mouth and a smaller one at Druridge, common gulls making up the majority (about 60%) with BHG's the majority of the remainder with a handful of great and lesser black backs and herring gulls.

There were a few arctic and sandwich terns, 12 dunlin, 5 sanderling, 1 curlew but star bird went to a stunning summer plumaged grey plover.

128 reed warbler

129 grey plover

The weekend

I've not really been down to Druridge much over the weekend, we had a quick visit on Friday night, again there wasn't much new about, but the sunset was nice.

Saturday was spent ringing, firstly with Ian at East Chevington, which was quite disappointing as we expected a good catch, but actually caught very few. This juvvy reed warbler was nice though (Pic by Ian)

We packed in at 0920 and I went north to meet the Hanmers to ring some barn owls in the Alnmouth to Rennington areas. We ringed young out of three boxes, with the other not quite big enough.

On the Howick Estate as we were leaving one of the boxes, Hugh got his eye on a long-winged raptor ahead, we bundled out of the car to see a red kite. We watched as it picked up height, at the same time I was on the phone to the Boulmer Birder as it was nearly over his house, sadly mobile reception in this area is not good and BB did not get onto the bird.

The bird was untagged, but was probably from the release scheme, a few birds are starting to drift north now, how long until I get one at Druridge?

A brief visit to Druridge this evening, dodging showers. The Silage field next to the Budge field has been cut and as I predicted has attracted birds, tonight there were about 50 rooks and jackdaw, 34 curlew, 28 lapwing, 5 whimbrel, 3 golden plover and an oyc. Not bad!

The three lapwing chicks we ringed last week are still alive an pottering around the fields and the stonechat pair in the dunes have fledged another brood of three younguns (making it six this year).

There were a few damselfys on the track to the oddie hide, a painted lady and several meadow browns, there were also these two strange beasts 'on the job' - no idea what they are - any thoughts?


This latticed heath moth was on the track too.

greylag family

I am off to Ireland for a few days with work, let's hope Druridge stays quiet until I get back!