A walk to the extremities

I set out to explore the less-frequented extremities of my patch today with a walk out to High Chibburn Farm, Low Chibburn Preceptory and the northern dunes. I included the farm and the Preceptory in the patch boundary for some variety but I rarely get out that far. Today I was in search of Collared Doves and Yellowhammers. I failed on both counts. 

Low Chibburn Preceptory

The right of way back to the Reserve

The farm is good for House Sparrows and the countryside around it can be good for Red-legged Partridge and today was no exception, otherwise I didn't see much. Walking back along the path to the hides, it was quite warm in the sunshine and out of the northerly wind and it brought out some late insects. 

Male Common Darter

Male Small Copper on Ragwort

Migrant Hawker

A single Whooper Swan was on the big pool and a Kestrel hunted along the road.

Kestrel hunting

The Kestrel successfully caught a small mammal and flew off into the bushes with it

In the weedy dunes there was a flock of at least 27 Reed Bunting - probably an undercount. I grilled them for any rarer buntings and the finch flock (about 120) didn't contain any Twite. Given that I walked 6km, I didn't come away with a huge list an the year list remains on 170.

One of the Reed Bunting flock

Male Blackcap in the Elder

Last night I had an hour grilling  the scoter flock for the potential Surf Scoter, no luck but there were 22 Red-throated Divers and a handful of Razorbills with the Scoters. 

Six Whooper Swans came in-off and another five went south and landed on the sea opposite the Drift Cafe. Here are a couple of arty-shots as the first six flew west. My first Whoopers of the Autumn

Whooper Swans headed west

Into the clouds...

A weekend of two halves

Weather wise, it has definitely been a weekend of two halves. yesterday, if you were in the sun and out of the strong breeze, was very pleasant indeed. Today was cold, wet and windy feeling more like winter than autumn.

Yesterday morning, Janet and I had a nice walk around the patch in the morning sunshine. Butterflies and dragonflies were more prominent than birds however. We started around the plantation where David Elliott put us on to a redstart in the pines, there were a couple of goldcrests and chiffchaffs there too and we also saw the first of many migrant hawkers and speckled wood butterflies.

Migrant Hawker

We headed north along the road as far as the turning circle. Several chiffchaffs were calling and we were being buzzed by more migrant hawkers. I tried to photograph them but failed miserably. On the way back to the car, we called in at the Budge screen. By the path we found this 'white' caterpillar. Neither of us had seen anything like it before so I took some phone-shots. Whilst I was doing so I heard a sharp piercing call overhead and then saw flash of iridescent blue as a kingfisher shot overhead.

white caterpillar

I posted the caterpillar photo on Facebook and it seems to be a parasitic entomogenous or entomopathogenic fungi which thrives in damp conditions and takes over its host. A comma butterfly (rare for Druridge) sat out in the sun as did several red admirals and speckled woods.

Red admiral on brambles 

Comma

Full bird list here

Today was a cold and wet. A northerly wind strengthened throughout the day. I had been house-bound until 4pm when I had to decide - birds or football. Would I go to the local and watch leicester vs Newcastle game or would I try a seawatch. I opted for the latter - thank God - the Toon got beat 5-0.

Seawatching wasn't great either mind, very quiet. A long-tailed skua had been reported from Newbiggin but I didn't pick it out if it came past Druridge. A bonxie (north) and a black-throated diver (south) were the highlights. There were still a few terns, I counted 14 common and seven sandwich.

I gave up after just over an hour to check the bushes. My full list is here

At the start of the path to the Oddie hide a tit flock came through. My first long-tailed tits of the autumn, about 22 of them, were with blue, coal and great tits and a single willow tit. Willow tit is a really rare patch bird nowadays, we used to catch them most autumns but not since 2006.

A yellow-browed warbler and several chiffs were associating with the flock.

On the Budge fields 37 curlew and single snipe and redshank were the only waders and about 80 lapwing were on the tilled field to the west and as I left about 45 barnacle geese flew north.

