Still seawatching

Last week I was mostly seawatching. Well, since then, the wind has remained out of the north and I've continued to be 'mostly seawatching'.

I've had two sessions on the patch and two trips to Snab Point for rarer species, just to give myself a better chance of seeing them. 

On Tuesday evening I had a two-hour seawatch from the dunes at Druridge. It started quietly so I decided to count 'everything' - I don't normally do this, because, when you're counting a long string of Gannets, you might just miss a skua or shearwater slipping through. Anyhoo, I did count the Gannets - 977 in two hours, give or take. That's about 500/hour on average. 

Other highlights from Tuesday evening included:

Pale-bellied Brent - 7

Bonxie - 2

Arctic Skua - 1

Roseate Tern - 1

Sooty Shearwater - 2

Manx - 8

and a Grey Heron  - not a common sight on a seawatch.

Full list on eBird

On Wednesday afternoon, a Fea's type Pterodroma petrel was tracked north up the East Coast. It was due at Newbiggin after 5pm, but I was cutting it fine, leaving the office at ten-to, I headed for Snab Point. I hadn't even got my scope set up when news came through from Church Point. Six minutes later I picked it up about 2/3rds out turning and towering, I got a fella, Dave, who was also there onto it and we watched it for the full three-four minutes it took to pass us and head north into the Bay. Despite the distance, the light was fabulous and the dark 'V' from the wings to the back could be made out as it banked and turned. What a bird! Much better views than the one I saw from Druridge a few years ago. 

This morning, Janet and I were back at Snab Point before work. A juvenile Sabine's Gull had been tracked up the coast. Shortly after being reported at Newbiggin we got onto it, straight out, above the horizon. It was really obvious compared to the Kitti's we'd been watching coming through. A bit of a 'tick and run' - we headed back to work.

This evening I headed back to my dune perch, with a new bit of kit. A foldable camping seat. This one just has a back and base, no legs, so ideal if there is a dune to sit on. I've been standing recently but it's hard work standing for three hours, let alone six or seven. 

It started quiet. There weren't even many Gannets. 

About forty minutes in I picked up a pale-phase Skua to the south, about half way out, the flight was slow and buoyant and I fancied it was a Long-tailed Skua. As it came closer my suspicions were right, a beautiful dusky-grey and white adult long-tailed skua, drew level with me and continued north. What a bird!

It picked up after that, with a couple of Bonxies and Arctic Skuas, and then a group of five Arctic Skuas together at half-five, close-in. Two adult Pomarine Skuas had been tracked north and they promptly came through just before half-six. Nice pale birds complete with spoons. Three little gulls, more Arctic Skuas and four Purple Sandpipers went through.

It had turned into a canny seawatch. I was thinking of going home to make tea when a juvenile Sabine's Gull appeared in the bottom of my scope, filling it. It was close in!

Now this is where my new seat was my undoing...

The Sabine's was in my scope, it landed on the sea, I panicked looking for my phone to try and video it (as it was that close). The phone had fallen onto the sand, as I reached from my new seat for it, it shifted, so did I, and the scope went over. I set it back up but couldn't find the bird.  If I'd been standing up, as I have been for the last year or more, this wouldn't have happened. Frantic scanning of the sea where it was last seen and then, back on my feet with the scope set up properly, a prolonged scan yielded nothing. Gone! F'ing seat!

Two more tracked 'Poms' came through at 19:18 - both adults with spoons and four Little Gulls were on the sea, two adults and two juvs.  

Full list here.

During a quiet spell tonight, I contemplated the pros and cons of modern communications that allow birds to be tracked up the coast. This morning, when the Sabine's Gull was at Tynemouth, I knew I had time for a bowl of Muesli before heading for Snab Point. You can now twitch seabirds. Whilst this undoubtedly means that more people get to see rare seabirds, it does take some of the fun out seawatching. Even though my views of the Sabine's gull at Druridge were brief this evening, before falling off my new seat, I still enjoyed that experience more than the tracked bird at Snab Point this morning which gave prolonged views. 

Tracked birds still need to be found by someone. I love seawatching and still put the hours in when nothing is being seen. It doesn't work if everyone sits at home waiting for Whatsapp to ping. Long-tailed Skuas are my favourite skua (by far) so finding an adult tonight was a real treat, it wouldn't have been the same if I knew it was coming like I did with the Poms. As I said... Pros and cons.

Here's some gulls...

