It feels like spring.

 

Alnmouth with Coquet Island in the distance.

Sunday was a calm and pleasant day, getting brighter as it wore on and for once spring was in the air. What breeze there was, came from an ENE direction building hopes that we might come across something out of the ordinary. Unfortunately we didnt turn up anything rare but we still had a good morning seeing a few migrants.  

I met John at Alnmouth Cricket Club at 7am. A stroll down to the water works and flood meadows was filled with bird sounds. Lapwings and Redshanks displaying, Geese clattering around, a Water Rail squealed from a dense patch of phragmites and the sound of Chiffchaffs rang from every tree tall enough. 

A field near the track held some Mad March Hares, in April, with 8 or more chasing and boxing around.

Brown Hares mating.

 While watching these, a pair of Shoveler flushed from the small pond to settle again on a flash near the river.

Next we took the car down to the estuary. From here we covered the rest of the patch including the shore, bracken hill, and the estuary itself.

At this time there is an odd mix of birds of both summer and winter. There was a lone Barnacle Goose swimming up river beside a drake Red breasted Merganser, 25+ Wigeon, 20 Teal, 153 Curlew, a Goosander and 80+ Pinkfeet North while newly arrived birds included a female Wheatear, 4 Sand Martins, many Chiffchaffs, a Little Egret and 15+ Shelduck . There was no sign of the Avocet John had here mid week.

Little Egret

Incoming Sand Martin.

Stonechat on shed in the dunes.

Teal looking very smart in the sunshine.

Wheatear flew from beach and relocated in paddock on top of bracken hill.

 Later in the morning the warm sun brought out a few insects - 2 Small Tortoiseshells and a scatter of Hairy footed Flower Bees.

A small solitary bee, I'll need advice from specialists for this one...Andrena scotica. 

A male Hairy footed Flower Bee showing is feathered legs and the white blaze...

Small Tortoiseshell, the first butterfly of the year for me.

Back home at lunchtime, I was pleased to give the lawn its first cut after a wet March. Now I can let the meadow kick in. In the garden were more Hairy feet and 2 Peacock butterflies...

Peacock in the garden.

  

Still cold...

 The week progresses but its still bloody freezing. Every morning when I get up the place is white with frost, today -2 degrees again. The sun is beautiful though, bright and crystal clear but there is little warmth. I am sick of feeling 'tight' with cold when I go out, roll on a day when its a straight 12 degrees with no reduction for wind chill.

Little has changed on the bird front around the village. There are still no Willow Warblers but with 400 arriving at Portland yesterday they are surely on their way.  There are more Blackcaps now with 4 or 5 singing locally but the Swallows have gone and who can blame them.

Out in the village wood on Peggy's walk at lunchtime, the blossomed sallow, mentioned last time, is still attracting a few hardy insects with 2 Comma, a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell in the vicinity. 

Yesterday was my first visit to the barbers since mid December, so maybe that is how I am feeling the cold...

Dark edged Bee Fly

Comma

Peacock

Technicolour....

I'll split this post in two halves, firstly I started out here at home for an hour, then popped down to Warkworth to meet John, then back here to loiter around the garden again as yesterday. A lovely sunny day, a bit cooler, but a cracker of an autumn day all the same.

Howick.

This morning was out before sunrise down to the Bathing House area just to see if there was any viz mig and to get a sunrise photo.

70 Golden Plovers were roosting in Tommy's field, while 300 Pinkfeet flew south over head. 3 Swallows, a few Skylarks and Meadow Pipits also moving south shortly after it got light.

At 7.30am I headed off to Warkworth, see below, returning at 12.30pm.

This afternoon I spent a lot of time just watching what was going on around our garden. There were loads of butterflies again as well as many Silver Y moths. As the sun was quite bright, I kept the camera handy to get some shots of the butterflies as they appeared....

Peacock

Small Tortoiseshell

Comma

Red Admiral

In addition to these four, there were Speckled Wood, Large White and Small White.

The roving party of Long tailed Tits came back, this time bringing a Treecreeper and 8 - 12 Chiffchaffs. Two Blackcaps fed in the yew and elder bushes. Still no striped sprite...

Blackcap

Warkworth.

