First spring arrivals

Last weekend brought the first proper spring arrival to the patch - lesser black-backed gull, this was followed by a chiffchaff singing in the bushes by the entrance yesterday. A meadow pipit displaying on the dunes was my first of the year! A good walk around the patch failed to produce any more migrants.

Tree sparrow - still good numbers coming to the feeders

Visiting birders reported a common sandpiper on the Budge fields. As I was out for a good walk, I had no scope with me and failed to find it. The Budge is looking good mind and as it starts to dry out will look even better - as long as the cows arrives in good time.

I counted at least 24 black-tailed godwit and there were still plenty of curlew, snipe and redshank with plenty of lapwing display going on too.

This grey heron was finding food in the ditch.

On the big pool, there were still two great-crested grebes and a couple of goldeneye. In the field to the north there were 31 whooper swans - there has been a huge movement of whoopers through the county this week as they head north to the breeding grounds.

In the dunes to the north, a mixed flock of finches held at least six twite - they were looking good as they get into breeding nick.

I walked back to the car along the beach, hoping for a snow bunting. Despite big numbers of dog walkers, I have found snow bunts to be quite tolerant of people - there wasn't any sign today - probably all at Chevington eating the seed put down for the shorelarks.

A harbour porpoise was breaching just beyond the breakers and this red-throated diver was close in.

red-throated diver

Risky strategy paid off

As reports came in of a Fea's Petrel being tracked up the north-east coast this afternoon, I got twitchy and had to make a tricky decision. Do I go to a good seawatching spot such as Newbiggin or Snab Point and give myself a better chance of connecting with a lifer, or do I stay loyal to the patch and hope I can see it there.

I decided to go to Druridge. To be honest, the decision was easily made but I was aware that it was a risk. When I set off the bird had only just gone past Seaham, so I had plenty of time.

Not long after I was set up I had an unexpected bonus, an adult Sabine's gull was flying around offshore, about half-way to the pot flags, I watched if for a good three minutes as it zigzagged in a generally southerly direction, before it flew south-east into the gloom. I tipped off Neil and Tom and Snab. 

A few minutes later, what I presume was the same bird, an adults Sabs, flew north, again not very far out at all. A fantastic start and only my second ever patch Sabine's gull, the first was back in 2009.

I was joined on the dune by Alan Hall, as news came through of the Fea's northerly passage. A risky strategy for Alan too. So news in came in from Newbiggin and shortly after from Tom and Janet at Snab. What seemed like an age passed, and then two manx shearwaters came through, as I watched them, I saw another bird bank and tower quite high with a different jizz all together. It looked quite a bit bigger, the dark, almost black wings, looked really obvious when it banked and turned - it did this twice before dropping down. I was struggling to get Alan onto it though, there were too many black and double-black flags (we should have been more organised with hindsight and made sure we were on the same flags).

I lost it behind a wave and couldn't re-find it after re-positioning my scope.

I was gutted for Alan, but delighted to have seen it myself. These 'tracked' seabirds certainly get the adrenaline going.

It was followed by a sooty shearwater, the first of five that I saw. I continued to seawatch until after six o'clock but it had really tailed off after five.

Red-throated diver 4S, 3N

Sabine's Gull one adult southeast then north

Pale-bellied brent 4N

Manx Shearwater 8N

Fea's Petrel (1620ish) N

Sooty Shearwater 5N

Bonxie 1N

Arctic Skua 1N

Velvet Scoter 1 drake with flock, 1S with smaller flock

Dark-bellied Brent 5N

GC Grebe 1N

harbour porpoise 2

So Fea's takes the patch list to 236

I took Friday off work as it looked like the easterly winds were going to end. I had planned to ring from first thing, but the heavy, almost drizzle-like, fog persisted until mid-morning. I tramped the bushes, but it felt very quiet, almost as if there had been overnight clear-out. Pied flycatcher was all of note. 

I put some nets up by 11am, but only caught 12 birds. Hardly worth the effort.

