New arrivals

On Tuesday evening Janet and I wander up to the Preceptory and back. No new arrivals but at least 200 Sand Martins over the Budge Fields with the usual waders, one Yellow and two White Wagtails and Wheatear were also on the fields from the little hide. 

A schoolboy error on Wednesday morning though. I got up early intending to my third territory mapping visit before work but when I arrived at Druridge the wind was strong, about 20mph from the North East and gusty - too windy for a survey so I abandoned and headed for the little hide where it would be sheltered.

The highlight was a male Ruff, coming into breeding plumage, strutting it's stuff in front of the hide. 

Ruff - getting it's ruff

This Ruff was one of three, otherwise there was nothing new to report from the Budge fields. The light was nice and both Gadwall and Shoveler came close into hides.

Drake Shelduck

Gadwall Pair

Chiffchaff in the morning sunshine

I finally got my survey done before work on Friday. The map looked a bit busier with at least 13 singing Willow Warblers and both Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat were new for the year. Blackcaps were noted at three locations. 

Also of note was Wheatear in the dunes and eight Twite including some in full song from the top of as tree. Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Reed Buntings were plentiful in the dunes and three Grasshopper Warblers were reeling there. 

Meadow Pipit in a dune bush

Shelducks are numerous on the Budge fields and in the dunes, giving some nice 'fly-bys'  - I estimated 24 in total.

Male Shelduck

Tufted Duck between the turbines

Nesting Canada Goose with a stick through it's bill - wonder if this is a fashion statement?

This morning Janet and I had wander around the hides. On the Budge fields, two Whimbrel, two male Yellow Wagtails, one White Wagtail, 14 Avocet, three Ruff and five Pintail were noteworthy. There wasn't much on the big pool but a Snipe was feeding just in front of the Oddie Hide. 

Common Snipe

A single Reed Warbler was singing in the reedbed which was new for the year and Sedge and Whitethroat were back in greater numbers. Janet went off horse-riding and I had a look on the sea, it was quiet though with no new terns, but plenty of Sandwich feeding just offshore. 13 Red-throated Divers were mostly in breeding plumage and a raft of 24 Guillemot were loafing on the sea. Twite are still around, 'commuting' along the dunes

I spent the rest of the morning trying to photograph hoverflies and bees on the path to the hides. They'll get their own post later when I've identified them. Meanwhile here's a 7-Spot Ladybird. 

7-Spot Ladybird

Top Banana

Today had promise.

A northerly moving into the east yesterday evening with heavy rain overnight and it's October - Janet and I were on the patch for first light. We thought about ringing but decided just to go birding instead. 

We started at the entrance to the reserves with the idea of doing the plantation and working our way north from there. Before we even got to the plantation, we checked the small clump of bushes by the entrance - the Elderberry is always good for a Sylvia warbler.

The sun hadn't hit the bushes when I got onto a non-descript warbler, moving low through the base of the bushes. A phylosc was soon ruled out and we stated to eliminate other species on the limited views we had and decided it was an un-streaked acro - but which one? The bird hopped up onto a branch in the first rays of sunshine and I fired off a couple of shots. One of the photos showed the bird with head and tailed held high and I remembered Punkbirders description of Blyth's Reed Warblers having this 'Banana shape'. 

First views just as the sun hit the bushes (ISO 3200!) - Classic Blyth’s Reed posture. You could stick a Fyfe’s sticker on it and sell it for 39p.

We working on the other features when ADMc and Ashington Gary turned up, another opinion was welcome and we agreed that the bird look good for Blyth's Reed Warbler. I got a couple more record shots in better light as it skulked about the low vegetation, never more than a meter from the ground. The bird was 'colder' than Eurasian reed , sandy white underparts and olivey-brown, but not warm, upperparts and the tertials were plain. 

This record-shot shows the shape and colour better as well as short primary-projection, supercillium extending behind the eye and 'grey' leg colour

This photo shows the two-toned bill colour and supercillium as well as the colour of the breast and flanks

Whilst I was birding the plantation, Janet saw the Blyth's Reed come right out onto a umbellifer stem and gave the 'tcheck' call. It wasn't heard to call before that.

What a bird! And it finally puts to rest the bird Janet and I saw back on the 5th October 2013which we were convinced was Blyth's Reed but we never got enough to clinch it.  A new bird for the patch then taking my total to 251 and the second addition this year after another rare acro - Great Reed Warbler.

