An Upland Walk...Northumberland National Park

Harthope Valley - Carey Burn to Broadstruther Walk.

On Sunday we had a walk half way up the Carey Burn mainly looking at butterflies but also for anything else that attracts attention. This is an area we have visited since the 80s but have never walked further than the Carey Burn itself. We used to see Ring Ouzel and Peregrine here but now they both seem to have gone.

On Tuesday, the weather forecast was so good, I took an impromptu flexi day off work and went feral, heading for the silence of the hills. These are the Cheviots, just south of Wooler in the North of Northumberland and about 20 miles from home. Its a scenic quiet spot and doesnt get the quantity of visitors that go to the Ingram Valley for instance.

Above - The walk starts on a flat sheep walk area on the north bank of the Carey Burn with views into the valley. On Sunday I missed the Red Kite that has been around since early spring, but on Tuesday it gave me a nice fly over along with 6 soaring Buzzards. Red legged Partridges are ever present here and are best ignored!

The south facing slope on the right is clad in Broom and Gorse and was full of Whitethroats, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. A few butterflies were noted with many Orange Tips, 4+ Small Copper and 2 Green Hairstreak.

Green Hairstreak

Small Coppers

Further up the steep scree and crag sided valley, the path gets a bit, disorientated, but is passable with care. Scree seems to have caused it to slide off a bit. Around every corner here are fantasic and new views.

The Carey Burn waterfalls.

This time we saw a pair of Whinchats, Dippers, Red Grouse plus a few interesting invertebrates. 

Mother Shipton moth named after the witches profile in each wing...a rare species in the county.

On the rocks,a small jumping Zebra Spiders, Salticus sp.

An even rarer moth is the Small Purple Barred with two seen, only the second and third records in the county in the last 30 years.

This tiny spiralled Snail under a log needs some research.

Green Tiger Beetles are abundant on the snady paths here.

Beyond the waterfalls, the valley widens a little, with grassy areas and a small shepherds hut. Dippers call and dash along the burn here. Watch out for Adders and Slow Worms. We found a freshly dead slow worm that looked like a bird had killed it, maybe a kestrel?

Bitter Vetch

Beyond the footbridge the walk begins to look different. Gone are the steep scree slopes and now we have open rounded heather clad vistas. In the birches many Redpolls were chasing around, while Whitethroats and Meadow Pipits were everywhere. A Redstart was singing unseen here while a lone Cuckoo called.

This is the halfway point in the walk. Out here the broom holds Mountain Bumblebees, Bombus montana, a scarce species. Skylarks, Pipits and Grouse call everywhere while two or three Ravens added a more menacing air to the scene and a beautifil cock Whinchat just refused to sit for a photo.

A scarce self appearance on the blog, but no one was around so I banaced the camera on a fence post and set the timer... 

Broadstruther cottage, recently renovated. Imagine living here in the winter. A stone sheep stell near the footbridge is a thing from the past.

Broadstruther, a closer view.

The ubiquitous Meadow Pipit. 

Small hill Bown Trout filled the burn, rising for insects on the top with a  splash.

The start of the track back.

From here the hill was quiet other than some heart stopping Grouse leaping into the air only feet away calling go-back go-back....

And finally the view to the car park and the steep decent down some very rough stone covered track way. A fantastic walk of about 4 miles, I'm looking forward to trying it in different seasons...

My car is in the centre of that loop...

Inland...

Back in the day, when we used to frequent Druridge on a weekly basis, at this time of year the spring would encourage us to go 'inland'. This is not just anywhere away from the coast, it generally means one of about three or four spots - Kielder, Harthope Valley or even Harwood Forest. This week  'inland' meant a drive up to the Harthope, my favourite of the Cheviot valleys stretching from the steep hill called Skirl Naked, up to and beyond Langleeford.

So, no further ado, we took plenty of photos so here is a selection from Sunday morning...

The end of the road. No cars beyond here.

Oystercatcher

Pied Wagtail

Red legged Partridges were all over.

The burn.

Common Sandpiper

Dipper feeding young at nest under tree root overhang.

Grey Wagtail

The Hawsen Burn

Red Grouse

One of three Ring Ouzels

   

Wren on a post.

Not doing the predictable...

 A long weekend this week to try and finish up the decorating business, but before that, as it was JWR's birthday, we had a full day out birding.

Whilst others did the twitching thing down at Teesside where the Isabelline Wheatear put on a show, despite looking a bit sickly in some photos, we headed up on to the moors to look for raptors.

Red Grouse

It was a lovely early winters day and despite being typically quiet on the raptor front we enjoyed the wilderness experience. Up at the Harthope Valley, the only Buzzards seen were local birds, but there were loads of Redpolls and Siskins, 6+ Crossbills and 10+ Red Grouse. At another moorland site, the hunt and its band of merry men ensured that the whole area for miles around was largely devoid of any wildlife other than a scattering of Fieldfares and a flock of 20 ish Yellowhammers.

JWR 

A late Pale Pinion in the moth trap the other day.

 Today was spent painting windows and skirtings. What a task!

I managed to get out for an hour with Bunty this morning and for a shorter time this afternoon. The female Stonechat sporting an albino throat patch showed well along the roadside. This bird has been around for the thick end of 6 weeks now.

Stonechat female with a hint of albinism...

Down the long walk a few good patch birds were seen - a pair of Gadwall and a female Shoveler on the pond, not annual here, 17 Whooper Swans and masses of Pinkfeet flew S and a Red Squirrel was chewing on some acorns for breakfast.

If that wheatear had been up at Musselburgh for example I might have gone, but down there to the smoke...no thanks, not this time, maybe I'm starting to get away from twitching rarities?

More bees...

This morning JWR and myself took an unseasonable trip up to the Harthope Valley in the Cheviots.

The weather was warm, but remained stubbornly overcast all morning, not ideal for photography, so bear with me.

On arrival a little flurry of lanky looking critters ran over the road, looking like tiny emus. Three, I think, Curlew chicks, and their parent forced a scrabble for the camera, but they didnt linger long...

First stop at the cattle grids for a cuppa seemed very quiet. Redpolls were feeding young as were Willow Warblers and Whinchat, while a Treecreeper showed briefly. Common Sandpipers and Grey Wagtails were display flighting and a Snipe was heard drumming high over the river.  A few plants noted included Climbing Corydalis, Wood Cranesbill, Heath Bedstraw, Thyme, Eyebright sp and Bell Heather. The small meadows here look lovely at this time with a host of wild flowers on display. its not Upper Teesdale or the Machair by a long way, but nice all the same. 

As it warmed up, insects became more active, so we checked patches of flowers for a couple of new species. The vast majority seemed to be Buff tailed Bumblebee, but we soon located target number one - Bombus monticola the Mountain Bumblebee. 4+ very small ones were quite elusive, keeping close into the flowers. Look a the pics closely and you can see almost every bloom has been pierced by bumblers seeking nectar through the sides. The other bee looked for was Bombus jonellus, Heath Bumbler, but there was no sign. Maybe they dont occur here?

The Mountain Bumblebee is identified in these shots by the russet red covering almost all of the abdomen rather than just the tail.

   

Mountain Bumblebee