Regular readers of this blog will remember I mentioned recording an episode of 'Ramblings' with Clare Balding on Radio 4, alongside Tom Cadwallender. It is now on BBC iplayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006xrr2
Have a listen!
Friday, 9 October 2009
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Unexpected Bonus
I arrived back from my trip to Andalucia late last night, with one thing on my mind.....GLOSSY IBIS!
So first thing this morning I went straight to Druridge, I had to be in Berwick by nine o'clock so not much time, I went straight to the Budge screen, no sign...The hunters were shooting woodpigeons or pheasants over by the haul road, my fear was that the shooting might have scared it off for good.
My fears were allayed somewhat when I heard from Alan Gilbertson that it was spending most of its time on the big pool, so straight after work i was back down there, some people walking back from the hide assured me it was showing well in front of the hide! I was sweating like a fat lass at a disco I can tell you!
Anyway, when I got there, it had gone from in front of the hide, thankfully only to left a bit, crap light but it was on the list...PHEW!
I would have been totally gutted if I had missed such a monstrous bird for the patch, thank gos it stayed around long enough for me to see it. The excitement didn't end there though, there was more.
AG had also told me about a buff-breasted sandpiper and honey buzzard at Cresswell today. As I watching the ibis, I noticed a small wader on the waters edge to the left of the hide, it was behind vegetation and in silhouette, but it looked different then I lost it. It re-appeared some minutes later further along the shore near to the ibis, a grey heron and two greenshanks. I pointed it out to some photographers in the hide and that I suspected it could be the buff-breasted...
Just as I did, it flew off doing two circuits of the western end of the lake, flying fast, resembling a bat in flight and showing a pale underwing with an obvious crescent. It landed among the rocks on the far shore, in better light, but head-on, so not much better views but enough with the flight views to clinch it! One of the photographers moved the scope and I never re-located it, the light was going quickly too, hopefully it will still be there tomorrow. I've had buff-breasted at Druridge before, right in front of the Oddie hide, so not a patch tick but a cracking year tick and a really unexpected bonus to the ibis.
Oh and by the way, Spain was fantastic, great weather for October, i missed most of the raptor migration at Tarifa, but I did see Rupells vulture, my target species and really good short-toed eagle passage. Andalucia is a fantastic place, I could move there tomorrow!
Patch list
GLOSSY IBIS 218
Year list
glossy ibis 139
buff-breasted sandpiper 140
So first thing this morning I went straight to Druridge, I had to be in Berwick by nine o'clock so not much time, I went straight to the Budge screen, no sign...The hunters were shooting woodpigeons or pheasants over by the haul road, my fear was that the shooting might have scared it off for good.
My fears were allayed somewhat when I heard from Alan Gilbertson that it was spending most of its time on the big pool, so straight after work i was back down there, some people walking back from the hide assured me it was showing well in front of the hide! I was sweating like a fat lass at a disco I can tell you!
Anyway, when I got there, it had gone from in front of the hide, thankfully only to left a bit, crap light but it was on the list...PHEW!
I would have been totally gutted if I had missed such a monstrous bird for the patch, thank gos it stayed around long enough for me to see it. The excitement didn't end there though, there was more.
AG had also told me about a buff-breasted sandpiper and honey buzzard at Cresswell today. As I watching the ibis, I noticed a small wader on the waters edge to the left of the hide, it was behind vegetation and in silhouette, but it looked different then I lost it. It re-appeared some minutes later further along the shore near to the ibis, a grey heron and two greenshanks. I pointed it out to some photographers in the hide and that I suspected it could be the buff-breasted...
Just as I did, it flew off doing two circuits of the western end of the lake, flying fast, resembling a bat in flight and showing a pale underwing with an obvious crescent. It landed among the rocks on the far shore, in better light, but head-on, so not much better views but enough with the flight views to clinch it! One of the photographers moved the scope and I never re-located it, the light was going quickly too, hopefully it will still be there tomorrow. I've had buff-breasted at Druridge before, right in front of the Oddie hide, so not a patch tick but a cracking year tick and a really unexpected bonus to the ibis.