158 grey wagtail

159 Sabine's Gull

160 FEA'S PETREL

161 sooty shearwater

PWC Score 247

Sooty Saturday

Saturday was like the calm before the storm. I should've had some nets up on Saturday morning, but didn't. I had a couple of nets up on Friday evening and only caught a single wren, the bushes were empty. Which didn't inspire me to bust-a-gut on Saturday.

I had a look around the patch at lunchtime. The bushes were still quiet. A couple of chiffs on the path to the hides with the tit flock was a highlight. There were no waders at all on the big pool and only a couple of curlews on the Budge (that were visible). Lots of moorhens though, at least 15.

One of  the many moorhens

I had a scout around the bushes to the north and a quick look offshore. A harbour porpoise loitered just offshore and there were 14 sanderling on the beach.

This dunnock loitered in the 'Druridge Bushes'

I returned for last-gap seawatch before dusk. 1820-1920 after reports of skuas and sabine's gulls further south. It started quietly. Plenty of gannets on the horizon and few kitti's.

Then I got onto a sooty shearwater, about half way out, flying north. It's been a good autumn so far for sooties, so about time I connected with one. I had another sooty north and a distant skua going south which remained other unidentified.

The light got the better of me by twenty-past-seven, so I headed home, happy with my soooties.

The storm that was forecasted for today didn't seem as bad as the weathermen predicted, though it was very windy. So no birding for me, instead I spent the day preserving garden and foraged produce.

147 sooty shearwater

Gripped....Twice

I've been thoroughly gripped-off  today, not just once, but twice. Talk about salt in the wounds.

This morning I had to go car shopping, which I hate, but needs must. I got a call from Dave Elliott to say he'd been watching a kingfisher on the Budge fields - but, and here's the crippler, he watched it fly off over the dunes. It's probably six or seven years since my last patch kingfisher.

This evening I had wander around the patch, making the most of the best of the day. I was investigating a strange call I couldn't identify near the reedbed end of the big pool when I got a cryptic tweet from Alan Tilmouth:

Alan Tilmouth ‏@alantilmouth4h

@ipin_nl grip mate, take it well, no dummies ;)

Was he referring to the kingfisher? Bit late in the day for that so I phoned him. NO, not the kingfisher, even worse.

Seemingly, a 'photographer from Morpeth' had photographed a crake on Friday at Druridge, hadn't identified so sent it to the County recorder, who did...SPOTTED CRAKE!

Bugger it!

Spotted crake isn't a new bird for the patch, but I've only ever seen two and they were eons ago.

To be honest, I'm getting a bit fed-up with photographers who can't identify birds in the field, so rely on their photos to identify the species later at home.

My ruined night was made a little better as I watched a short-eared owl hunting through the dunes and saw common tern and fulmar offshore as well as a harbour porpoise.

I still have no idea what was calling near the path. It wasn't a spotted crake.

101 lesser black-bagged gull
102 common tern
103 fulmar

Seawatch

After hearing that there has been a couple of pom skuas off Beadnell this afternoon (presumably Gary Stringer?) I decided a short seawatch after work was in order.

The highlight was 10 to 12 white-beaked dolphins performing offshore, they were a bit distant but showed well through the scope. There were also at least six harbour porpoise in the bay.

A med gull on the beach was a year tick, other highlights were:

Manx shearwater 22 N
Velvet Scoter 1 drake N
Common Scoter c65
scaup 1 drake N
Arctic skua 3
roseate tern 4
great-crested grebe 1 on sea
red-throated diver 4 on sea
sanderling 57 on beach

Owls and Raptors

An abandoned point-to-point meeting at Alnwick meant that I got to spend the afternoon at Druridge rather than spending my money with the bookies!

