Saturday, December 31, 2016

Old Years Day....

Seaton Point facing East.

Field sketch of the Kingfisher.
At lunch time I took the opportunity to get out for an hour down to Seaton Point for a walk. It was busier that expected with lots of families, dogs, kids with names like 'Ollie' and women dressed not quite appropriately for a Northumberland coastal winter walk.

Regardless, I made my way to a small bench seat over looking the skeers out from the point and sat with my scope waiting to see what would appear.

Soon, as I scanned, a blurred smudge in the foreground over the rocks was focussed down into a hovering Kingfisher. It hung on the wind, wings whirring for some time before dropping vertically into an unseen pool and emerging with a small fish. This behaviour was repeated several times over the next half an hour with the bird perching up on weed covered rocks to digest its catch in between sorties. It didnt look comfortable in the wind, its feathers being ruffled and it was even blown off its perch on a couple of occasions.

As the tide flooded, I took my eye off the halcyon, to make a sketch and when I tried to relocate it, it had gone.

Other birds of note included a couple of Grey Plovers, 10 Ringed Plover, Shag, Gannet and Red throated Diver off shore, and a flock of 11 Mistle Thrushes back near the car.

With that, I will bid you all a Happy New Year for tonight, and hope you have an exciting, wildlife filled, 2017. All the best!

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Christmas List

Ages ago, over the Christmas period, Andrew Dawes of Wessex Reiver blog challenged everyone to a Christmas doldrums bird race. I haven't done anything similar since, apart from the local patch thingy and a laid back, head to head with Mr Gale of Surrey.  I was interested the other week, when Andrew threw down the gauntlet again for another week of petty competitiveness where by we all get out between Christmas Day and New Years Day and count how many bird species we see.

As this festive holiday is often quite busy and taken up with visiting family and friends, the challenge can be taken in a very tongue in cheek manner, the whole point being to have fun during the final week of the year.

My week got off to a damp fizzle seeing next to nothing on Christmas Day ( 9 species) and Boxing Day ( not many more). Today was my first proper morning's birding this month so every sighting was to be savoured and made all the more delicious by the sharp, bright, calm weather we crave at this traditionally dull and wet time of year.

I met with John at Amble, first thing, and we covered the whole south side of the Coquet Estuary from the sea upstream to Warkworth. Not wishing to let the cat out of the bag, all I'll say is that a few nice birds were seen such as Little Egret, Peregrine, several Knot, 3 Purple Sandpipers, 40+ Black-tailed Godwits, Mediterranean Gull etc.

Hopefully the weather will hold this week, and I'll build a reasonable total without racing around twitching everyone else's finds. I'll save that one for 2017...

Amble Pier

Adult Med Gull

Eiders in full display, while not eating Warburtons.

Some of the Black tailed Godwits on the estuary.

The calls during disputes were just like a dog's squeaky toy.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

I'm still here...

Just a quickie to say I am still here, but have not lifted my binoculars, let alone taken a photo, since November!

Early in the month, I was getting fed up not seeing daylight at home until the weekend, so I deliberately jacked it all in. I thought, as this is quite a busy domestic time on the run up to Christmas, I would go into a temporary wildlife and birding lull until I had some time off over the holiday period.

Oh am I ready for it! Today is my first day of leave and I wont return to work until 4th Jan so hopefully I will get out into the field again soon. Christmas day and Boxing day are fully booked but the 27th is looking favourable to get out and blow the cobwebs away...

Whilst I haven't been out there, looking for wildlife, I have been pondering what to do in 2017. I always make a provisional plan or two, that usually gets ignored, but its good to think about the way forward.

This coming New Year I think I might keep a year list. I always used to keep one back in the 80s and 90's, but haven't done so since. Its usually all about the local patch, but I might broaden horizons a little. Now my year lists don't descend into hyper active all out twitching, they are a much more sedate affair, involving a few trips out for favourable birds, a couple of holidays in other parts of the country and catching up on local scarce breeders and winterers at home, you know, species, often miseds out on in a year such as black grouse, wood warbler, long tailed skua etc.

I've also pondered doing a bit more field sketching if I can fit it in, and I even might try wetting a fishing line this year? Who knows?

Regardless of what I get up to, you'll be the first (or second) to know.......

An old one from the notebook...

Friday, December 09, 2016

Twelve Photos for 2016...

Amanda at Quiet Walker has set the pace so here are my twelve photos, all of the natural world of some kind, from 2016...

This Arctic Redpoll at Warkorth kept us busy into February from the New Year...

A particularly stroppy Goosander showed very well at DBCP in February...

While feeding the birds, this Toad emerged from the wall in March....
In April this Black Redstart visited Craster Harbour.

My first trip to the USA in May to see this Magnolia Warbler and his mates...

Pleased to see a new Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary colony near home in June....
Hi Summer in July across the Alnwick hills...

August evening moth trapping in the garden...
A pristine Pink barred Sallow in September...

What else, but a Siberian Accentor in October, this the Northumberland bird and my second of the month.

A Waxwing November....
And a festive Robin for December...
I could have had a few for each month really but these are some nice ones to be going on with...