Oh and by the way, Spain was fantastic, great weather for October, i missed most of the raptor migration at Tarifa, but I did see Rupells vulture, my target species and really good short-toed eagle passage. Andalucia is a fantastic place, I could move there tomorrow!
Patch list
GLOSSY IBIS 218
Year list
glossy ibis 139
buff-breasted sandpiper 140
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Not so glossy for me!
Hola from Spain
Isn´t that just typical, you go away for a few days well deserved holiday and two mega´s turn up on the patch......Yeah you´ve all heard about the glossy ibis, I heard about it form lots of people, even here in Tarifa!! Seemingly it´s still there according to the Boulmer Birder who texted me today.
But Ian Fisher texted to say whilst he was looking from the ibis he had a JAY! I´ve never seen jay at druridge and to be honest a glossy ibis will probably turn up again before a jay does!
I´ve seen glossy ibis this week near cadiz but it jusn´t the same!
Hopefully it will still be there next Wednesday
Isn´t that just typical, you go away for a few days well deserved holiday and two mega´s turn up on the patch......Yeah you´ve all heard about the glossy ibis, I heard about it form lots of people, even here in Tarifa!! Seemingly it´s still there according to the Boulmer Birder who texted me today.
But Ian Fisher texted to say whilst he was looking from the ibis he had a JAY! I´ve never seen jay at druridge and to be honest a glossy ibis will probably turn up again before a jay does!
I´ve seen glossy ibis this week near cadiz but it jusn´t the same!
Hopefully it will still be there next Wednesday
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Avast ye Landlubbers there be whales about these shores
Yarrrrrrrr, today had been International 'talk like a pirate day' and I been celebratin it in true pirate style yarrrr.
We had a good ol' beach clean up 'n' survey this mornin for the MCS Big beachwatch weekend at Seahouses 'n' on me way back I called in to see Marta and the other scurvy sea dogs o'board the good ship Glad Tidins (I, II, III etc) n they be tellin me that the humpty-backed whale that was scarin the Pirates near the Farne Islands last weekend ad bin seen again bout Newton Point Yarrrrrrr. The good ship Glad Tidins V wi Captn John aboard ad gone off in search o' the scary beast.
So a whale twitchin I did go, the wretched creature 'o' the deep were nowhere to be seen tho, some landlubber might 'o' been seein seals 'n' should be keelhauled at dawn from the back 'o' Glad tidins if he be mistakin arrrrr
So to Druridge I did sail for there was litter to be counted there too, and as me 'n' me pirate wench av adopted that there beach we 'ad work to do.
The pirate fun didn't stop there though, no mistakin, when the sun set across the western skies, the salty sea dogs ventured inland to Morpeth Town where many flaggons 'o' ale n rum were downed along wi th best catch 'o' the day arrrr there were some mighty fine pirates aboard and some pretty pirate wenches. There'll be pictures 'o' the swashbucklin on ye olde facebook pages no doubtin'.
A mighty fine 'talk like a pirate day' be had by all. ARRRRRRR
We had a good ol' beach clean up 'n' survey this mornin for the MCS Big beachwatch weekend at Seahouses 'n' on me way back I called in to see Marta and the other scurvy sea dogs o'board the good ship Glad Tidins (I, II, III etc) n they be tellin me that the humpty-backed whale that was scarin the Pirates near the Farne Islands last weekend ad bin seen again bout Newton Point Yarrrrrrr. The good ship Glad Tidins V wi Captn John aboard ad gone off in search o' the scary beast.
So a whale twitchin I did go, the wretched creature 'o' the deep were nowhere to be seen tho, some landlubber might 'o' been seein seals 'n' should be keelhauled at dawn from the back 'o' Glad tidins if he be mistakin arrrrr
So to Druridge I did sail for there was litter to be counted there too, and as me 'n' me pirate wench av adopted that there beach we 'ad work to do.
The pirate fun didn't stop there though, no mistakin, when the sun set across the western skies, the salty sea dogs ventured inland to Morpeth Town where many flaggons 'o' ale n rum were downed along wi th best catch 'o' the day arrrr there were some mighty fine pirates aboard and some pretty pirate wenches. There'll be pictures 'o' the swashbucklin on ye olde facebook pages no doubtin'.
