A long-awaited patch tick

 Red Kite has been my most anticipated patch tick for about four years and today I finally nailed one. 

I was looking west from the dunes this morning after my WeBS count when I spotted a long-winged raptor over the shelterbelt by the haul road. I put the scope straight on it and there it was, a red kite sauntering along the top of the pine trees (what's left of them). I watched it for a while as it went it back and forth. A stunning bird.

Record shot - you can just make out the forked tail

Red Kite has been on the official Druridge patch list since 2016 but it's taken me another six years to catch up with one. There have been many more records from this part of Northumberland in recent months so it was only a matter of time.

Red kite takes my patch list to 254 species. 

The belated WeBS count this morning was quiet (we were away on the Solway Coast at the weekend). A handful of dunlin and snipe and three black-tailed godwit were all of note. The Budge fields look good but East Chevington seems to be attracting all of the waders at the moment. 

Today was hot, it probably touched 30 degrees this afternoon and it was still humid and warm this evening. I headed to the patch for an evening seawatch. A flock of 700 scoters were close in, I scanned them several times but could only find commons scoters. About 24 manx shearwaters flew north in several groups and two red-throated divers and two great-crested grebes were still in summer plumage. There were a few terns feeding including up to seven roseate, which is good given the Avian Influenza tragedy unfolding on Coquet Island.

A beautiful sunset drew close on the hottest day of they year (so far...). I started the day with a red kite and ended it with a red sky.

This my first blog post for ages. I'm struggling to find the time to keep with things and the blog has slipped. I've got some new hoverflies for the patch to report, I just need a wet evening to write another post. 

Covid not Corvids

Well it looks as though it might be sometime before I get back onto the patch. With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing the country into lockdown current restrictions prevent me from driving to my patch. It doesn't seem to prevent the masses of dog-walkers who still think it's okay to drive down there to empty their dogs.

I've not been on my bike for a couple of years, but I might have to get it sorted so I can bike down to Druridge - obviously being sensible and not using hides and keeping as safe distance from everyone.

In the meantime I'm pottering around, taking short walks from home which has been quite nice. All around our house are fields and wooded denes where you can walk for hours be unlucky to meet others. It's been nice to see woodland birds that I don't usually see like jays, nuthatches and willow tits. Strangely no great-spotted woodpeckers though... but sadly, plenty of grey squirrels.

I did get to the coast this morning by walking down to Snab Point which is only a mile from home.

My last visit to the patch was Sunday. We'd driven for six hours back from the Scottish Highlands where we'd been staying in a cottage for a week near to Tain on the Moray Firth so went down to Druridge to stretch our legs. We didn't get there until 5pm and it was still like a Bank Holiday weekend, wall to wall cars by the entrance. It was like people had one last freedom and they were going to use it.

We avoided the crowds by wandering through the bushes. We flushed a roosting barn owl, it's unusual to find barn owls in those bushes but not unheard of, we also flushed a woodcock. I haven't seen a woodcock on the patch since the 18th January last year! This must be a bird resting before continuing it's eastward migration.

Full list here

There'll be a lot less blog posts for a while unless I get the bike sorted.

Red kite from Scotland - maybe I'll see one at Druridge this Autumn?

Stay safe out there.

Not seeing red

Whilst I was trundling up the A1 on the way to work on Monday spoonbill watchers at Druridge reported not one, but two species that would've been full patch ticks for me.

Firstly Alan Curry had a red kite flying through - A species that I have been predicting as my next patch tick for ages and still am - see left hand column of this blog.

Secondly a red-rumped swallow  - tracked down from East Chevington and seen by several birders seemingly.

Red kite has been recorded on the patch before (28th March 2016) but as far as I am aware red-rumped swallow is a new bird for the Druridge patch - taking the overall patch list to 264 species.

More like winter than spring

Maybe it is just because I have just come back from Cuba, but I thought this weekend felt more like winter than spring. Even on Friday, which was certainly the best day of the weekend, it still felt like winter at Druridge and the lack of any migrants reinforced my thinking.

Cuba was excellent - great birding in a really interesting country. Cuban tody stood out as 'bird of the trip'. I will sort some photos and put them on Flickr soon and might even get around to writing a trip report.

Cuban Tody

Good Friday was my first visit back to the patch. It wasn't that good... although I did add a few common species to the year list - meadow pipit, kittiwake, eider, snipe, great crested grebe and oystercatcher. There were still four pintail on the Budge fields, a female scaup on the big pool and seven whooper swans on the front field.

No proper migrants were seen.

Despite the forecast of a southerly airflow for today, the wind was plumb out the north first thing, moving through to a strong and very cold nor'westerly later. Any migrant with thoughts of self preservation will of headed back south. So, I only added lesser black-backed gull to my year list. 

Interestingly, Andy McLucky reported a red kite over the Budge fields this morning  - a long-overdue addition to the Druridge patch list. This takes the patch list (my own sightings with any other published sightings) to 259 species. I've seen 238 of them. I would like to think I will add red kite to my own list this year. I might post a list of the things I haven't seen on here at sometime.

For this year, I am on 99 species. Hopefully I will add something else before the month ends, but unlike most of the birdwatchers in Northumberland, I am back at work tomorrow.

The weekend

I've not really been down to Druridge much over the weekend, we had a quick visit on Friday night, again there wasn't much new about, but the sunset was nice.

Saturday was spent ringing, firstly with Ian at East Chevington, which was quite disappointing as we expected a good catch, but actually caught very few. This juvvy reed warbler was nice though (Pic by Ian)

We packed in at 0920 and I went north to meet the Hanmers to ring some barn owls in the Alnmouth to Rennington areas. We ringed young out of three boxes, with the other not quite big enough.

On the Howick Estate as we were leaving one of the boxes, Hugh got his eye on a long-winged raptor ahead, we bundled out of the car to see a red kite. We watched as it picked up height, at the same time I was on the phone to the Boulmer Birder as it was nearly over his house, sadly mobile reception in this area is not good and BB did not get onto the bird.

The bird was untagged, but was probably from the release scheme, a few birds are starting to drift north now, how long until I get one at Druridge?

A brief visit to Druridge this evening, dodging showers. The Silage field next to the Budge field has been cut and as I predicted has attracted birds, tonight there were about 50 rooks and jackdaw, 34 curlew, 28 lapwing, 5 whimbrel, 3 golden plover and an oyc. Not bad!

The three lapwing chicks we ringed last week are still alive an pottering around the fields and the stonechat pair in the dunes have fledged another brood of three younguns (making it six this year).

There were a few damselfys on the track to the oddie hide, a painted lady and several meadow browns, there were also these two strange beasts 'on the job' - no idea what they are - any thoughts?


This latticed heath moth was on the track too.

greylag family

I am off to Ireland for a few days with work, let's hope Druridge stays quiet until I get back!