Cold spells

 I once read how regular weather patterns can be. On a broad scale for example, here we get cold northerlies from April to May and mild southerlies in September and October. The exact opposite of what we would like to see.

Snow is a bit less predictable. 

Or is it? Since the millennium we have had some snow each year in November and December. 

30th December 2020. A dusting at midnight.

29th November 2021. The aftermath of Storm Arwen was cold. Above shows our snow covered bathroom lit by candle. No heating or hot water for 11 days.

14th December 2022. White on the flatter surfaces.

1st December 2023. Tricky driving as our roads are often last to be gritted.

20th November 2024. This is uncanny. Same date as this year below...

20th November 2025. 2 inches fell driving very difficult until later in the daty.

20th November 2025 being out here when the roads are difficult we have the coast to ourselves...

End of the Moth Season

 That's another year garden moth trapping over with the Robinson being retired into the shed. This is my 16th year trapping here. I've still got records to add to my MapMate database but I think all new species are in. 

Several new species arrived this year, something that always surprises me how new moths keep being added after all this time.

Caloptilia honoratella 1 , a First for Northumberland. Always good to get a county first.

Plutella porrectella 2, nice, unexpected too.

Coleophora alcyonipennella Clover Case-bearer 2 only 3 previous county records.

Palpita vitrealis 2 a great year for these in the county. Only 17 records.

Agriphila latistria 1 Only 14 records of this crambid.

Odontosia carmelita Scarce Prominent 1 One of my most wanted moths, a fine fresh one too.

Heliothis peltigera Bordered Straw 1 Everyone was catching these bar me, so was pleased with a nice fresh one. 

Dryobotodes eremita Brindled Green 1, less than 100 ever in the county all further south.

Mythimna vitellina Delicate 2 Only 25 records for the county.

Autumn almost over.

 October is now over with only a single post on the blog.

This might be because this may be one of the poorest autumns birding I can recall. Since August we have had a constant southerly or south westerly airflow. For us on the NE Coast that is about as bad as it can get.

Looking at some stats, Manx Shearwater for example. Not one in September. There was just no suitable seawatching conditions. Same goes for drift migrants. On my patch there have been no Redstarts, Whinchats or Pied Flys.

It shows, people think we have it made watching a patch on the east coast, but that is only if the weather is in our favour. Back in August I wondered if the steady S winds would ever change, and they didn't apart from a couple of very narrow sub standard windows of opportunity.

On 25th September a seawatch was largely quiet other than a few Dolphins a Wheatear and an in-off Short Eared Owl.

Above- Bottle nosed Dolphins and a Short eared Owl at Cullernose.

A brief twitch to Holy Island on 27th September while we were up that way had a nice Red breasted Flycatcher. The following day a Cetti's Warbler giving short snatches of song at Foxton Golf Course pond was a first for the Boulmer patch. The same morning a good count of 71 Redpolls flew S. It at least has been a good year for Redpolls with bird moving S on most days.

On 5th October a nice group of 7 Curlew Sandpipers dropped on to the Aln Estuary. 

On 20th around our village were 6 Little Gulls N, a Woodcock, 18 Crossbills and 9 Whooper Swans S while the glitch in the machine dropped a few Yellow browed Warblers on site with 3 at Craster with a late Willow Warbler and two Willow Tits.

Willow Tit

Willow Warbler 

Half a Yellow browed Warbler

And thats about it .

So, its no good wondering what could have been.

Winter is coming...