A mighty fine 'talk like a pirate day' be had by all. ARRRRRRR
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
To the bushes
I dodged seawatching tonight and headed for the bushes and to be honest it was very, very quiet. It was also the wrong end of the day but beggars can't be choosers!
There wasn't really a peep as I wandered through, the odd resident blue tit, great tit and wren and that was, not even the robins we ringed at the weekend. However, as I walked into a bit of open ground I saw a ghostly white figure in the distance....
A male barn owl sat out on a branch fast asleep, the photos aren't the best, it was dark in there, he sat asleep for ages then when I moved to retreat woke up and flew only 10m or so to another branch, I left him there. The only other highlight was a year tick, a male bullfinch by the Budge Screen, calling as it flew it overhead.
30 or so pink footed geese flew south as I was leaving, autumn is most certainly here!
There might be a bit of murk around in the morning so I shall give the patch another going over before work I think.
138 bullfinch
There wasn't really a peep as I wandered through, the odd resident blue tit, great tit and wren and that was, not even the robins we ringed at the weekend. However, as I walked into a bit of open ground I saw a ghostly white figure in the distance....
A male barn owl sat out on a branch fast asleep, the photos aren't the best, it was dark in there, he sat asleep for ages then when I moved to retreat woke up and flew only 10m or so to another branch, I left him there. The only other highlight was a year tick, a male bullfinch by the Budge Screen, calling as it flew it overhead.
30 or so pink footed geese flew south as I was leaving, autumn is most certainly here!
There might be a bit of murk around in the morning so I shall give the patch another going over before work I think.
138 bullfinch
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
two short seawatches
I did two short seawatches today, 45 minutes of my lunch hour between 1330 and 1415 and from 1740-1910 this evening.
At lunch there was lots of gannets and kittiwakes moving but little else, highlights were 1 sooty shearwater and two harbour porpoise, to be honest the light wasn't good.
This evening there were even more kitti's and gannets moving north, the kitti's especially were moving in large groups, occasionally stopping to feed, where they were harassed by two arctic skuas that were hanging about. The numbers were so high I gave up trying to count them. There were hardly any shearwaters this evening, only 6 manx and 1 sooty though at 1815, I had a large shearwater way out on the horizon, which will remain unidentified, I never saw the whole bird, it was low rto the surface, disappearing behind the swell, it was very long winged, but I didn't get much more on it. Highlights this eveing were 1 red-necked grebe on the sea with red-throated divers, 1 pomarine skua and a female scaup.
Totals (lunchtime in brackets)
Gannet - lots (203)
kittiwake - lots (371)
sandwich tern 23 ( 1)
guilliemot 3 (12)
common scoter 75 (9)
fulmar 5 (2)
manx shearwater 6
scaup 1
arctic skua 5
red-throated diver 4
bonxie 1
red-necked grebe 1
pomarine skua 1
auk sp 20 (11)
cormorant 4 (3)
arctic tern 1
goosander 2
sooty shearwater 1 (1)
eider 2
razorbill (2)
harbour porpoise 2
136 scaup
137 red-necked grebe
At lunch there was lots of gannets and kittiwakes moving but little else, highlights were 1 sooty shearwater and two harbour porpoise, to be honest the light wasn't good.
This evening there were even more kitti's and gannets moving north, the kitti's especially were moving in large groups, occasionally stopping to feed, where they were harassed by two arctic skuas that were hanging about. The numbers were so high I gave up trying to count them. There were hardly any shearwaters this evening, only 6 manx and 1 sooty though at 1815, I had a large shearwater way out on the horizon, which will remain unidentified, I never saw the whole bird, it was low rto the surface, disappearing behind the swell, it was very long winged, but I didn't get much more on it. Highlights this eveing were 1 red-necked grebe on the sea with red-throated divers, 1 pomarine skua and a female scaup.