The time spent at Warkworth was equally lazy but this time sitting at a picnic bench drinking tea and scoffing Bakewell Tarts while watching the birds pass overhead. We had a steady stream of Skylarks ( 50+), Meadow Pipits, 9 Redpolls, 6+ Pied Wagtails, 3+ Swallows, 250 Pink-footed Geese, a few Linnets, Goldfinches and Tree Sparrows. A Snipe bucked the trend by going North.

In the scrub were 4 -5 Chiffchaffs, 2+ Blackcaps, 1 Reed Warbler, 10+ Blackbirds.

Reed Warbler

  We ended down at the estuary where things seemed a bit quieter. The juv Black tailed Godwit was there but there were only 2 Knot with the masses of Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew and Lapwing. Two Little Egrets and 18 Teal were above the weir.

The Rhinns of Galloway

Sounds like a nasty ailment I know, but this is the furthest southwest corner of Scotland where we stayed over the New Year week. The weather was mixed, but all in all we had a nice relaxing time, just walking when the sun shone, and watching DVDs when it didnt.

This is more of a photo post really. Of course there was an odd spell of birding...

The little one on the right is Seascape cottage where we stayed. A new place, very comfortable and as you can see, away from everything.

Loch Ryan at Wig Bay.

The Wig Bay was the best bit of birding during the week. The waters, when calm were full of wintering birds including - 6+ Slavonian Grebes, 3+ Great Crested Grebes, 2 Scaup, 30+ Red breasted Mergansers, 1 Tystie, 5+ Long tailed Duck, 3 Red throated Divers, 20+ Goldeneye, Eiders, Wigeon.  

Stranraer Harbour.

You dont expect to see this on 29th December! My latest ever Peacock butterfly.

A large Starling roost of several thousand birds all crashed into two barns nearby. The noise from inside sounded like an aviary!

Portpatrick Harbour

Smugglers Cove, a troll shop in Portpatrick.

A Hoodie at Wig Bay. It was with a hybrid Carrion x Hoodie nearby.

This Black headed Gull came to chips at Stranraer Harbour. I must send off the ring details, but is says Volgel something Arnhem on the metal ring so it must be dutch...[Update - Ringed as a pulli ( nestling) in Holland on 4th June 2011. It has been wintering at Stranraer every since and summering in its natal colony.]

The view from the cottage door, facing directly over towards Belfast, Northern Ireland on the horizon. 

Today's garden photos...

Whimbrel (heavily cropped)

Most garden Whimbrel records are flying high over whistling, so I was surprised to look out of the porch window and see two wandering in the back field.

Between showers, a selection of butterflies posed for pictures, and I thought the bumblebees on globe thistle looked a bit arty too, so here they are. White tailed I think?

While snapping in the sunshine a juvvy Chiffchaff sat out watching what was going on...  

Go wild, go wild, go wild in the country...

A belter of a day today, with the temp at 16 degrees at lunchtime.

This morning was spent at Branton doing the WeBs count with John. Before we started, a casual stroll checking a sunny hedge bottom produced 8 Adders basking in the early morning sun. All seemed to be females (They are males, see comment below). A selection of individuals are above, with one pic containing a pile of three!(Count the heads).

[See note below. Thanks the Greenie for his comment on the Adders. I found it a good help, so maybe it will come in handy for you too...
Stewart ,
Males are very variable in colour and when first out of hibernation as they are now , and can be very dull having spent several months under ground . When they 'slough' their skin , they will be much brighter . They also emerge 2/3weeks before females , and can be found lying around in numbers just outside their hibernacular , as your 3 were . In the past I have found up to ten animals lying together . Females tend to have a light brown/ginger ground colour with darker brown zig zag marking , which is less defined at the edges than the black , more defined zig zag of the male . The 'silver' colouration you mention occurs when a female in season , just every other year for them , is found , then hormones in the male go to work to produce that silver and black phase . Of interest , on all four occassions that I have witnessed 'the dance of the Adders' the combatants have always been silver/black males .]


Lots of Coltsfoot was in flower (top) and on the Sallows -

Peacock

Small Tortoiseshell

Of the birds, a darvic ringed Mediterranean Gull ( ring was Red PJJ1), 3 Great crested Grebes and lots of returning upland breeders such as Oystercatchers, Redshank, Curlew, Lapwing and Lesser black backed Gulls were the highlight.

Back home, it was warm enough for the first grass cut of the year. Time in the garden produced Small Tortoiseshell, Red tailed Bumblebee and Buff tailed Bumblebee and the resident Tree Sparrows.