Juvenile Great Black-backed Gull

Adult Common Gull

Adult Great Black-backed Gull

First patch Osprey in 25 years

After heavy rain and cold northeasterly winds on Friday/Saturday morning Janet and I went out to look for migrant passerines at Druridge on Saturday morning. We stopped at the Budge Screen first and finally caught up with some Little Gulls and the thunbergii (grey-headed) Yellow Wagtail. With two Wood Sandpipers, a pair of Garganey, a Knot, two bar-tailed and three Black-tailed Godwits among the supporting cast we would have been happy to leave it at that. 

We wandered north along the bushes and onto the haul road. It was there, where we were alerted to a large bird flying north pursued by five or six Lapwings. The Lapwings wouldn't have bothered going that high for a gull, so bins onto it and it showed it to be an Osprey! It was heading steadily north and soon lost to sight over East Chevington. 

Osprey heading north pursued by Lapwings (heavy crop)

This is my first patch Osprey since at least 1996 - it was so long ago, the record is in a long-gone paper notebook. 

We didn't find any noteworthy migrants passerines, not even a Wheatear. There were hundreds of hirrundines and the Swifts were flying very low.  The sun came out briefly later and brought out some insects.

Common Cardinal Beetle 

Male Andrena sp of bee

Large Red Damselfy (female)

22-Spot Laydybird

Cheilosia sp of Hoverfly  -STOP PRESS - Roger Morris thinks this is C. bergenstammi

Green NettleWeavil

Sphaerophoria sp of hoverfly - the females can't be identified to species by photographs

Red and Black Froghopper

Today was WeBS count day. Highlights were five Little Gulls, one Med Gull and a single Drake Garganey. Wood Sandpiper and Ruff had been reported but we didn't see them. The Grey-headed Wagtail was gone but there were two flavissima.

Drake Tufted Duck - without the orange eye, this could be monochrome photo

 We walked to Chibburn mouth to check on my fence and walked back along the beach seeing very little along the way - only a handful of Sandwich Terns.

One of the Sandwich Terns

Spoonbill looking miserable on the Budge fields earlier in the week

Little of note on WeBS count

The birds of note on the WeBS count this morning were both little - firstly Little Stint which was among the Dunlin flock, my second of the year on the patch after seeing a bird in the spring. There was also single Little Gull, a second calendar year bird in front of the little hide. Otherwise it was pretty quiet, a handful of Dunlin and five Black-tailed Godwits on the Budge fields with the Stint and no sign of the Black-necked Grebe that had been on Druridge Pool earlier in the week. 

Walking between the hides, the bushes seemed very quiet too, I suspect they will remain that way until we get a bit of east in the wind. 

Black-neck

A quick post-work visit to the patch this evening to catch up with Black-necked Grebe that had been reported on Druridge Pool earlier in the day. Black-necked Grebe is a tricky bird to see on the patch and this was my first since a summer-plumaged bird in May 2018. No chance of any photos as the bird kept a distance from the shore. A Pochard was another scarcity.

The recent rain has re-wetted the Budge fields and this had attracted a decent smattering of waders including three Knot, two Ruff, a single Turnstone (rare on the Budge), Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, three Ringed Plovers and a few Dunlin and Redshank. A single first-summer Little Gull was in front of the little hide. 

The wind has strengthened out of the south-east and it's raining. Could be good in the morning...

Dodging showers

Janet and I headed to the patch for some fresh air after work today. It was fresh n'all  - 13 degrees, it was sunny when we arrived and there were a few hovers around as we wandered up to the little hide but the sky was black all around us - rain was on the way.

An adult Water Rail was showing nicely on the muddy edge from the little hide, just too far away for photos but this Hare was in range as it scampered away. A big flock of dunlin and other waders swirled around in the distance towards the Budge screen that would need a closer look.

Brown Hare - legging it across the field

The sky darkened further as we headed back towards the road and eventually we had to make a dash for the shelter of the car as the heavens opened. From the car we could see one of the juvenile Common Cuckoos, that has been much coveted by the photographers lately, sat on the fence, before it dropped in closer onto a Ragwort plant where it gobbled up several Cinnabar moth caterpillars.

Juvenile Common Cuckoo taking Cinnabar moth caterpillars from Ragwort

The rain got heavier and the Cuckoo flew even closer to the road and our car and at one point was too close for my 400mm lens - 3.5m.

Here it is, un-cropped, on the edge of being in focus.

Cuckoo!

Once the rain eased we headed for the Budge screen to scrutinise the waders. There were five Ruff, four adult males and a juvenile bird and an amazing 45 Dunlin - all adults. One can only assume, as no juveniles are present,  that these are failed breeders heading south? There were 14 Black-tailed Godwits - at least eight of them were assignable to the icelandica race and the others were a good fit. A Little Ringed Plover and three Little Gulls were nice to see.

