Craster via the Hips Heugh.

 This morning dawned clear, fine and cold. Just right for a walk into some of the less visited places around home. The loop from home to Craster and back is a shade over 4 miles, taking in the fields just inland to the north then back by the usual coast route.

Only half a mile NW of home are a few long term set a side fields. I always forget how good they look for feeding finch and bunting flocks and possibly some attendant raptors. Today they held a nice selection of passerines with 40+ Reed Buntings, 60+ Goldfinches, 30+ and 100+ Linnet flocks, 7 and 16+ Yellowhammers, 50+ Chaffinches and 6 Grey Partridges.

Some of the Reed Buntings in dock.

Above - Reed Buntings

Year list targets this morning included - Brambling, Greenfinch ( yes thats right), Red legged Partridge, Woodcock, Merlin, Peregrine and Willow Tit. Its fair to say that I largely failed with this lot, but there is plenty of time until spring to seek them out. Rome wasn't built in a day.

While watching the Reed Buntings the pair of Ravens came over, calling, much to the consternation of the local Jackdaws who got up in to the air making a racket overhead. The Ravens took no notice whatsoever and even did a little bit of a display flight in tandem.

Raven low overhead, calling.

Down into Craster, a pair of Collared Doves were my first proper local birds but the Willow Tits were nowhere to be seen. Off shore, 100+ Common Scoter were loafing around still, a carry over from before Christmas. 30+ Golden Plover were on the rocks and a Red throated Diver flew N.

On the Cullernose cliffs, a few pairs of Fulmars were chattering and squabbling. I might check to see if they actually breed this year as I have never seen eggs of young at this site, despite older reports of many breeding pairs here. 

As I came to the road home, a 'blimp' on top of the Hips Heugh peak turned out to be a Peregrine, that sat for some time watching pigeons and Jackdaws flying around. After failing to catch up with the other birds on my target list, I was relieved to add something to the patch list.

The view north from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle, the northern edge of my local patch. 

Fulmars on Cullernose cliffs. No seawatching today.

The Common Scoter flock just off the south end of Craster. Imagine living here !

The Peregrine rounds up the 5km list to a steady 100 species with a few possibles yet to be found. There are some spots I have in mind to target the list gap fillers, but they are tricky to access on foot all the way from home, but one of these weekends I'll drive part of the way to avoid walking on narrow main roads for any length of time.

Spring Buntings...

Sunday morning down at the Coquet Estuary at Warkworth is never a bad thing, but its even better when there are unexpected blue skies and sunshine.

We followed the usual route via the estuary viewpoints. The only migrants noted were Chiffchaffs with one in the top car park and 3+ singing near the river in the village. A female Eider looked quite incongruous against a wooded back ground feeding well up stream near the road bridge. A few Snipe and and 5 Gadwall were seen.

There seemed to be more passerine activity this week with several pairs of Reed Bunting, Stonechat, Meadow Pipits etc all in fine fettle singing and chasing around potential nesting sites. Although we didn't see any Short-eared Owls, a Barn Owl did a brief lap of the car park hill.

A Stoat coming out of Ermine waited near a small reed bed before vanishing out of sight.

Yellowhammer

Reed Buntings

A real highlight was a nice flock of buntings at a pheasant feeder near Birling Carrs. There were 15+ each Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting with Tree Sparrow, Grey Partridge and a male Sparrowhawk for company. Nearby a field held 23 Whooper Swans, a Stock Dove while Buzzards soared over distant woodland.

Stock Dove

A soft day...

Above - False Oxlip, top, with its parents Primrose x Cowslip

Two visits to Low Newton today as the weather was promising for some migrants. A light easterly with drizzle means you don't want to be far from the coast in Northumberland. As it happens, we had an enjoyable morning but there were no scarcities.

Passerines in the scrub at the Tin Church included 4+ Blackcaps, 4+ Willow Warblers, 4+ Chiffchaffs, 1 Grasshoper Warbler and 2 Lesser Whitethroats. Down at the point, a Tree Pipit was near the compound along with 3+ Wheatears and a Whimbrel flew South. A nice show of Primrose and Cowslips in the dunes resulted in a False Oxlip, a hybrid between the former two species.

As the drizzle became steady, we headed down to the pool and hide for some shelter. Here, a party of 5 Arctic  Terns flew low over the water and out to sea, my first House Martins were with other hirundines. 5+ Sedge Warblers were new in, singing all over the pond margins, while a party of 6 Black tailed Godwits dropped in for a rest to join the now semi-resident 2 Ruff. One of these birds is coming into breeding plumage. On the damp scrape, 15 Dunlin, 1 Yellow and 1 Pied Wagtail added to the interest.

Chiffchaff

Reed Bunting that looks like Uncle Fester! 

Cool...

Our village from the south east.

A bit nippy on Sunday morning, -5 degrees, up to about 3 degrees by lunchtime. The bonus though, was the crystal clear sky and bright sun with no wind.

A walk down the Long Walk and back by the coast was mainly uneventful again, but a few new species were added to the year list - 1 male Sparrowhawk was hunting near the frozen pond, observed by the swans, bored of standing on the ice, 3 Golden Plover flew S at the burn mouth, 10 Skylarks flew north in a tight flock over the Village Wood and a nice male Reed Bunting was coming into summer dress just outside the village hall. 

Also of note were 3 male and 6 female Goldeneye on the sea and a flock of 70 grey geese flew south too far out to id. On any other year they looked like pinks, but this year they may just have been whitefronts so I'll await a better view.

A golden sunrise lights the hoar frost.

Village Wood 'on ice'.

Although the weather has been 'easier' this winter, the birding has been slow. In the hard conditions of the previous winters, species including Water Rail, Mealy Redpoll, Raven, Woodcock, Peregrine and Merlin had all been recorded by now. The first three may be a struggle this year.

Reed Bunting.