A poor show...

 After 16 years of Blogging this has been my worst January showing of all. One post. Well, two now.

Why is that? I'm not wholly sure, but this winter weather is a big factor. The constant winds, wet weather and named storms have made for a grim landscape with little to encourage optimism. 

Still, despite the doom and gloom the year moves on gradually. I've heard Skylarks, Great Tit and Redwing in full song, Woodpeckers drumming and today, my first Song Thrush chuntering away from a sheltered thicket. Only Chaffinch to go for the early birds singing. Tawny Owls are particularly vocal around the village on calm nights, when we get one that is. 

One of our neighbour's conifers blew over during storm, er, Isha. They all roll into one these days. The tree lay precariously on our greenhouse but the weight was taken by the stone garden wall so only soft branches lay on the roof causing no damage. It seems to be a lucky greenhouse having survived Arwen and now Isha unblemished. Lets hope the lucky spell continues.

On Saturday we did the RSPB Big Garden Bird watch, seeing 15 species, with highlights being 18 Tree Sparrows, a Great spotted Woodpecker, 6 Long tailed Tits and the Goldcrest that has been at the feeders most days since Christmas feeding on tiny bits dropped from the fat balls on to ivy leaves below.

Long tailed Tit, Robin and a pandemonium of Tree Sparrows during the Big Garden Birdwatch.

My first lifer of the year arrived last week when a Common Flower Bug Anthocoris nemorum crawled over my phone in the living room.

On Sunday a few hours inland was less than productive, but a moorland Great black backed Gull, adult, hunting for a carcass to feed on was quite unusual.  

New Year Waxwings remain absent but the Snow Buntings did a lap of the Bathing House field again on Saturday morning, the flock now up to 30+.

Snowdrops, Winter Aconites and Winter Heliotrope are now all in flower, so given a window in the weather, I am looking forward to getting out into the field properly!

Common Flower Bug

A pair of Robins displaying ina roadside wood made a change from them trying to kill each other... 

Around the garden and village.

Long-tailed Tit feeding on aphids below elder leaves.

Grey Dagger caterpillar.

I'm off work now for a couple of days for no reason really, I just fancied it.

As the weather has been quite nice yesterday and today ( yesterday best, today was a little bit dull) we've been catching up on some gardening and just generally mooching around the village with Bunty.

On Thursday at dusk my first Pink footed Geese of the autumn flew south over the house, about 100 birds in total.

Yesterday arrivals continued with 30, 65, 70 all going south. I thought that the low cloud today would bring a better count but I only saw one party of 60 all day.

A few phylloscs have been hanging around, with 8+ Chiffchaffs and a single bright Willow Warbler associating with 13+ Long tailed Tits, 2 Goldcrests and the usual commoner garden dwellers. Long tailed Tit is not that common in the village, usually being found in the wooded areas along the road. I've been grilling this flock until I am boss-eyed trying to find a Yellow-browed Warbler. Maybe next weekend...

Over head some viz mig has produced   a few Redpolls, Skylarks and Grey Wagtails with one or two Song Thrushes newly arrived from the east.

This mild summery weather has brought a lot of butterfly activity to the garden. There have been Red Admirals, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Large and Small White, Speckled Wood and Wall Brown. Two Painted Lady were along the coast path.

This lot is all well and good but its not adding to the flagging patch list. Hows about a hint of easterly in the weather forecast please?

The Coquet Estuary....

Amble Harbour

Eider displaying.

The day dawned calmish and quite bright but soon became dull, making these photos very grainy and drab. We covered the Coquet estuary from Amble Harbour up to Birling Carrs, adding a couple of new species to JWR's patch list.

On arrival a huge number of Rooks and Jackdaws were leaving their roost, numbering several thousand birds. The sky was full of them, the air ringing with their calls.

The estuary was full of birds with up to 700 Golden Plover, 300 Lapwing, Dunlins and Redshank. A lone Grey Plover and a few Knot added interest. Up at the harbour, an adult Mediterranean Gull loafed, but it wasn't the usual bird carrying a red darvic. This one only had a metal ring on one leg.