The Budge fields have been the best for breeding waders for as long as I can remember. Lapwing have done well, despite heavy losses to Corvids and Herons. There have been at least two successful broods of Redshank and Avocet is a new breeding species. The first brood of Avocets are nearly adult-size now and will fledge but the second brood is now only one very small chick. It looked incredibly cute tonight though, in the mud, with it's little up-turned bill. The adults seemed to be paying it little regard though - waders are crap parents.

I think a combination of a very wet winter which suppressed the marginal vegetation, followed by an incredibly dry spell (lockdown) along with the grazing by the six ponies has created the prefect sward height... maybe not for Snipe though which are pretty-much absent this spring.

Full list here

Some you win...

Well...where to start?

What a weekend  - on so many levels.

It all started on Friday when I was just to about to get on the train at Widdrington, headed for the Test Match at Chester-le-Street when I get a call from Dave Elliott to say he was watching either an icterine warbler or melodious warbler at Druridge - both new patch birds. It ended today, with me watching a stunning broad-billed sandpiper on the Budge fields - a new bird for the patch.

Dave soon nailed the warbler as an icterine and by the time I was downing my first pint in Newcastle Station he'd found another new bird for the patch - common rosefinch. No turning back now, I was bound for Chester-le-Street and like a tory recession - a double-dip (the cricket was good though).

With much restraint on Friday night and against all odds, I was up at 5.30am on Saturday and setting my nets up at Druridge by 6am - the weather was perfect for ringing but I wasn't catching many birds. I think most of the warblers are on eggs now. I did catch a grasshopper warbler, reed warbler and a low-flying swallow.

Gropper

Fridays double-dip was partly avenged with a pair of glossy ibis dropping briefly onto the Budge fields (thanks for the call Alan G!) just next to one of my nets. These birds had previously been at Newton-by-the-Sea, after calling at Druridge they made their way via Whitburn and Hartlepool to Saltholme.  These are the second and third patch glossy ibis - the first being  a long-stayer in 2011. The great-white egret that has been around for ten days or so was also there.

On Saturday evening there were six ruff on the Budge fields - five males displaying with full ruffs to a reeve. I've not seen displaying ruff like this on the Budge fields since the early nineties, it was amazing to see again. Far more exciting than glossy ibis! There was also a first-summer little gull, 16 summer-plumaged sanderling on the beach, my first two manx shearwaters of the campaign, a med gull on the sea and a pair of goosander on the big pool.

On Sunday there was an avocet on the Budge fields, with a handful of dunlin and ringed plover as well as two little gulls.

Bank Holiday Monday brought  little of note, just the usual campers, mini motorbikes and tribes of dog-walkers with out-of-control hounds.

So back to work today...just before lunchtime I come out of a meeting to find a message about a broad-billed sandpiper on the Budge fields - yowzas! The benefits of flexi-time brought an early lunch-break and I was off to Druridge, arriving in already-full little hide behind Stef and Mrs Stef, I had to blag a look through someone's scope as I had no gear with me (thanks Hector!)...and there it was, wandering around between the rush clumps - a very stripy wader indeed! A wood sandpiper and garganey also put in appearance.

I was a very-happy patch watcher, though still smarting from Friday).

The addition of broad-billed sandpiper takes my patch list to 239 species. That and the common rosefinch take the patch list to 261 (there had been an icterine in 1966).

My year list at the end of May stands at 135 and my PWC score is 186.

From the north

The wind came right out of the north on Friday and through to today, bringing a blast of  proper winter weather after a spell of unseasonably mild weather of late.

The northerly had come from way up north - classic weather to bring some northern specialities down, so obviously a seawatch was in order.

I timed my seawatch with the rising tide, giving me more chance to get some good waders pushed off the rocks by the advancing tide. It was bitterly cold, but as the wind had swung around out of the NNW I managed to find a little shelter in the dunes.

No sooner had I set up my scope when I had the first of many little auks headed north. There was a steady passage of these fantastic little birds throughout the morning. Mostly in small groups, all headed north. Many were very close in, flying between the breaking waves on the shore. At one point I had a 'mixed flock' of two purple sandpipers, two dunlin and two little auk flying up the shore.

It was great to get purple sandpiper on the list for the year, the light was nice so they really stood out from the dunlin.

Other highlights were two great northern divers (sadly no black-throated passed me), an adult little gull flying south, two groups of three long-tailed duck, two velvet scoter and a drake scaup. A flock of 25 twite flew north along the dunes.