I was treated to a fantastic short-eared owl display. At least three SEO's were in the vicinity of Druridge this afternoon. It was great to watch, especially when two of them came across one another...they would have a bit of a set-to before heading off to hunt. This happened a few times over the Budge fields.There seems to be a lot of SEO's wintering in Northumberland this year, I hope a few stay to breed. It must be ten years since I saw them in the Cheviots.

various short-eared owl views

Whilst I was watching owl-fest,  I also saw a merlin flying over the big pool and Budge Fields and later, a peregrine, which was high at first, over the farm. It then headed north towards Hemscotthill scattering various flocks of waders, corvids and starlings as it went.

Offshore, I saw my first gannets of the year, four of them on the horizon, flying north. There was also a harbour porpoise in the Bay among the red-throated divers, mergansers and shags.There was also a red-breasted merganser on the Budge fields briefly.

red-breasted merganser on the Budge field pools

and it was gone.....

I walked through the dunes for a while. I came across at least six 'thrushes anvils'  - this was the most impressive.

'thrushes anvil' in the dunes at Druridge

On Friday night, I drove home via the patch and scored a barn owl at High Chibburn Farm.

74 barn owl
76 merlin
77 gannet
78 peregrine

Mammals year-list under way

No photo's today, I forgot to take my camera with me. I was a bit out-of-sorts this morning, I'm blaming the Abbot Ale!

So an afternoon visit to Druridge was all I could muster. All very quiet indeed bird-wise, a few common species added to the year-list, otherwise quite dull. The highlights were a huge skein of pink-footed geese lifting off the fields by Hemscothill and flying north over the patch, there was maybe 1500-1800 of them, quite an impressive sight. A count of 38 sanderling was good, considering the number of dog walkers there were.

My mammal year-list finally got under-way and is now already up to three species, harbour porpoise, grey seal and rabbit.

59 dunnock
60 canada goose
61 long-tailed tit
62blackbird

Dodged the showers

I dodged the showers this afternoon, only for an hour mind, then the heavens opened. 

Foreboding skies

I managed a quick look offshore and had my first arctic skua of the year, a pale-phase bird harassing terns half-way to Norway. I also had one, maybe two, harbour porpoise breaking the surface.

I went to check the bushes and the heavens opened. It looks like it's going to be a changeable week ahead....

132 arctic skua

Looking out to Sea

Looking out to sea at Druridge tonight, a fresh easterly blowing, nothing was moving.

But, there were loafing birds in the bay and the highlight was watching four arctic skuas in pursuit of a single sandwich tern, needless to say the harried creature dropped whatever it was carrying for the parasites to claim. The funniest part was, after this excellent teamwork, the first skua to the prize was then chased by two of its former team-mates who wanted the fish!

There were at least six arctic skuas hanging about in the bay, other highlights were:

49 red-throated divers!
1 great-northern diver
9 red-breasted merganser
62 common scoter
28 sanderling one the beach
and two harbour porpoise.

It's about time for another surf scoter at Druridge I reckon!

Quick Change

There was an incredibly quick change in the weather tonight, it had been hot and sunny with a light easterly, all day and still was when I arrived at Druridge at 6pm. I went for a look on the sea and could see a bank of cloud offshore, within 20 minutes it came over Druridge and then you could see the front edge moving inland, by the time I left at 8.20pm the sky was completely clouded over as far west as I could see.

The sunshine rapidly disappearing -spot the marsh harrier?

A couple of disappointments tonight, firstly, I checked the grey partridge nest (remember the one with 12 eggs?), well they were all broken, there is no way they could have hatched and left the nest, so I am assuming predation. I am no eggspert (groan) but the don't look like they've hatched naturally, more like they've been broken by something, any thoughts?

The second disappointment was a female sparrowhawk nabbing one of the lapwing chicks. I was alerted to this by all of the lapwings up in the air after something, then spotted the sprawk making off a with yougun. pursued to the wood by at least 12 lapwings, all calling.

The semi-colonial nesting of lapwings is a defence against predators, but not this one. I later saw both male and female sprawks out by the pool.

Offshore there was a harbour porpoise and 2 roseys.