8+ Red breasted Merganser were spread right up the river, one or two pairs were in full display mode and a female Goosander was up near the road bridge.

2 Purple Sandpipers were on the pier, 2 Grey Partridges were along the braid with another 5 at Birling. 5 Roe Deer showed well near the river.

Small stuff around the Braid car park included a female Bullfinch, several Long tailed Tits and a host of Goldfinches.

Mediterranean Gull at the Little Shore.  

Starling singing from lobster pots.

Female Bullfinch.

Long tailed Tit

Back home, a short look along the shore added othing to the Howick list, but 5 Grey Plovers were extra noteworthy, not being annual here, 2 Harbour Porpoises off shore near 2 Red throated Divers.

A cold spell forecast for mid week might shuffle the pack a bit...

Craster

Craster from the south

This morning we took a walk north from our house up to Craster along the coast path. I was looking for a Snow Bunting or Black Redstart but both remained unseen.

Still it was pleasant walk, checking the shore, the harbour, the Heughs and the Arnold Reserve. The area was quiet generally and migrant free. While in the village we were buzzed by a drone that may have been operated by CIA but I'm sure they have better targets to spy on. 

Aliens

28 Golden Plover, 16 Turnstone, 1 Purple Sandpiper and a few Redshanks were along the rocky shore. A few Blackbirds, Redwings and Goldcrests were in cover, while both Harbour Porpoise and Grey Seal were offshore.

Golden Plover

Redshank

High flying Long tailed Tits.

On the way back, a party of 11 Long tailed Tits looked a bit odd, high flying north across the coastal strip and for the second night running a new species of macro moth for me was in the trap. A Streak. A scarce species up here probably blown into the garden from further inland after tonights gales. 

The Streak.

Persistent Waxcap Hygrocybe acutoconica or persistens, thanks to Nigel for the id.

We also found a single large waxcap fungi growing by the path. Nothing in my book was like it but on line I noticed a similarity to Persistent Waxcap, but I find fungi so difficult. I was pleased when Nigel ( Abbey Meadows) confirmed this for me. Its name comes from the way it keeps its conical cap shape rather than it flattening out like some waxcap species.

A Snatch of Patch...

Today was my first real bash at the patch, so armed with scope I headed off the have a 'stand and stare' from the high point at the Howick Haven. I arrived to meet a lovely calm sunrise over a mirror flat sea, with a mild very light SW1 blowing. Just the job for listening out for birds flying over.

Dawn at the Haven

As the dawn light increased, new patch species came thick and fast - 3 Purple Sandpipers, 11 Goldeneye, a pair of Red breasted Merganser, Common Scoter and a faint 'peep' alerted me to a nice female Kingfisher sitting on the rocks. Over head, 22 Pink feet flew south while 9 Red throated Divers loafed in the bay.

The view south, this is the south end of my patch.

And the view North towards the Bathing House and Dunstanburgh castle.

Further down to the burn mouth, a male Shelduck was a good find for the time of year being more easily seen in the spring. Another glance seaward added a Guillemot to the total.

Fired up with this boost, I headed around to the Pond Field to see if there were any ducks at all, as there were none on my last visit. As I was the first visitor here this morning at least Mallard, Teal and Little Grebe made a show, with Stock Dove, Greenfinch and a bonus female Blackcap in the woods for good measure.

Back home for a late breakfast, no new species were added, but on the feeders a Siskin was at the niger seed with Goldfinches, 4+ Long tailed Tits fed like animated lollipops on the nuts and at least 10 Tree Sparrows were on the seed feeders.

Goldfinch male. Note the extent of red on the face.

Long tailed Tit.

My first Moth trapping session of the year yielded only a single moth but it was notable, being my earliest Hebrew Character by a full month. 

Hebrew Character, first moth caught of 2013.

If this nice weather holds maybe a few common omissions from the bird list will show themselves...

The running total after today - 71 species ( 77 points). Maybe another 10 to get before the end of January...All on foot and all self found.