quick visit

A quick visit to Dru tonite one the way home from work, very bright and very breezy, not much to report tho. 1 little egret is still on the Budge fields, but no sign of wood sand reported birdguides this afternoon. Also single greenshank over, calling and two or three rosy's offshore. Spent the remainder of the evening glazing my new greenhouse (after spending most of the weekend building the base and the frame)...piccies to follow.

RAVE ON!!!

An early start at Dru this morning, bright and breezy, so no good for ringing. I arrived at 0630 to find about 40 cars at the north end...odd for a sunday...but it's the summer - rave season. I guess there was about 100 people there, the music was still playing, I had a quick look on the sea (rosy - year tick!!), there were a few worse-for-wear types on the beach. By the time I left taxis had begun to arrive to take away some of the ravers. Check out the vid on youtube

Rave on

I don't really mind raves on the beach as long as they clear away their shit after them, and to be fair, there were some guys with bin liners picking stuff up. I reckon the countryside is there for us all to enjoy, some people enjoy it differently to others, so let them be, as long as they don't spoil it for others who follow them.

Anyhoo, bird wise it was v.quiet, although I did flush a pair of grey partridge and six small young, only just big enough to fly....they were in the dunes. A little egret was still on the budge fields....

Common spotted orchid

130 roseate tern

New Google Earth

I just downloaded the new Google Earth, and our area is vastly improved, check out the patch!! Will annotate and add to blog when I have more time...no news from Dru..

A bit of this and a bit of that

Firstly, my suspicions that the garganey have bred at Druridge Pools has been confirmed, Trevor Blake called me at the weekend to say he had seen two garganey ducklings on the Budge Fields - Fantastic! This is a really good record, I will pass on the news to NWT and remind them that 40+ cows will be required at the end of July...

When I got the call from Trev, I was in Scotland, Aviemore to be precise, on my way back from a fantastic break in northern Scotland. Did the north coast first, camping at the magnificent Sandwood Bay then a trip to the SWT reserve of Handa Island. I can thoroughly reccomend Handa to those that have not been. It is truly a spectacle, it is an island close to the mainland reached by a small boat, a bit like an over sized miners tin bath with an engine. The island is flat at one side rising to spectacular seabird cliffs, the biggest draw for us Northumbrians is the breeding skua's, which nest on the open moor in the middle of the island, there are about 16 pairs of arctic skua and 240+ pairs of bonxies. The arctic skuas have a bit of a divebomb like terns do, but the bonxies don't, thankfully - cos they would kill you!

Sandwood Bay - our campsite

View north from Handa Island

Fulmar

Arctic Skua

Bonxies - top - causing havoc at the seabird cliffs, middle - in flight, bottom - a bonxie bath!

After Handa stopped in Durness but it rained and rained and rained so on Sunday headed south for Speyside, staying at the Lazy Duck near Nethy Bridge - a fine Hostel if you're by that way http://www.lazyduck.co.uk/ . Visited RSPB Osprey World at Garten (you've got to really...) then had a look up glen feshie, it was a bit showery though, so didn't see much.

The flow country...Fantastic!

TB had a little egret at Dru on Sunday when he called me about the garganeys, there were two there today, so after work and after ringing barn owls around Amble, I called in. They weren't there, but soon arrived, flying in from the south. They had a bit of chase about - nice!

mute swan and cygnets - last week at dru

129 little egret

Bits and bobs

Had three visits to Dru since my last post, been very busy, so have been a little tardy updating the old blog, technical problems (you know who you are!!) means there will be no photo's this week, but will make up for that later.

Saturday - was supposed to be ringing with JF, but it was too bright/breezy so we did some management works on the net rides, this showery weather doesn't half make the veg grow!

The (potential) highlight was the (potential) confirmed breeding of garganey. We only had bins, but saw the drake garg looking a bit drab, going into eclipse? and the back of a female type small duck (presumably the female garg, but really crap views through deepening veg) and two tiny ducklings for seconds.....and no further sign since. But there are two broods of mallard (8 and 10) and one brood of 8 gadwall and I haven't seen them again much either, the veg is so deep stuff disappears. So here's a plea to all those who get down to the pools - keep your eyes pealed for juv garganey -it would be great to get breeding confirmed...and don't forget to put a roving record into the atlas!

Other than that, a first winter little gull was all of note and handful of manxies offshore.

Visited both last night (7-9pm) and tonight (after ringing barn owls) for 30 minutes. Highlights yesterday were LRP (year tick) and drake pintail on the Budge fields, ringed plover and sanderling on the beach and a brood of 5 mute swan (pics to follow) on the pool, and lots of swifts about. A barn owl was at cresswell on the way home.

Tonight there was greenshank on the budge fields.

128 little ringed plover

All at Sea

Five year ticks tonight at Druridge and they were all at sea, I only decided to look on the sea as I was heading home, just before the rain started. First birds seen, through the bins, were 12 manx shearwaters feeding close in, next was a bonxie sat on the sea, then both arctic and common tern, then more, then more....last was an arctic skua - doing what arctics do best - chasing terns. Also on the sea were two RTD's, one in spanking breeding plumage, the other a rather tired looking non-breeder, a female common scoter, fulmar and many gannets, terns, gulls and auks. On the cetacean front, there was a single harbour porpoise.

2 whimbrel flew north up, low, up the beach, joined by a third offuv the beach. 4 sanderlings were on the waters edge, one in top breeding nick. Sanderlings are a fantastic looking bird when seen in this plumage.

Elsewhere on the patch, starling numbers have increased, but no pink-jobs! One of the three stonechat pairs in the dunes had two young fledged and there were also fledgling blackbirds, chaffinches, carrion crow, magpie and linnet. There were three mistle thrush, not sure if this is a family party as I didn't see them well, I expect it is as one of the adults has been seen on my last few visits, so I expect they are local breeders.

meadow pipit

Saw my first brood of gadwall chicks this evening too, not an exact count as they scooted across the water between the rushes, but there were at least 8, probably 2 or 3 more. Finally as I was leaving, the long eared owl was hunting along the back of the woods. All in all a pleasant evening....until the rain stopped play.

I took some flower shots at the weekend and have just found time to post them, they were all taken on the path to the Oddie Hide, the top one is northern marsh orchid, then a partly opened common spotted orchid and finally vipers buglos, which is now suffering from being star-struck (it is also on boulmer birder and abbey meadows)

123 manx shearwater

124 bonxie

125 common tern

126 arctic tern

127 arctic skua

Ringing....but not at Dru

I haven't had the chance to get down to Dru much lately, been ringing birds elsewhere. Saturday, I was down in the North Tyne Valley with John ringing tits in nestboxes. I thought I had been to most of Northumberland, but Sidwood and Comb were new one's to me. A really enjoyable afternoon apart from the midges.

Tonight I have been out with the Hanmer's, ringing barn owls. We caught four adults, but no pulli. I did get to ring some jackdaw pulli though. I've not really done much ringing of larger birds so this was good experience, hopefully will be able to go out again. Phil was saying that the barn owls are nesting very late this year, some aren't even on eggs yet.

Hopefully will get down to Dru tomorrow after work.............