Grike!

 A day annual leave due to the weather forecast from last week, just in case there were more migrants to be had. I didn't go up to Holy Island after all. The Bluetail was a little bit more reticent than yesterday and I wasn't desperate for Lesser Grey Shrike either, so, on a lovely fine mild autumn day, I stayed local.

Mid morning as the sun warmed the large sycamore on our gable end I pulled up a chair and watched for  half an hour. A single Yellow browed Warbler showed beautifully in dappled sunshine between the branches,  male and female Blackcaps gleaned the leaves while a few Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs flitted around. Another two Yellow-browed Warblers were seen and heard nearby with one on the coast path and another in our village wood.

I walked Peggy up the back field where the Lesser Whitethroat was still present but elusive. It called an unusual 'chuk chuk churrrrrrrrrrr' the last dry rattle was like a wren or red breasted flycatcher. a call I've not heard before. A Brambling made a right old racket calling near our feeders with another along the village lane.

A few Skylarks, 2 Grey Wagtails and 6 Redpolls flew south over head.

At 3 oclock I checked my phone and had missed a call from John. He had found a 'grey shrike' at Boulmer but it was distant and he had gone for his scope. In full frantic mode I jumped i the car and was there in 10 minutes but the shrike was nowhere to be seen.

We grilled every hedgerow across the farmland where there are no public paths at all despite some decent tracks that could be walked. Nothing. We decided to walk the main road and view east so the light would be better for spotting shrikes on hedges. Only 5 Blackcaps, 3 Chiffchaffs and few Goldcrests and a Willow Tit were seen, so we were doing the trudge back thinking the shrike had continued its migration.

As we passed Seaton Park caravan site, a bird flushed from the roadside hedge and flew high. Our shrike! It soon landed atop a tall sycamore to view the field for prey. Here it could be seen to be a lovely Great Grey Shrike, probably the finest and most stately of the tribe. After a while it dashed into a linnet flock , hovering like a kestrel but failing to secure a meal. It then flew across the field back to its original hedge.

What a spell Boulmer is having this autumn! Long may it continue...  

Great Grey Shrike, Boulmer, a first for the site. 

 

Warbler Way...

What a difference a day makes. After yesterdays throw back into winter, today was sunny and mild, if a little breezy at times.

Met up with John bright and early at Warkworth ( John's patch, but Patch #2 for me) to see if the foul weather yesterday had shuffled the birds around a bit. And had it! Spring had finally sprung with a veritable smorgasbord of new arrivals that saw John ticking away like a good'un!

First up, in the car park, a Lesser Whitethroat gave us a run around as it rattled away in the scrub, soon to be joined by a slightly more obliging Garden Warbler. Down in the reed bed, 2 Sedge Warblers were in competition with a Reed Warbler. These birds were singing against a backdrop of Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat.

Over head a steady passage of hirundines went north giving John House Martin and Swift as new year birds. I missed the Swifts as my bins were locked in the car! Dont ask...

Down on the estuary and pools some nice waders were in evidence - Greenshank, always scarce in spring, Whimbrel, Black tailed Godwit and a summer plumaged male Ruff had dropped in with 46+ Ringed Plover and 120+ Dunlin. A Wheatear flew up the salt marsh.

All in all John added 9 new species to his list during the morning, plus a hunting Barn Owl and Little Egret, it was a good morning to be out...

Back home at Howick two new moths for the year were in the trap, a Muslin and an Oak-tree Pug...

A walk around the patch this evening had 2 singing Sedge Warblers and a calling Cuckoo near the pond field. All good stuff...

LtR - Lesser and Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler

Distant Greenshank

Muslin

Oak-tree Pug

115. Sedge Warbler

116. Cuckoo

Early September...

If only this Lesser Whitethroat had looked at me for long enough...

Blackcap

With drift migrants scattered along our coast, I thought a couple of sessions at Craster wouldn't go amiss. This site used to get quite a bit of coverage, but these days it scarcely gets a look at. During good falls it is as good as anywhere with the rocky scrub covered ridge providing immediate cover for tired migrants 'in-off'. 

In recent years I have had Raddes, Barred, Icterine and Yellow browed Warblers here, but despite a nice sprinkle of local movers there was to be no cherry on the top this time. 

Yesterday in a couple of hours I had 11+ Blackcaps tacking from every elder bush, my first Garden Warbler of the year, 6+ Whitethroats, 7+ Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 3+ Goldcrest, 5+ Song Thrush, Willow Tit, 3 juv Bullfinch and a Sparrowhawk.

At sea, half an hour early on had 13 Pale bellied Brent Geese, 2 Bonxie, 2 Arctic Skua, 69 Manx Shearwater, 1 Wigeon and a light passage south of Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails and one or two Yellow Wagtails.

Today was much quieter. The wind had swung northwesterly and a bright clear starry sky over night had allowed our visitors to continue on their way.

When Dave Elliot had found a Wryneck at Hadston first thing this morning I was fired up to check areas at Craster that I hadn't yesterday, particularly those that looked like they would attract a twisty naped ant eater. My luck was out, and the only bird of note was a Lesser Whitethroat that failed to perform for the camera. Other than that there was 1 Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, 5 Chiffchaff, 7+ Yellowhammer and 3 Reed Buntings.

With a couple or three days off this week, lets hope for some 'better' weather...

