No-mig, the Post and the Pec

I've been away gallivanting inland again this weekend with a trip to Holystone on Sunday so have neglected the patch again.

I was there first thing on Sunday morning. I started with a bit of viz-mig and a look on the sea - all quiet, the bushes were very quite too, almost everything other than the wrens and the odd Chiffhcaff singing. Reed Buntings sang in the dunes and Grasshopper Warbler was reeling, which is quite late for them. A couple of Little Egrets went north  - all of a sudden there seems to be lots of Little Egrets on the coast, where have they all come from? Other than the resident Redshanks and Avocets still nurturing their young, the only wader was a single Black-tailed Godwit but the mud looked very dry.

On Saturday lunchtime I returned to 'The Post' and a look for some hovers. At the post I had a leafcutter bee coming and going with bits of leaf, never stopping longing to photograph and the Fork-tailed Flower Bees were going about their business. The wasp which I think is Ancistrocerus scoticus showed briefly, enough for a photo or two and intriguingly the ruby-tailed wasp I saw last week was back and I got a very poor record shot. Two species of Chrysis ruby-tailed wasps are known to be a kleptoparisite of this species - I need better photos of them both.

Ancistrocerus scoticus?

Record shot of Chrysis species of ruby-tailed wasp

Another wasp species headed for the post

I had a look for hovers and found some wasps, all of which I need to identify if possible, but I think they might be tricky. No new hovers but these were interesting:

Eupeodes corollae (m)

Cheilosia illustrata (f)

I found this Four-banded Longhorn Beetle Leptura quadrifasciata which is new for the patch for me.

Four-banded Longhorn Beetle Leptura quadrifasciata

My first Small Copper of the year rested briefly for a record shot and this Drinker moth was in the dunes. I always think drinker moths are more like a small bat than a moth.

Small Copper butterfly

Drinker moth

 These fine beasts all need ID...

Possibly Turnip Sawfly - Athalia rosae

Possibly Dusona sp?

I think that this is the female digger wasp that i have seen before?

Ichneumonid of some species? 

This morning a Pectoral Sandpiper was reported on the Budge fields. As I had to work and it was chucking it down with rain at lunchtime, I waited until this evening and the rain to stop to go and have a look. When I arrived another birder pointed it on the mud amongst the Dunlin. 'Pecs' are near annual at Druridge these days. The resident Avocet adult wouldn't let the Dunlin flock settle, chasing them as soon as they came near her so it was difficult to keep track of the Pec. She was even chasing the Pied Wagtails of which there were at least 30.

As I headed for home, I got a call from Ian Fisher to say that the Cattle Egret that had been at Cresswell Pond for a couple of days head just landed on the Budge fields. I had seen an egret flying north as I passed Hemscotthill. I should stopped for a closer look. I went back but couldn't see the egret, so headed home to make tea. Seemingly it was seen later roosting in the bushes.

More Macro

It's usually the case at this time of year - the thoughts of bored birders, waiting for autumn migration to start, turn to butterflies, dragonflies, moths and bugs.

The local Whatsapp grapevine provides more information on banded demoiselles, fritillaries and moths than it does birds. But I'm not complaining, especially now I have the new Macro lens.

I've not strayed far from Druridge with it yet, other than a work trip to Bamburgh dunes where I photographed this Pirri Pirri flower - thankfully there's no sign of Pirri Pirri at Druridge, but I am sure it will be just a matter of time.

Pirri Pirri in Bamburgh Dunes

Back to Druridge, I was down there at before 5am for ringing session on Saturday but was packed up by 11. I was on my own so only had four nest up and caught 17 new birds - which isn't bad for a bright July morning. I'm starting to catch a few juvenile warblers now - blackcaps, sedge and willow. I've caught very few whitethroats this year, there seemed to be a lot singing when they first came in and they're usually the most abundant warbler at Druridge but not this year.

A long-eared owl was hunting through the bushes and barn owl in the dunes when I arrived. Gaps between checking the nets were taken up with more macro photography.

Silver Y moth

Dark Green Fritillary - There seems to be a lot of these at Druridge this year

Bonking Beetles - Common Red Soldier Beetle. There were thousands of these in the dunes at the weekend.

On Sunday I spent much of my two visits to the patch staring, willfully out to sea, with the slimmest of slim hopes that the Sooty tern that roosted on the Farne Islands might just pass by. After all, the bridled tern which was the Farnes almost five years to the day did pass by and Dave Elliott saw it.

On the Budge fields, there was a peak of over 100 black-tailed godwits over the weekend and the smart pectoral sandpiper was present throughout, joined briefly by a wood sandpiper.

Autumn migration has begun and thoughts of bugs and butterflies will be banished in favour of birds again.

Patch Tick - White-winged Black Tern

A belated post about a patch tick.

A dead computer means I haven't been able to post about the latest addition to my patch list - white-winged black tern.

Saturday gone was a long day...

We were down at Druridge shortly after 5am for a ringing session - our first of the year. We had a good morning catching over 30 birds, mainly resident warblers and remarkably five reed warblers, all by the little the reedbed in the SE corner of the big pool. Reed warbler is recent colonist to Druridge Pools and seem to be doing very well, as they are at other wetland habitats in the county. A green sandpiper flew over the site first thing with swifts !

After packing up the ringing site and checking the heronry with Ian Fisher, I thought a quick check of the sea might be in order as others had reported skua activity. The light was awful and just as I was about to leave, a message about a white-winged black tern at Chevington came through.... Interesting.

I hung around, scanning inland when Twitter said it was at Druridge Pools. But where? Big pool or Budge fields?

I sprinted to the top of the big dune, my heart was pounding when I got there, figuring I could see the while patch from there. I was right and picked up the bird feeding over the Budge fields. And what a stunner it was - an adult white-winger in breeding plumage.

It flitted back and forth between the Budge fields and the big pool for an hour or more. Sadly no photos for me as my camera was in the car but others did well.

A bonus came on Sunday when I was scanning the sea and a message came through from Martin Kerby who was watching a pectoral sandpiper from the Budge screen. I was soon in the hide and watching the bird, albeit occasionally, as it moved through the emergent vegetation and stands of rush.

White-winged black tern takes my Druridge Pools list to 243, creeping ever-so-slowly towards that big 250!

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.

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