Morning walks

I've been trying to get out for a walk on the patch every morning before work and mostly succeeding. The problem is that dawn is getting visibly later each day. The sun wasn't even up over the sea when I went through Cresswell just after seven this morning. It's just a matter of a couple of weeks when I have re-configure my home-working routine and swap morning walks for lunchtime walks. 

I'm not looking forward to that...

So I'll make the most of it while I can. I've been out every morning this week,  I don't get far at this time of year - a walk is stretching it to be fair. 

Today I started at the plantation and got as far as the Budge screen - all of 400m. Three Chiffchaffs were in the bushes by the entrance and I counted eleven in total - one appeared to come in-off the dunes. Had there been an arrival? 

Freshly arrived? A Chiffchaff

What I am finding odd is the number of Willow Warblers being reported elsewhere along the coast, sometimes as many as Chiffs and even more in a couple of cases. Am I missing something? All of my phyloscs this morning were Chiffchaffs that I could see.. (apart from the Yellow-browed Warbler). Okay there is some variation in them but they were Chiffchaffs.

A Chiffchaff (not a Willow Warbler)

Another Chiffchaff

Swallows are still going south - I counted nine this morning and three House Martins. viz-mig also included 11 Skylark south and a few finches and Meadow Pipits etc. Three Redwing and six Blackcaps made the most of the berry-crop.

Pink-footed Geese are almost constant, this morning c750 went south in several skeins.

Pink-footed Geese - almost constant overhead this morning

Yesterday I walked north and had a single Yellow-browed Warbler along the bushes. The finch flock in the dunes has grown to above 200 in number, probably nearer 250. I would guess 60-65% Linnet, 30% Goldfinch with a few Lesser Redpoll and hangers-on like Reed Buntings, Chiffchaffs, Tits etc.

On Monday Janet and I did a similar walk to my route this morning - here are some comparisons:

Chiffchaff - Today 11, Monday 2

Goldcrest  - Today 6,   Monday - 45

Robin -  Today 4, Monday - 17

Blackcap -  Today 6, Monday - 4

It looks like heavy rain overnight with a frontal system crossing the north sea, it's out of the west but might drop something in?

As promised, here are some gulls from Sunday evening:

Second-winter Herring Gull

Smart first-winter Herring Gull

Probably 1W Great-black-backed Gull - with a darker, deeper bill

Another 1W Herring Gull

Second-winter Common Gull

Adult or 3rd Winter Common Gull

Gull watching

The wind moved into the South-east this afternoon and increased in strength to force 3-4. It was high-tide when I arrived at Druridge this evening and they are quite big tides with the full moon, which meant that the gulls would be close tot he dunes, so I decided on a bit of gull photography.

99% of the birds passing close were going south and 99% of them were black-headed gulls. I took lots of shots, most of which I have binned.

Three different black-headed gulls

I picked up on Mediterranean gull, a first-summer headed south.

Two views of the same first-summer Med gull

Big gulls were few and far between, I managed a shot of this first-summer great black-backed, though I willing to be corrected on this one... more practice needed.

First-summer great black-backed gull (I think)

125 Mediterranean gull

Gulls

The tides at the moment are big springs, the biggest of the summer at 5.2m. High tide this evening was at about 18.30 and it was so high up the beach, loafing gulls were being moved on regularly and were flying along the dune tops. The light was really nice so I had a play about with my camera and I have to say, I do like it.

black headed gulls

common gulls

I also did a 3/4 hour seawatch, highlights were an fab pale phase arctic skua after the terns, three manx shearwater and a rosey as well as the regular terns, gulls and auks.

Gulls

There was a decent gull roost on the beach at dusk tonight, mostly common gulls and a few black-headed. The light was canny when I got down there, so I had a scan through. I had just got onto to a nice adult Med gull in breeding nick when two fitness freaks ran onto the beach, through the gulls and back into the dunes (they appeared later trying to drag wights on ropes along the beach). Off course the gulls flew up and, most irritatingly settled further down the beach.

I would struggle to pick up a ring-billed at that distance, but I persevered with them until the light faded, finding nothing more of note.

92 Mediterranean gull

PWC Score: 114

It's Autumn - Official

One swallow doesn't make a summer - so goes the old proverb.

A handful of passage waders doesn't maketh the Autumn (Ipin, 2010)

and neither does the fact that breeding swifts have departed my street to return to Africa

but, a wheatear back at Druridge, that's it, it's definitely Autumn, no doubt whatsoever!

wheatear at Druridge - autumn is here

It felt like Autumn last night at Druridge too, cold and damp by dusk when I arrived at Druridge to look through the gull roost on the beach which is now building up nicely at low tide. Out in front of Druridge there were about 1500 gulls, 75% of these were common and the other 25% black-headed's with a few lesser-black-backed and herring about and a single med gull.

Also on the beach were 30 common tern, 8 arctic, 2 roseate and 12 sandwich. 8 curlew and 2 whimbrel.

Just north of the patch, at Chibburn mouth there were another 2000+ gulls at dusk. tonight they were mainly concentrated just north of the burn at Hemscotthill.

When I left Druridge last night, I drove to the north end to turn around and check for owls and bumped into Tom Tams and Tim Sexton, setting up for a mothing session. So i stayed to watch - great fun, we caught 45ish species in two hours. The most numerous were shaded broad-bar, white-line dart, six-striped rustic ans smoky wainscot. there were quite a few drinkers about too, but my favourite was just about last moth of the night - pebble hook tip.

The rest of the weekend was spent preparing our new ringing site at Ellington - Don't worry! we're not giving up on Druridge, this is a reserve site for when:

a) There are too many charvas at Druridge, camping, burning our poles or crapping in the rides.
b) The wind is out the West - impossible to ring at Druridge in westerlies
c) The winter - no birds at Druridge in winter whereas this site could hold thrushes and finches I reckon.

Ride 1 - for 100ft of net alongside an old hawthorn hedge

the other bonus is it is at the end of my street, it is a former bit of colliery spoil, reclaimed and planted with trees, there are a few old oaks and ash in one corner. This splendid speckled wood was there on Sunday.