Seawatching totals 1120-1250:

little auk 173
goldeneye 24
cormorant 2
little gull 1 (S)
guillemot 34
red-throated diver 3
dunlin 6
long-tailed duck 6
wigeon 49
red-breasted merganser 3
great northern diver 2
pale-bellied brent 3
velvet scoter 2
purple sandpiper 4
kittiwake 80+
common gull 10+
scaup 1
pintail 1
twite 25

Today I had to work, but popped down to Druridge for the last of the light at 3pm. I intended on doing a seawatch but the light was nice and there was some close-by gulls so I did some gull photography instead.

Between gulls I did note long strings of kittiwakes  headed north and some sizeable stings of guillemot. There were a few little auks, but nothing like yesterday and a couple of RTD.

Adult common gull

First-winter herring gull 

Arty gull photo

Second-winter great-black-backed gull. Check out the obvious white tip to the bill

Snowy sky over Cresswell - I'm pleased it missed me!

Nice wintry sky at dusk

Pink-footed geese coming in at sunset

 My seawatch brought me a little haul of year-ticks - brent goose, scaup and purple sandpiper (my first on the patch for six years!) taking my total to 159 which is well down on the last few years. Still a chance of one or two more species before New Year...

A quick summary of a long weekend

Friday 22nd

Finally caught up with the very mobile spoonbill (118) which was fast asleep on the Budge fields also managed to nail for certain, Arctic tern - previous likely terns have gone down as 'commics', though no sign of the reported great northern diver offshore. Also of note - two whimbrel north.

Saturday 23rd

Ringing from 0445. Caught three whitethroats and re-trapped a willow warble that we ringed as an adult last May, a greenfinch was an unusual species to catch in May - brought in by the addition of feeders to the patch. Definitely two, maybe three barn owls hunting first thing. Year-ticked collared dove at the farm (120).

Monday 25th

An early start (for a Bank Holiday) to be on the patch and away again before the masses arrive. There appears to be four active swallow nests in the Oddie hide now, twice as many as last year.

In full song outside the little hide

The mute swan family were asleep outside the Oddie hide, with all six cygnets hiding under the female when I arrived.

This photo amused me, it looks like a two-headed swan! A first for science at Druridge Pools.

'In tow' the female followed by her 'otter food'

Showing off! "I can break a man's arm you know"

A little grebe was, incredibly, my first of the year - what had happened to them this year, is it just Druridge?

My first speckled wood of the year in the bushes (iPhone shot)

With reports of little gulls at both Chevington and Cresswell Pond, I returned for an evening visit to try and catch up with this species. When I arrived, there were over 150 black-headed gulls hawking St. Mark's flies over the bushes. I plonked myself on top of the big dune to find the little gulls among them. I only found one, a first summer bird (122).

I am slowly making up lost ground in the Patchwork Challenge, with the latest additions giving me 155 points. I am going to have find some serious rares to top last year.

Westerly Woes

A settled high pressure with westerly winds has meant that this weekend has been a lot more sedate than last weekend was.

Sedate = boring. Bring back the easterlies please.

It felt like summer at Druridge yesterday morning. There were lots of butterflies out, mostly red admirals and speckled woods with a single dark-green fritillary which must have been off a second hatching?

Red admiral on whitebeam berries

Speckled wood

These drake gadwall thought it was spring - chasing a duck around for five minutes or more.

Birding was very quiet, robins, wrens, dunnocks and chiffs most notable in the bushes. Overhead, skylarks were moving south throughout the morning with a sprinkling of meadow pipits and swallows.

There was a hint of winter though, pink-footed geese are back.

Pink-foots, headed south

Today was even warmer, but more cloudy. I could only manage some evening birding, by which time, the wind had dropped to almost nothing. It was high tide, so I had a look on the sea, hoping for some fly-by waders, pushed off the rocks.

There was an incredible 71 divers in the bay, but all I could pick out was red-throats. In amongst them were five red-breasted mergansers and a great-crested grebe.

In common with elsewhere, Druridge has had an influx of little gulls, not an impressive count in comparison with other sites, but there were about 12-15 which is good for Druridge. Most of them were distant, with a feeding frenzy of bigger gulls, well offshore.

I had a really frustrating episode with a gull, when I picked it up in my scope, it was heading south and it didn't deviate from it's course, it didn't bank or turn once, just kept on going. What I saw, and its jizz, was good for a juvenile sabines, but I will never know.

At dusk, the two juvenile kestrels that have been hanging about were joined by a third. I got a couple of pics before it go too dark, after I abandoned photography due to bad light, they put on a great display over the dunes in front of me, tussling with each other.

juvenile kestrels at dusk

A bit blowey

It was a bit blowey today and I was putting off a visit to the patch, loitering about the house, when I got a message from Dave Elliott about white-fronted geese.