We headed north checking all of the bushes from the Plantation to the Dunbar Burn. Goldcrests (110+) and Robins (45+) were the most numerous species. We also noted

Yellow-browed Warbler  - 7 (conservative estimate allowing for double-counting)

Chiffchaff - 2

Garden Warbler - 1

Blackcap -8

(Eurasian) Reed Warbler- 1

Siskin - 5

Dunnock - 12

Redwing -1

Song Thrush - 8

One of over 100 Goldcrests 

One of seven Yellow-browed Warblers

And another Yellow-browed Warbler

This photo shows the central crown-strip which some Yellow-brows show

One of five Siskins

Record-shot of the Eurasian Reed Warbler

Also of note was the almost constant calls of Skylark overhead and several skeins of Barnacle Geese with an under-count of 107 over and a single Swallow.

Barnies over

Plenty of these feckers this autumn...

Yesterday,  Janet and I braved the rain and birded the patch in rough conditions. We did from the Plantation to the Dunbar Burn. Top bird was Treecreeper in the Plantation  - only my sixth for the patch and my fist not from a net! Also of note were:

Long-eared Owl - sat on the fence opposite the Little Hide in the rain

Swallow -2

Pink-footed Geese - 1550

Yellow-Browed Warbler - 1

This evening I headed back to the patch, for high-tide to check out the Scoter flock for a possible sub-adult male Surf Scoter reported yesterday. It was impossible with a massive sea and the Scoters being well beyond the breakers. Some gull photos will follow later this week, but here is one to whet the appetite. Three Swallows were feeding in the lee of the dunes. 

Just a tempter for later in the week

Mystery bird - everyday is a schoolday

Everyday is a schoolday, well today was certainly a schoolday for me. 

Picture the scene...

I arrive early at Druridge, the sun has just come up over the sea, so it's not over the dunes yet and it's gloomy still. I step out of the car and hear a bird singing from the bushes - I think I recognise it, but I'm not sure and certainly can't put a species to it. I go and investigate,  I can't record it because the voice recorder app on my phone hasn't updated or something - typical.  the song was almost Sylvia warbler like, but 'jangly' and metallic like a corn bunting. The bird is still deep in cover. 

Something flies out of the willow and lands close by,  I fire off a few shots but it's not properly light - ISO 3200 so not great. I'm still stumped. Looks like a dumpy warbler with thick pink legs, Cetti's have thick pink legs...but it wan't right for Cetti's. I was still stumped, so I sent a very poor BoC shot to a couple of people. It never showed again and stopped singing a soon as the sun came out. I continued on.

I downloaded the photos this evening and lightened them up a bit. Not a Cetti's - that's for sure. Was it a Locustella warbler? It looked un-streaked and the pink legs and song threw me off the trail. Was it a warbler at all, could it be a Sprosser? Some of it looked right for Sprosser, some didn't. I sent the photos to Mike Carr and Neil Osbourne to see if they could help. 

Mystery Bird

A different angle

We chewed over the possibility of Sprosser but something didn't look right but what was it? Neil went back to Locustella, on closer examination of the photo, some of the coverts appear to have dark centers and Grasshopper Warblers can have pink rather than orange-pink legs. Did the gloom just make it look dark and what about that song?

Neil eventually nailed it with a song from Xeno Canto - which is exactly what I heard - a sub-song of a juvenile Grasshopper Warbler, I've never heard this before. Here is a link to the song https://www.xeno-canto.org/579804 - it's worth a listen.

As they say, you live and learn, especially in birding. Big thanks to Mike and Neil for their help.

There were a lot of Chiffchaffs this morning on the sunny edge of the bushes, I counted at least 12 between the path and the Dunbar Burn. There was also Reed Warbler, Whitethroat and Blackcap and two Spotted Flycatchers

One the many Chiffchaffs

And another looking at a fly

Reed Warbler

One of two Spotted Flycatchers

There was less viz-mig than previous mornings but the Meadow Pipit passage increased as the morning went on (I left at 08.30 with a count of 58) and a single Tree Pipit went over. Hardly any hirrundines though and most of the Swallows were local birds. 