Full list 

Autumn is here

Today was officially the first day of autumn and what's the perfect bird to herald it - yellow-browed warbler. 

Despite scouring the bushes this morning I had to twitch one that Mark Whittingham had found by the path to the Oddie Hide (Mark also had willow tit and cetti's warbler - both much more scarce than YBW). It was nice to watch it, flitting around in the alders. The highlight of my morning was a garden warbler in the elderberry bush by the entrance and a few migrant hawkers.

Migrant hawker dragonfly in the plantation

I've been so busy since returning from my near-annual pilgrimage to Tarifa for the raptor migration.

Honey Buzzard

Short-toed Snake Eagle

I've got hundreds of shots to sort out still and I had to prepare a talk, about my obsession with my local patch,  for the North Northumberland Bird Club on Friday evening - had a great turn out of 74 people and the talk went down well. And I did predict that there would be a yellow-browed warbler on the patch this weekend.

I've managed a  coupe of visits to the patch since I got back. A decent evening seawatch on Tuesday evening for an hour produced a couple of adult pomarine skuas (there were probably three - I took my eye off them) and a couple of Arctics.

Pink-footed geese are back with a couple of skeins over last weekend and most evenings from home.

Hopefully things might get a bit quieter so I can get some birding done and keep this blog updated through the autumn.

Butterflies and bugs

Normally in July and early August, even the most avid birdwatchers sometimes turn to butterflies, dragonflies, bugs and even flowers to keep themselves occupied at the end of summer while they wait for autumn migration to start, this is especially evident on the local Whatsapp grape vine with reports of all sorts of things outnumbering posts about birds. I am no different, I spent my spare time in the summer trying out the macro lens on any insect I could find.

But as soon as the first waders arrive back from the arctic and whinchats are back on the coast, they re-focus their attentions back to birds...usually.

Today was the last day of September and autumn migration should be in full swing, the bushes should be alive with chiffchaffs, goldcrests and maybe, something more exciting. This morning I had two hours to spare on the patch and found myself not grilling the bushes for warblers but photographing butterflies and dragonflies - it was like July!

A run of wall-to-wall westerlies has resulted in very few birds arriving on our shores. There has been the odd report - a wryneck on the Farnes, hoopoe on Holy Island and a black restart or two. At Druridge,  a wren was a highlight after seeing none since the beast from the east and a single chiff was 'wheeting; from the bushes. Things aren't going to improve, with continued westerlies forecast for the next two weeks at least.

The only noteworthy migrants were more barnacle geese flying over.

Barnacle geese headed north

It was amazing to seeing dozens of speckled wood butterflies, I could see over twenty from one spot this morning. A lot of the butterflies are looking a bit worn now but there was a nice fresh small copper today, which I failed to photograph.

Male migrant hawker

Two speckled wood butterflies on rosehips

Speckled wood

Red admiral on ragwort

From the east

The wind has been out of the east for the last five days or so, and it is really coming from the east with an airflow coming from from Siberia and beyond.

An easterly wind in October...the perfect combination.

And so it was, White's thrush on Holy Island on Wednesday and a supporting cast of several Pallas's warblers, red-breasted flycatchers  and little buntings and lots of yellow-browed warblers and that was just in Northumberland. Not so much excitement on the patch. There have been at least two yellow-browed warblers in the bushes by the entrance from Sunday.

The start of the week was quite summery, on Sunday speckled wood butterflies were obvious in the rides with 20 noted, common darters and migrant hawkers, including this pair, were still evident.

Speckled Wood

Migrant hawkers

The wind did come out of the north and a seawatch produced three sooty shearwaters and a summer-plumaged great northern diver headed north.

On Thursday morning, thrush passage was evident with mistle thrushes and a few fieldfare passing over, song thrushes, redwings and blackbirds in the bushes. A group of ten swallow passed south - could be the last?

Sunset on Thursday

On Friday and Saturday mornings we put some nets up. We caught about 70 birds on each session. Goldcrests were the most abundant species with 18 on Friday and 26 on Saturday - we also caught a lot of robins and a handful of song thrushes, redwings, chiffchaffs, wrens, dunnocks and blackcaps. Lesser redpoll and siskins were newly arrived on the patch and a couple of great-spotted woodpeckers were new-in.