Totals (lunchtime in brackets)
Gannet - lots (203)
kittiwake - lots (371)
sandwich tern 23 ( 1)
guilliemot 3 (12)
common scoter 75 (9)
fulmar 5 (2)
manx shearwater 6
scaup 1
arctic skua 5
red-throated diver 4
bonxie 1
red-necked grebe 1
pomarine skua 1
auk sp 20 (11)
cormorant 4 (3)
arctic tern 1
goosander 2
sooty shearwater 1 (1)
eider 2
razorbill (2)
harbour porpoise 2
136 scaup
137 red-necked grebe
Monday, 14 September 2009
Seawatching
Making up for yesterday, I got a flyer from work and went to Druridge to do some seawatching, there was cold NE blowing as I sheltered my deckchair behind the marram grass and got myself comfy for a long sit.
I seawatched from 1645-1915 when the light went. Passage was steady, one of the first birds I saw was a pomarine skua, a pale bird with no spoons N about a third of the way out, in front of the pot flags, at 1720 I was sure I had a juvenile sabines gull going N but it was way, way distant, so it didn't make the notebook.
The highlight of the evening came at 1750, I got my eye on a pale phase arctic skua, it was in pursuit of a bird, when it turned and banked to try and dodge the skua it was only a sabines gull, no doubting this one, and adult, it was only about a third of the way out, slightly south of my viewing spot, the skua chased it closer in then it went back out again, eventually the skua gave in and the gull seemed to drop onto the sea and I didn't see it again. This is my second sabines gull at Druridge my first was in 2007.
I phoned the boys at Church Point in Newbiggin (after the traditional 'dissing' of any druridge single observer seabirds, in fact any of my Druridge records....) and they said they had had a couple of sab's through (and later had a couple more!). I only had two sooty shearwaters, my first of 2009.
Other totals:
gannet 347 (undercount, couldn't count them all)
gulliemot 17
pomarine skua 1
kittiwake 298 (undercount, ditto)
arctic skua 6
fulmar 2
shag 4
manx shearwater 98
bonxie 4
cormorant 7
razorbill 3
auks sp 12
sandwich tern 18
common scoter 11
'commic' tern 2
sabines gull 1
red throated diver 6
sooty shearwater 2
arctic tern 1
wigeon 73
teal 10
I am now torn. I have to go to a meeting in Newbiggin tomorrow morning at 0930 do I:
a) Go to Druridge before work and look for migrants in the bushes
b) Go to Newbiggin and do some seawatching there
Answers in the comments box please.
133 pomarine skua
134 sabines gull
135 sooty shearwater
I seawatched from 1645-1915 when the light went. Passage was steady, one of the first birds I saw was a pomarine skua, a pale bird with no spoons N about a third of the way out, in front of the pot flags, at 1720 I was sure I had a juvenile sabines gull going N but it was way, way distant, so it didn't make the notebook.
The highlight of the evening came at 1750, I got my eye on a pale phase arctic skua, it was in pursuit of a bird, when it turned and banked to try and dodge the skua it was only a sabines gull, no doubting this one, and adult, it was only about a third of the way out, slightly south of my viewing spot, the skua chased it closer in then it went back out again, eventually the skua gave in and the gull seemed to drop onto the sea and I didn't see it again. This is my second sabines gull at Druridge my first was in 2007.
I phoned the boys at Church Point in Newbiggin (after the traditional 'dissing' of any druridge single observer seabirds, in fact any of my Druridge records....) and they said they had had a couple of sab's through (and later had a couple more!). I only had two sooty shearwaters, my first of 2009.
Other totals:
gannet 347 (undercount, couldn't count them all)
gulliemot 17
pomarine skua 1
kittiwake 298 (undercount, ditto)
arctic skua 6
fulmar 2
shag 4
manx shearwater 98
bonxie 4
cormorant 7
razorbill 3
auks sp 12
sandwich tern 18
common scoter 11
'commic' tern 2
sabines gull 1
red throated diver 6
sooty shearwater 2
arctic tern 1
wigeon 73
teal 10
I am now torn. I have to go to a meeting in Newbiggin tomorrow morning at 0930 do I:
a) Go to Druridge before work and look for migrants in the bushes
b) Go to Newbiggin and do some seawatching there
Answers in the comments box please.
133 pomarine skua
134 sabines gull
135 sooty shearwater
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