There were a lot of birds around the new-ish ditch by the Dunbar Burn, using the fence as a perch. Meadow Pipits were stopping to drink and bathe and they were joined by a single juvenile Whinchat, Linnets, Goldfinches, Skylark, Reed Buntings and Stonechats. Worth watching this ditch I reckon, it could get a Bluethroat.

This Robin was enjoying the early sunshine - I've read that they do this rid themselves of parasites. 

Robin - enjoying the sun

Full list here

More photos...

Small White

Speckled Wood

Kestrel over

A morning (and a bit) of ringing

The weather forecast said light SE winds and largely overcast for this morning - perfect for ringing I thought and took the day off work. For once the forecast was right. I started putting nets up just after five a.m and finished just after two as the wind stated to pick up out of the south-east.

I only had a four nets up as I was on my own. Predictably, at this time of year, breeding warblers dominated the catch with only a couple of this years young chiffchaffs. Most of the warblers that breed at Druridge are sub-Saharan migrants and ringing them gives the BTO some good data on adult survival, particularly over-winter.  We didn't ring at Druridge last year because of family reasons, but we are catching warblers that we ringed in 2018 and 2017 - for the latter they've crossed the Sahara desert at least six times.

It appears to be a very good year for sedge warblers with plenty of adult birds around, mostly exhibiting signs that they are breeding. I didn't catch any reed warblers last week but caught seven this week - a species that has really colonised Druridge Pools in recent years and now breeds in even the smallest patches of phragmites. I caught a 'control' reed warbler - this means that I caught a bird that had been ringed by someone else in a different location. Controls provide data about migration and dispersal. I will report back when hear back from BTO about where this bird was ringed.

Other than the resident warblers, a real surprise was a female bullfinch. She had a brood patch so is/has bred locally. Bullfinch are very, very scarce in breeders at Druridge (in fact I'm struggling to recall one), they are usually only seen in autumn and winter. As I was packing up I caught an entire family party of blue tits - an adult male and female and four unruly juveniles.

Today's list (not all caught and ringed, this includes other sightings)

I hope to get few more ringing sessions in over the next few weeks to catch juvenile warblers before they disperse.

After some net-ride maintenance yesterday evening, I had a quick seawatch. Other than 55 manx shearwater heading north it was just busy with breeding birds from Coquet Island. The Easterly wind pushed a few fulmars close to the dunes and I managed a couple of photos as they glided effortlessly by.

Two barn owls hunted the dune-backs behind me.

Seawatching list here

Fulmar

Fulmar at close quarters

A GREAT morning on the patch

Working at home is the 'new normal' for me.

I was doing just that when I got a call from Alan Priest to say that Dave Elliott had found a Great Reed Warbler on my patch and had been trying to get hold of me. The benefits of flexible and home working and a clear diary meant that I could just go - and I did.

The bird was at he western end of the big pool. As I walked beyond the two hides towards the stile, I could hear the great reed singing and I was 130m or more from where it was. I got to the area and Dave was still there and great reed was still singing, drowning out the Eurasian reed warblers.

After a quick chat Dave left, shortly after the bird did exactly what Dave had already seen it do, it came down into the close-by willows, pursued by reed warblers, stopped a while and then off back into the reeds wit the reed warbler in pursuit - they didn't appreciate it's company. And then it all went quiet - both the great reed and Eurasian reeds went silent. Birders started to arrive and I told them about it's behaviour before heading off myself to leave some room and to go back to work.

It was great that everyone I saw was sensible, nobody went where they shouldn't and everyone socially distanced.

I didn't get any photos as it was chucking it down when I left but Dave Elliot has a great shot on his blog. Well done to Dave for finding it  - he has a great track record with this species

A GREAT new bird for the patch taking my list to 251 (if the Baikal teal gets accepted).

The wanderer returns

I was back on the patch yesterday to do a belated WeBS count after returning from a birding trip to the Greek island of Lesvos in the early hours of the morning - how's that for dedication?. A wood sandpiper had been reported which I was keen to see despite this being easily the most common wader on Lesvos with up to 100 in one place.

This is a photo from Lesvos, not Druridge. Lesvos more than lived up to my expectations, it was a great place with excellent birding and I hope to be back there someday.

Wood Sandpiper at Kalloni salt pans on Lesvos

I did see the wood sandpiper on the Budge fields and it was nice to get it on the WeBS count. There wasn't much to count with most of the wintering duck departed and very few waders. Frustratingly five whimbrel flew over, looked like landing but carried on north.