The geese were in the field immediately west of the Budge fields, the shelter-belt doing its job for them. There were about 250 pink-footed geese and at least two Eurasian white-fronted geese amongst them. There may have been more, but viewing conditions were tricky, even from inside the hide!

The female type common scoter is still hanging around on the big pool, five goldeneye were notable as there hasn't been may this winter.

drake goldeneye

I had wander up to the dunes at the north end of the patch and got onto a small gull over the haul road, dark underwings, with no black int he upperwing - an adult little gull. It settled at the back of the haul road flash.

Crap record shot of adult little gull

Whilst I was watching the little gull, I got onto this dunlin hunkered down behind a huge cow shit, seeking shelter from the wind.

Dunlin - seeking shelter behind a big poo!

There were a few skylarks and a couple of reed buntings in the dunes and I flushed half-a-dozen grey partridges. These goldfinches were coming onto the haul road to drink.

Goldfinches coming in to drink

70 white-fronted goose
71 little gull
72 dunlin
73 skylark
74 reed bunting
75 grey partridge

PWC Score 93

A day off work

I took today off work and spent most of it on the patch.

I started the day birding the sunny edge of the bushes, seeing lots of warblers. Whitethroats have been amazing this year, normally there are two or three breeding pairs on the patch, this year there must be ten pairs, incredible.

Another sedge warbler photo

Whilst birding the bushes, I heard a call that I recognised, but couldn't pin down with only the briefest and distant views of the bird. An hour later, I heard the same call, another bird flying south, but overhead, a pipit, a tree pipit. I've not seen (or heard) a tree pipit at Druridge in years, probably since Stewart was birding Druridge, but I recognised it from trips to the south coast.

From the Oddie hide, I had a frustrating time. A wader was among the rocks on the far shore, it got me excited, I only had the briefest of views as it dodged among the rocks. Superficially, dunlin, but the upper-parts were really well marked, it looked a bit stout and had a really white belly/vent. Pec sand sprang straight to mind, I needed to see it head-on. I didn't, it flew off....Bastard! And then... a small falcon flew south behind the bushes and over the dunes. It was either a merlin or hobby, my money would be on the latter. (see below)

Some you win......

I scanned the banks ten times in case it came back, it didn't. This common sand dropped in though.

Common sandpiper

There were still three little gulls on the big pool and a family of yellow wagtails were in front of the Oddie Hide.

One of three little gulls

Yellow Wag

I returned to the patch at three-ish, after hearing Dave Elliot's tales of wader activity. He got me a greenshank flying over the Budge fields. He also had a hobby and a wood sand which I didn't see. Later, a green sandpiper was just to the left of the Budge screen and Micheal Frankis and Joe Dobbinson were patch year-ticks.

Linnet

So, some quality birding on my day off, well worth not going into work.

140 tree pipit
141 greenshank
142 green sandpiper

Weekend round-up

I should have spent this weekend at a wedding do in London, so all three visits to the patch and a 'County-tick' at Alnmouth were all a bonus.

Saturday started with a ringing session at Druridge. With only half of the usual nets up, we didn't catch many birds. Warblers dominated the catch again with whitethroat, reed warbler, sedge warbler, chiffchaff and a family party of blackcaps, the amount of whitethroats we've caught this year is unprecedented and we are doing well for reed warblers to.

juvenile reed warbler

The female mandarin duck is still on the big pools and two drake pochard were unusual.

During the ringing session, news broke of a spotted sandpiper at Foxton. So as soon as we packed the nets away we headed up there for a look. A fine 'spotted' adult gave the assembled twitch good views as it pottered about on the banks of the River Aln. A 'county-tick' for, taking my county (low) list to 309.

An brief evening visit to Druridge didn't produce much, the highlight was a dark-phase arctic skua pursuing a common tern well inland over the big pool.

Sunday was a day of two-halves. The day began with strong winds and heavy rain, by tea-time it was warm and sunny but a bit breezy. So an afternoon visit to the patch. At long-last, I found a common sandpiper on the edge of the big pool a very belated year-tick. There were still two little gulls on the big pool and a family of yellow wagtails were in front of the hide.

two little gulls

For scale - little gull and black-headed gull

juvenile black-headed gull passes in front of the hide

common tern on their favourite spot

yellow wagtail

I'm struggling for waders this year. What mud there is at Druridge has either vegetated over or is hidden behind massive clumps of rush. I am relying on the regular passage of marsh harriers to flush something up.

I think a lot of the warblers are second-brooding at the moment, hence our low ringing catch and general lack of activity. These sedge warblers are certainly feeding a second brood.

Sedge warbler feeding young

same bird

137 knot

138 common sandpiper