Easter.

 Not a bad Bank Holiday weekend weather wise. Well, 75% was ok, Monday was a wet and windy write off.

Friday was Good in more ways than one. 

At 0710 Ben Steel reported a Great White Egret in off the sea a few miles north of us at Dunstanburgh Castle, but more crucially it was now heading south, over Craster.

Thinking I'd be too late, I grabbed the dog and the bins and headed up the road. 

By 0715 I was on the coast road scanning south as I was convinced the bird would have been past us by now. No sign. Then a look north saw a couple walking their dog towards me and there above them an angel-like apparition glowing in the low morning sunshine. The Great White Egret was slower than anticipated due to the moderately strong head wind it was flying in to. It passed low over the dog walkers who saw me watching, so I pointed to the bird. By now they were only 20 mtrs from me so I said Egret. They seemed quite impressed at the big birds beauty as it majestically passed over us on route south, so I explained what it was and a bit about them. Id like to think I educated in a small way.

I was pleased to have seen it, only my 2nd patch record after a bird on the pond in 2013. These might be on every puddle further south but in my corner of North Northumberland they are still a big deal.

Back home for breakfast, around 0830, I decided to take Peggy for the rest of her morning walk along to the pond field. As we arrived, I could see a large white 'umbrella' standing in the far corner. The Egret had Landed!

This site gets busy on fine days so there was no way this bird would linger here, the track walked right past it. So poor Peggy was marched home again so I could get the camera. As time was of the essence, I took the car along to the pond and walked back along the track. Luckily the bird remained for 5 mins, long enough for a few shots to record the event before it flew off in a SE direction not to be reported again.

Nice start to spring.

Saturday was spent doing some gardening and the first grass cut of the year. While pottering around, the first Hairy footed Flower Bee was dashing around while 5 Brown Hares were in the Rectory Paddock.

On a fine Sunday morning JWR and me stocked up on Greggs Vegan Sausage Rolls and cakes (Chocolate Eclair for me, Pach Melba for John) then headed on to the moors. We were greeted by bubbling displaying Curlews, Stonechat and 30+ Brambling still hanging around from the big flock.

A lovely conditioned orange Fox was really taking its life in its hands at this heavily keepered and hunted site. Without a doubt its days are numbered.

We had a wander up the old railway line near Lemmington where there was a good show of the 'wild' Daffodils Narcissus pseudonarcissus .

As the morning warmed, after breakfast we went up to our site for Orange Underwing, a rare, day flying, spring, moth in the county. I've not seen one for about 5 years, mainly due to poor weather in this crucial 4 week period but today seemed promising.

As it turned out, it was! Just not for me. John called from a few metres away to say he had one. As is their way it fluttered along a line of trees vanishing as I got to the spot. At least its good news they are still here for another day. Maybe next weekend when the weather is warmer we'll have another look. I'd love to get a photo of one.

Also seen, Woodcock, Buzzard and Peacock butterfly.

Finally, to put the icing on the cake, back home in the afternoon the sun shone and it was sheltered in the garden. A lovely Holly Blue butterfly showed on three occasions both back and front of the house, but it was too flighty to get a photo. Still its my first in March and about 3 weeks earlier than the previous earliest here. A very welcome sight.

Also more Hairy footed Flower Bees, Early Bumblebee and Tawny mining Bee were all good to get.

 

Above - Orange Underwing site, with the view west.

 

 

Spring songs and fakes...

The day began at first light with a Brambling calling next to our garden, the first here this year.

I met up with John and went down to Cresswell to look for the Garganey that have been around for a couple of days. We didnt see them, but we did see 10 cars of  'toggers waiting patiently for the most photographed Barn Owl in Europe....

Of note here were a dozen Avocets, a male 'Greenland type' Wheatear , 2 White Wagtails and 2 Bar tailed Godwits.

Next stop was the bird filled Budge fields at Druridge. The Great White Egret seems to have departed, so I'm pleased to have seen it last week. Amongst a field guide plate full of wildfowl on offer were 2 Pintail and 2 Pochard, but it was the resident Great crested Grebes that stole the show. Two and a half pairs were involved in some handbags at dawn out on the mirror calm pool.

Great White Egret last week...

Gadwall

Tufted Duck

Great crested Grebe

Great crested Grebes 'laying 'ern'...( fighting to those not from Northumberland)

In the distance a Sedge Warbler could be heard singing, my earliest ever. Or is it. Read on...

Also here was an injured Russian White fronted Goose grazing with Greylags. A Green veined White was new for the year too.

We made our way along to East Chevington for a tea stop overlooking the pools.  Marsh Harrier could be seen occasionally while the air was filled with the songs of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. After a while a reeling Grasshopper Warbler could just be made out, so we had a walk to investigate and maybe get a photo.

Well, this is why I will not be year ticking my earliest Sedgie just yet...

As we wandered closer to the Grasshopper Warbler, the song got louder until, there, on the small footbridge, was a great view of our songster.... a Shiny Shoed DJ wielding an ipod of British bird songs! I wonder how many times this bloke has to be chastised to get into his nugget that tape luring birds in the breeding season for a year tick is just plain bad form? Why not just wait a week or two when they will be singing all along the dunes? Its beyond me. But now, whilst I may have had an early Sedge Warbler, I cant very well have it, in case it was this tosser with his sound machine! Twat. Thanks for that!

Right, breathe. In the warm sun today were a few butterflies, including Peacocks, Speckled Wood, Large White, Small White and Green veined White...

As the migration picks up apace this week, Yellow Wags and real Groppers might be seen...

Patch Tick

On Thursday while on holiday in Suffolk, a neighbour emailed me to say that Robert the head gardener at Howick Hall had seen a 'white heron' on the pond. There is a small heronry here so an albino is a feasible guess, but Julie, my neighbour, had been to check and she thought it was a Great Egret.

Bugger, a big patch tick considering the tiny amount of fresh water available here,but  I was sure it would soon depart as there are a good few visitors to such a small pond. It was bound to be disturbed.

So as soon as we got home on Friday, I, er, had to walk the dog and headed straight down to the pond. Sure enough, there it was, an smashing adult Great White Egret complete with aigrettes down its back, roosting with herons on an overhead branch. It did a couple of flights around the pool but stayed up in the trees as I left.

A cracking bird for the list, but surprisingly, it is Howick Pond's 6th heron species with Little Bittern, Squacco Heron, Night Heron, Grey Heron and Little Egret all recorded on an area the size of a football pitch! ( Well, in the last 150 years anyway...)

Although a GWE has been knocking around the Druridge - Hauxley area recently this bird looks different. Its beak is more yellow ( see here ) rather than the black bill of that bird...

Howick Patch List 193, 2013 List 111, Points 128.

One good bird...

Great White Egret, Alnwick. (pic thanks to Stef McElwee)

...deserves another, so this afternoon we popped down to see if the Great White Egret was still on river near Alnwick castle.

With not an optic or camera on me (no news this morning meant no bird, so this was just a shopping trip out...), we bumped into Stef McElwee who thought that the bird had been seen today. Luckily for us, the egret was about 100 yards west of the Lion Bridge, wandering about in the muddy river margins. We could get to within 30 or 40 yards of it with out any signs of disturbance. 

While Stef took these images above I borrowed his bins to view the bird. A nice graceful giant, I'm not sure  if it was even nicer than the Squacco...

Although I have had Squacco before in the county and several Great White Egrets, to get both of these rare herons within the week, made this definately one to remember. 

Not to be left aside, as we wandered back to the road, 16 Waxwings flew low overhead, calling...