Wee-tyoo-wee-peeyoo

 Working from home this morning I am going through some emails. The radio is playing Planet Rock in the living room, Peggy is in her bed and I am drinking tea while reading. 

Then, like waking up from a dream, I am suddenly back in the room. What has woken me I wonder?

Wee-la-pyoo-weeooo. Outside. And again, loudly, close. Wee pyoo-la weeoo again.

Suddenly I am cattle prodded into action. What on earth is that! A voice that shone out as a total stranger in the midst of Starlings, Blackbirds and Sparrows. 

At this stage I 100% knew this was something good in my garden. It didnt sound like an unusual Song Thrush, a Great Tit or a Starling mimic. No, it was proper. A fixed proper song.

Panic set in, in slow motion. I grabbed my camera, swapped from the 100mm macro lens to the 420mm long lens, checked camera settings, put my phone in my pocket in case I need to record sound, grabbed my bins off the stairs then paused, listening and looking through the window. Trying not to be there.

I knock the radio off. Its quiet outside. No repeat performance, so I creep outside and stand quietly around the gable end not wishing to spook our visitor. Come on , sing again...nothing. I quietly walked into the garden and sat on a chair watching the bushes and trees. A Tree Sparrow, a Blue Tit but the wind in the leaves was making seeing a movement impossible. There was no further singing either.

After 10 mins I came back indoors. Hands shaking a little bit with the adrenaline.

I suspected who the garden singer was but wasnt closely familiar so I typed into Google - 

'Rosefinch, singing'. This came up...

'Weeyoo - teoo - tu-  peeyoo' . Confirmed what I already knew.

I called John who came over. I didnt release news straight away as I couldnt locate the bird, so we went out for a couple of hours searching the village and lane, but to no avail.

This is my second Common Rosefinch in the garden after one in 2010, that gave a slightly better show than this one....as I write, the radio is still off and my feeders are topped up with seed. 

I am waiting...

EDIT- 28/05/25 No further sign of the Rosefinch. Bugger.

My last garden Rosefinch 15 years ago last week...

Dotts and Gargs.

 Blogging seems to be going the way of VHS, Smoking and taking sugar in your tea. Its a declining art.

I look through my Reading List and there aren't many blogs left to go at, and I don't help matters by posting so infrequently it looks like I've dropped off the podium too.

Social Media now takes the traffic with tiny posts and images on a regular basis, distracting us from our real lives. While I'm on here's something a bit controversial, but no one reads blogs so I'll say it anyway.

Whats with younger birders and naturalists who post more selfies of themselves than of the creatures they seek out? Some posts are literally just that, shots up the nose of some birder. Now while I do believe all things in moderation, a selfie in context is ok, it can be humourous and lift a post but when thats all there is, folks this may be a shock, but I don't want to stare at your ugly mug every day!! 

I suppose you could argue that having a bubbly rant is also self indulgent so I'll leave it there.

Since the last post it has been a dry, cold spell here in Northumberland. No rain to speak of but almost constant northerlies, as is usual here in spring, keeping our temperatures low, especially overnight where 8 degrees is a struggle.

Spring migrants have continued to arrive and on my patch, I'm only missing a couple now most noteably Wheatear! Still not a sniff on a rocky edges short turfed east coast site its amazing really. Ive had two, one at Boulmer and one Alnmouth but none here so far.

On 7th May, on my way home from work I stopped off at Druridge to see the male Dotterel that was around for about 3 weeks. Always cherry chappies you cant see too many Dotterels. Northumberland has done alright for them this months so far with in addittion to this one, 9 at Beal were long staying and one on the top of Cheviot was less accessible.

Dotterel, at Druridge

 

From the 9th May, controversy ensued with the finding of a flat billed duck at Buston Links. My first guess was it was a Blue winged x Shoveler hybrid female. Then Cinnamon Teal seemed a good candidate until flight shots made it seemed too heavily face patterned, so Blue winged seemed good. Now apparently an expert has demmed it the hybrid after all! We were there yesterday and only its drake Shoveler mate was present so I bet its on eggs somewhere. That will give people something to think about in the autumn!

13th May. The morning dog walk along the coast path revealed a patch mega! Only a Garden Warbler for most but its 9 years since the last one on my patch even though a few are ringed each autumn on the western patch boundary where they must keep a very low profile as I never see them.

A day off on 14th had me meet up with john along at Boulmer. A close calling Quail was the highlight, plus 2 Little Terns and an Arctic Tern.

Yesterday it felt like winter with a N5 blowing and over cast so a short seawatch from Seaton Point was the way to go. Here we had 2 ad Roseate Terns N, 1 Arctic Skua N 9 Manx Shearwaters N, several Puffins and 2 Purple Sandpipers.

Next stop Foxton Bends where Avocet and Barnacle Goose made unlikely bed fellows.

Finally it was along to Buston Links again. This is a newly created small wetland extending an existing pool making a wet field that has poor viewing but is good for birds. First up was a smashing drake Garganey, showing right in the open and quite close too. A Wood Sandpier was more elusive but we saw it and heard it briefly. A Marsh Harrier arrived overhead too.

Not much on the invertebrate front until the weather gets milder, but it will come I'm sure...

Above- Garganey