Of his Time....

 I'm not sure what is going on lately, but things have been a little bit ... well  'meh' or 'pfff' so to speak.

Motivation has been as elusive as a good bird around these parts, but here are a few bits and pieces from over the last two weeks or so.

Maybe my highlight of this period is finally getting around to reading all of Steve Gale's short 1970's memoir of his early birding experiences 'Of my Time'. Steve is a great writer and his diary had me nostalgic for those better times. The anecdotes about his formative birding years around London, Dungeness and the south of England, had me gripped!  

Only one grumble, Steve  - get on with the 80s!

Hedgely North Pit despite looking good for waders on all of the pits, we heard that the farmer drives around the very margins on a Quad each morning to check his stock, thus chasing off any grounded birds!

On Sunday 27th we headed inland to Hedgely and Branton Pits to avoid Bank Holiday on the coast. While we had a pleasant wander in good weather there was little of note other than 9 Little Grebes, 300+ Lesser black backed Gulls inc 2 'intermedius' types with very dark upperparts and long wings. This big flock of gulls were put up by two Marsh Harriers, a female and an imm male who soon drifted off south. Single Greenshank, Wigeon and Kingfisher, a few families of Redpolls, 2 Ravens and a Spotted Flycatcher were the best of the rest. Until I got back home that is....

Mid afternoon I was on our drive when the local Swallows began mobbing something. A scan over the back field revealed a small, spiky, Hobby casually flying away from the hirundines off to the North. Through the bins it looked very grey and was likely an adult or near adult male. Its long swept back wings really did match the 'swift-like' cliche.  

On Bank Holiday Monday we mostly remained around the garden and village where 2 Ravens in the back field, an adult Mediterranean Gull in plough at Cullernose and 2 garden Holly Blues were the highlight, narrowly taking the prize from an off patch Peregrine over the road on our way home from Sainsbury's.

A mid week seawatch for an hour had 26 Manx Shearwaters, 54 Shag, 3 Sandwich, 3 Common and 1 Arctic Tern, 1 Common Scoter and 400 Gannets per hour all N. 

As the forecast was for warm sunshine yesterday we went on a dragonfly search inland at Corby Woods. The first two hours were cool and quiet with not much seen other than for a dozen Crossbills.

flitting around.

Once the sun came out so did the insects with 4+ Common Hawker, 4+ Black Darter and a dozen Emerald Damselflies. The the pine plantation were full of post breeding bird flocks with many Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests seasoned with 1 Treecreeper, 1+ Redstart and 2+ Spotted Flycatchers.

Larch Ladybird, Lesser Willow Sawfly larvae and Spotted Toughshank fungi were all new species for me. Hopefully the autumn will have a word with itself and kick in soon...

Black Darter

Common Hawker

Larch Ladybird

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!

Corby...

This morning I went to do JWR's WeBs count up at Branton Pits.

Highlight was a Little Egret, the first we've seen at this site, and quite uncommon so far inland. Apart from that it was a standard wildfowl count really.

From here a jaunt up to Corby Crags to check for some dragonflies was quite a good diversion.
Masses of Black Darters, with two or three Common Hawkers along the rides, a single, tiny, Common Lizard posed well and the birds were quite active too - 13+ Crossbill, several Redpoll, Siskin, Bullfinch, 3+ Goldcrest and 6+ Chiffchaff.

The view from Corby Crags. Proper Northumberland...

Fungi sp, to be id'd...maybe Melanoleuca cognata?

John 'Insect Magnet' Rutter finds photographing Black Darter tricky...

Common Hawker ovipositing.

Red Admiral

Common Lizard. Looks the size of an iguana, but only about the size of my little finger.