Great Spotted Woodpecker - this photo shows its incredibly long tongue

Redwing  - one of three

Pink-footed geese were heard regularly overhead and about 500 have settled in the stubble field at High Chibburn and about 65 barnacle geese headed south on Friday

Bright and breezy conditions were forecasted for this morning so a more leisurely start was in order. A wander through the bushes from 11am this morning - there had obviously been a clear out with goldcrests being particularly less obvious. A yellow-browed warbler was very vocal in the willows by the entrance and a few redwing sprung out as I passed by and blackcaps were gorging on elderberries.

As I loitered by the middle bushes, I heard a rustling in the grass and a stoat popped it's head up, I managed a to grab a photos...

Stoat

There were a few waders on the budge fields and I thought I must return with my scope and then a message arrived on my phone 'red-flanked bluetail at Amble Yacht Club'. I was hungry so a drive by the pasty shop and onto Amble but there was no sign of the bird so back to Druridge.

Bob Gadjus was in the Budge screen when I arrived, and had picked up a distant owl. It flew south then closer, I got onto it in the scope and at first I thought it was long-eared but on reflection it was probably a short-eared owl - it never got close. A second Asio owl was much closer, over the bushes by the path to the Oddie hide and was definitely a long-eared owl.

I scanned through the waders and came across a group of dunlin, there was a bird amongst them that was different - about 1/4 bigger than the dunlin with a no markings on the flanks or belly, the streaking on the breast ending abruptly against the white lowerparts. Pectoral sandpiper - my first on the patch since 2007. Seemingly there has been a 'pec' at Chev for much of the week so I am guessing this is the same bird - nonetheless a welcome year-tick.

Two juvenile ruff, four black-tailed godwits, three redshank and 20+ snipe made up the rest.

The easterly airflow is set to continue until at least next Monday. I will be grilling the patch for my first Pallas's warbler, little bunting or maybe...even... a Siberian Accentor....

With the addition of kingfisher (first since 2007) and the above, my year list stands at 166. 171 is my highest ever count in 2013 and 2014. My Patchwork Challenge score is 241.

Friday and Saturday

Friday 17th

A brief visit before work, Janet had already started to put some nets up when I arrived. The first bird I heard, then saw, when getting out of the car was a yellow-browed warbler. It was flitting about the whitebeam berries in lovely light.

I left Janet to it, to go to Amble and take a whole class of seven year-year-olds on a birdwatching walk around Amble. We didn't see very much, but they enjoyed learning about common species like jackdaws and collared doves.

I took the afternoon off and relieved Janet at the ringing site. A shift system. She had caught about forty birds - wrens, robins, blackbirds, goldcrests as well as a redwing (our first of the autumn) and a blackcap.

After I arrived we caught a flock of long-tailed tits and this great-spotted woodpecker.

First-winter male great-spotted woodpecker

The yellow-browed warbler was moving about with goldcrests all afternoon.

Saturday 18th

Curry night at the local and a few pints of ale made for a later start this morning. I checked the plantation which contained the usual suspects and a bunting, which I only saw twice, for about 30 seconds each time. It flitted about, a bit like a leaf warbler, amongst the pines. It had a really strong supercillium, but I didn't get much else on it. Despite looking quite sparse, there is a lot of cover in the plantation  and it easy to loose birds (as I know only too well..... http://ipinswildlifeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/a-tale-of-one-that-got-away.html)

I gave the bunting 40 minutes with no further sign and headed north. There are still butterflies and dragonflies on the wing. The butterflies are looking at a bit tatty now.

tatty-looking speckled wood

There was about six migrant hawkers amongst the bushes and on the sheltered edge and some common darters too.

male migrant hawker

Bird-wise I found little else of note.

On Wednesday morning I saw a brambling in the plantation - my first since 2011.

167 Brambling
 PWC Score = 259