Chiffchaff

Not to be outdone, the moth trap turned up a big dark Butterbur moth ( not the plant obviously). A scarce species this, and not regularly attracted to light, but I get one or two most years here...

Butterbur, right, showing size and colour comparison with the much commoner Rosy Rustic.

Bulrush Wainscot

Far from the Madding Crowd...

Druridge Pools Track

This mornings itinerary was made simply to avoid the Great North Bike Race. Each August Bank Holiday thousands of cyclists fill our roads between Seahouses and Tynemouth. Churlish as it may seem, as it is for charity and all that, the whole bloody thing gets on my wick. Drivers are told to have 'respect' for the masses, but this doesn't seem to be reciprocated. They fling their complimentary water bottles onto the roadside, they urinate in rural driveways and I have even faced verbal abuse from them for no reason what so ever! So, every recent August Bank Hol since then, I ensure that I avoid the route at all costs and we can all be happy.

Ahead of the flow, I started off well south this morning at Druridge Pools for an hour. Waders were in short supply with little of note other than a Ruff on the Budge Fields, but local migrant passerines were everywhere, feeding up before the big push. In the patch of brambles above and along the track were 6+  Common Whitethroat, 4+ Blackcap, 10+ Willow /Chiffs and a single Reed Warbler. A Swift flew overhead with three species of hirundines.

Whitethroat

On the pool, Mallard were the wildfowl min largest numbers but there were a few Gadwall and Tufted Duck too. 8 Little Grebes were next to the Oddie Hide. Best of all, was anice family party of at least 4 Yellow Wagtails feeding on the pool edge. The juvs had a funny 'bluethroat' look about them...

Not a Bluethroat  

As time was getting on and I didn't want the hordes of hades heading me off, I drifted west, slightly, and checked out an old stomping ground near Stobswood Tip. The walk down the track was quiet, calm  and warm in the early autumn sun. The only sound to break the silence was the 'seeping' of Meadow Pipits over head and warbler contact calls in the scrub. Blackberries and rosehips were ripening and everything felt 'golden'. Warblers flitted ahead of me as earlier, the best being a Lesser Whitethroat, that was very tricky to get views of.

Lesser Whitethroat

Wild Carrot

Wild Carrot

Next was a short stop at the new Stobswood scrapes. A Greenshank and 100+ Teal were added to the notes.

The final avoidance tactic was to get back north on the A1. This called for a detour via Corby Crags for dragonflies.

Heather in all its glory.

 10+ Black Darters were on the wing but keeping low in cover as it was quite cool up here. A couple of Red Admirals were on the heather and some russula and Brown Roll Rim fungi emerging under the pines.

Thanks to the glorious weather, an excellent morning was had - without the Tour de France!

Legged it....

A trip up to the land beyond the Long Nanny this morning for the Beadnell Lesser Yellowlegs was a failure, the said target having continued onward migration yesterday.

It was a cool breezy day, today, but at least the rain mostly stayed away. After gazing at an empty flash, devoid of birds for 10 minutes, we headed over the the tern colony on the shore for a look. Hundreds of Arctic Terns were pairing up, but only 4 Little Terns were present. A dark phase Arctic Skua was a nice bird to get in the spring here as it hunted off Beadnell harbour.

I'm not sure what this fish is, maybe a Sand Smelt or a fry of some sort? Some had sandeels too...

Also here ,a steady passage north of hirundines with a few Swifts, 1 Yellow Wagtail north, 7 summer plumaged Dunlin and a female Wheatear.

Next stop, the Tin Church and Pool.

Straight away a Lesser Whitethroat was heard singing from the scrub, along with 2 Common Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler.

Lesser Whitethroat in the open briefly.

 The scrapes were as empty as I've ever seen them, with only 1 Teal, 2 Shelduck and 2 Gadwall. The pool wasn't much different, but a Reed Warbler ( or two) singing over the far side was noteworthy.

As the sun came out and the temperature rose slightly, a few insects emerged in the pool willows including 1 Orange Tip, 3+ Green veined Whites and a few hoverflies that remain to be identified. Celery-leaved Buttercup was in flower in the damp areas.

Green Nettle Weevil

Possibly Brassy Willow Beetle?

Out of the fog...

I got up for work, bleary eyed, at 6.30 this morning. I stumbled into the kitchen and flipped the kettle switch to 'on'. As my vision gained some focus, a small movement in the wall rose caught my attention through the window. Looked odd, so a quick glance with the bins found a nice Lesser Whitethroat, also newly awake, sitting huddled in the fog next to the bird table. I just found time to grab this shot before it flew off south. Migration in action. A nice way to start the day...

The Hat Trick...

This has been a week of warbler arrivals at Howick. 

After the garden Garden Warbler, and yesterday's Grasshopper Warbler (no sign today), a short judder of a call in an almost blossomless cherry tree in the old school garden had me investigating. Within a few seconds, the Lesser Whitethroat could be seen flickering from twig to twig looking for insects, then, as suddenly as he arrived, he flew, high westwards towards some tall sycamores. I wonder how far it is going....and has he brought his mate, the Wryneck, with him...? If it rains tonight I'll be out checking in the morning...

Thats a nice trilogy of the scarcer patch warblers to get this week.

While watching the Lesser Whitethroat a Yellow Wagtail flew north, calling.

Last night, a Barn Owl flew over the old school towards the paddock, my first sighting of one in the village this year.