There was a constant background noise of singing warblers - all new in since I left other than chiffchaff. Blackcap, willow, whitethroat, sedge, grasshopper in the dunes by the blockhouse, lesser whitethroat by the Oddie hide and reed warbler in the reedbed.

Also new for the year was this nice fresh speckled wood butterfly

Fresh Speckled Wood - iPhone shot. 

Tonight, prompted by the report of a little tern on the beach, I had a wander up to Chibburn Mouth to check its suitability for fencing to protect shorebirds and it looks good!

On the way there, goldfinches, linnets and skylarks were all in song in the dunes.

Goldfinch (I only spotted the ring when I looked at the photos)

Linnet

Skylark on the haul road

 A lapwing pair in the fields by the haul road had four tiny furball-like chicks scampering around. I hope they all get to fledge! I walked back by the beach, there was no little terns to be seen but a sandwich tern was feeding offshore and this black-headed gull was nicely lit by the evening sun against the dunes.

Black-headed gull 

Back on the patch

Back on the patch today for my first visit of the year after a two-week birding trip to Taiwan.

Taiwan was interesting and it's not a place many birders get to so we were working somewhat blind but managed to see all but two of the expected endemic species.

It was good to be back on the patch on a cold and crisp sunny morning. I only had time for a quick wander around but added 31 species to the year list. The bushes were quiet as expected, a couple of coal tits were interesting as they are usually an autumn species.

Coal tit

All of the ducks were on the big pool as the Budge fields were frozen solid and there were plenty of them - I'll have a better idea of numbers on Sunday when I do the WeBS count but there were plenty of wigeon and teal.

Drake tufted duck

Pair of Mallards

I wandered up to the north end of the patch and onto the beach along the Dunbar Burn channel where I flushed a jack snipe - it shot out as I approached the end of the channel where there is some wrack accumulated which I presume it was feeding on. 

I didn't see jack snipe last year on the patch. This has happened to me so often, I go a whole year without seeing a species and then see it on my first visit of the next year... Bullfinch, greenfinch. yellowhammer and peregrine are all on that list.

This teal was feeding just beyond where the jack snipe came up from, it stayed put as I walked by, must be plenty of feeding among the rotting weed.

Teal feeding amongst wrack in the Dunbar Burn channel

In the dunes to the north, there was a flock of least 80 twite with a handful of chaffinches, goldfinches and reed buntings.

Reed bunting

Return of the blog

After much consideration and even a debate on Twitter I have decided to start blogging on here again. I got out of the habit, became lazy and relied on social media which was quick and instant. I realised that I, even if nobody reads this,  I enjoy writing it and more importantly enjoy looking back at it.

So here goes...let's see how long it lasts.

Unbelievably, it's nearly the end of June, the longest day has been and gone and the nights will start to cut in soon. I've not been out birding much recently with big DIY projects, the garden and a work trip to Latvia.

Today, I decided to put some nets up. With Janet away on the Farne Islands and no trainees, it was just me, so I only had three nets up. It's always quiet at this time of year, but I had high hopes of juvenile warblers.

I was all set up by 05.30 and was soon catching birds. The most exciting bird, for me, was reed warbler - nothing unusual there? But, this was a 'control'  - meaning it had been ringed by someone other than us. We don't get many 'controls' so they're always interesting. The last controlled reed warbler we had came from Suffolk.

The controlled reed warbler

A male cuckoo was cuckooing all morning (a very rare occurrence at Druridge these days), at one point it was sat in the tree at the end of my net - never managed to catch it unfortunately.

Between checking the nets, I tried photographing swifts  -not easy, this is the best I got.

Swift 

I was also playing around with the iPhone. When I was in Riga, one of my hosts was showing the SloMo video thing on iPhone - he was getting some great results so I've been playing around with it.

This Scorpion fly was the best I got.

Here is a still

Scorpion fly Panorpa communi

I caught 17 new birds in total which isn't bad for June. Only one juvenile warbler - a chiffchaff, but I did get adult blackcaps and sedge warblers.

I also had a look at some plants and butterflies - there were lots of speckled woods, on the wing, with a couple of ringlets and skippers.

Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata

Bloody Cranesbill Geranium sanguineum

Common Spotted Orchid - Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Well, there we go. Hopefully the first of many more blog posts from Druridge.