Absentee

I've bit a bit of an absentee from the patch recently. With birding limited to weekends and weekends taken up with football and chores it doesn't leave any time for birding. That alongside a knackered computer has meant little activitiy on the blog I'm afraid.

In late November I spent a bit of time in the dunes north of the 'Druridge bushes' which themselves are looking more like twigs after the cattle destroyed them last March. These dunes are part of the farm and are used for over-wintering cattle and as such, are full of all sorts of seed-baring plants which I must try to identify when they are in flower next year ( I recognise mugwort and burdock). The patch boundary is the northern end of the first fenced and farmed dune. Technically these are 'Chibburn Links' rather than 'Druridge Links'.

One of these plants has a small, hard, round seed and the finches, reed buntings and tree sparrows love them - I had flocks of 50+ twite, 100 goldfinch, 40+ reed bunting, 50+ chaffinch and 50+ tree sparrows and a handful of linnet.

Twite

Some of the reed buntings with the small round seeds

Tree Sparrows and chaffinch

As well as the finches, buntings and tree sparrows, these dunes have attracted a lot of grey partridges - My top count was 54 in three coveys with a single covey numbering 28! There is something like in there. I still haven't seen a red-leg this year though...

Grey partridges

The only time I've been back on the patch since was last weekend when a White-billed Diver had been reported just off from the Dunbar Burn - being a full patch tick for me, I was there as soon as it was reported but had no luck. It was reproted again after we left but not by anyone that I know.

We did see a single drake velvet scoter, a dozen red-throated divers and a fly-by adult med gull.

Depressing

No blog activity this week. I've been internet free for a week at the famous (amongst ringers at least) Icklesham site in East Sussex. It's been rather nice having not having to deal with email for a week.

Back on the patch this morning before the rain set in. It was depressing. Highlights were a new brood of little grebe (three) and a year-tick stock dove.

It depresses me even more to hear of the new scrapes at Newton coming up trumps with a Stilt Sandpiper. It's brilliant for the Stringer, he has put a lot of work in there and deserves some good birds. Druridge could and should be pulling in birds like stilt sandpiper. It won't attract any passage waders this autumn and won't again until the Budge fields are properly grazed. The frustrating thing for me is that I can't do anything about the situation....

Here are some photos from today.

Hoverfly Helophilus trivittatus 

Hoverfly Helophilus trivittatus 

Green-veined white 'on the job'

small skipper on knapweed

WeBS...week late

Wind, dark days, conferences, football, hangovers, new chainsaw.....

All added up to me doing my WeBS count a week later than when it should have been done. The wind has died down by early afternoon which made birding a bit more pleasant.

Not much wildfowl about, only a handful of ducks on the Budge fields. This is due to the amount of thick rush around the edge of the scrapes and vegetation in them. Horses and sheep are OK at grazing grassy swards, but they are selective grazers, nibbling away at the tasty soft-stuff and leaving the rest.

NWT really need to get in and control the rushes, they have done some cutting but only a drop-in-the-ocean. The ground is still dry, they could get a tractor-mounted flail in there if they are quick. Ideally some highland cattle should then be brought in to munch any re-growth.

The water levels on the big pool are the lowest they have been all year, which shows how dry this autumn has been. There's lots of 'edge', ideal for any greater yellowlegs that are passing over (hint). Highlight of the WeBS count was a water rail, poking about on the edge of the reedbed. Water rail is often heard at Druridge but rarely seen, so it was nice to watch this one. Also of note was a shelduck, a very rare bird in winter at Druridge.

Not sure when I'll be back on the patch. It'll be March before I can do any pre or post-work birding again.

How many honkers does it need to do the job of one cow?

There were 161 greylag geese grazing away on the Budge fields this afternoon. There haven't been any cows grazing there since November.

Grazers measure livestock in units, one cow is one unit, one sheep is 0.15 units, one goose is ?

It's going to take more than 161 honkers to get the Budge fields looking like suitable lapwing habitat by the spring, especially as they won't touch the big clumps of rush dominating the site, NWT seem as reluctant to tackle the rush clumps....

Druridge Pools is in Higher Level Stewardship, a European agricultural subsidy that pays the landowners to manage the land for maximum environmental benefit....

The fields are looking good for wildfowl at the moment and the pair of pintail seen earlier this week were still hanging present, wigeon numbers are back up to normal since the thaw with an impressive 285 today with about 160 teal and 52 curlew.

Still very few passerines to be seen, a flock of 17 goldfinch was notable. Offshore, a great-northern diver was in the bay with three red-breasted mergansers and a handful of common scoter. An eider flying south was a year tick.

61 eider
62 pintail