Local Patches with cake.

 I've mentioned before my new found use of the eBird app and site online. If nothing else it is a good way to focus the mind, particularly on quieter periods and in a local context.

Now that I am getting more used to it, I try to plan the month ahead, loosely, using the app to do more recording and list management. Here at Howick the plan is to get a full list of species counted maybe once a week, while adding extra species as needed on other days. This will ensure common species aren't overlooked in the quest for the cherry on the top which can often happen, and get records in at the same time. Its a win / win really.   

After taking advice from Ipin at Druridge, yesterday I've used one feature to set up local patches by linking known recorded sites within the patch.  This is a doddle and looks good. For example my own patch consists of 4 spots with in it - Craster, Cullernose Point, Howick Village and Coast, Howick Hall Gardens while the Boulmer patch is made up of Boulmer, Seaton Point and Foxton Golf Course. Both areas under 3.5 miles from home at the furthest point away.

 The majority of recording time is spent in these coastal areas with a lesser period, in better weather, at spots inland from here on moorland or forestry sites. I might even set up an 'Uber Patch' on eBird at sometime to see what all spots are like when linked.

As I am blabbing about Local Patches and Apps, the newly popular Bluesky platform, Twitter replacement app, has a feed called #Lowcarbonbirding that fits quite well with my latest fad. There are some interesting posts on there, often about local patching that had me thinking. It is surprising how many birders take on lengthy hikes in pursuit of ornithological goals. Distances of 15 km plus are quite regularly posted, on foot from home. I read these with mixed emotions varying from Wow! through Guilt to F. That! depending on mood. 15 km is a canny trek with birding gear too, that is time consuming if you add in stopping and watching slots. My walks are no more than about 5 km usually and that still takes a morning. Yesterday morning's amble was around Boulmer and up to Longhoughton Steel and back, a distance of 4.11 km. Sometimes we might double that on a good day.

My friend Alan, seems to know me a bit too well...so I felt the need to reply...

 So far February has not been too productive on the art front, something I must try to address...

Since my last post there have been some pleasant seasonal changes. From 5th Song Thrushes began singing here on fine mornings, always a good harbinger of spring, that one. Skylarks began on the same day. Lovely.

Song Thrush

Our 6 Russian Whitefronts were still hanging on til yesterday when a farm worker and dog went through the field flushing them off. What might have been them were seen flying S at Hauxley, down the coast at lunchtime. I will check to see a bit later.

A pair of Gadwall on the pond were the first of the year coinciding with the end of the shooting season disturbances. Its not just the actual killing and lead shot that causes wildlife problems, the noise from a score of people beating and blasting shotguns through the countryside does nothing to help things. A Kingfisher was almost a daily sighting here last week.

A Woodcock flighting out to feed was nice one evening and at the same time the back field Barn Owls could be heard hissing, though they remain elusive. Some reasonable numbers of birds in the village fields included 37 Curlew, 45 Oystercatcher and 14 Yellowhammers. Best though was a Little Egret flying low, south, from our drive, a rare bird here.

Buzzard

Gadwall

Kingfisher

Russian White fronted Geese

Yesterday our wander around Boulmer was in full overcast, cold and breezy conditions so there wasn't a great deal going on. An adult Mediterranean Gull was a highlight, plus another or the same Little Egret as above, 200+ Curlew, 11 Grey Plover, 14 purple Sandpipers, 50 Linnets, 2 Fieldfares and the first Gannets of the year with 10 birds moving N.

 I will end with some stats off eBird - 

My usual Howick - Craster Patch - 

YL- 80   Feb - 71

My village small area within the above, about 1.5 sq km - 

YL - 75    Feb - 59 

Boulmer with much less coverage -

YL- 64    Feb - 54

 

Nocmig Confusion

What a summer. After a couple of weeks laid up with the lurgy that I thought might have been 'the Covid', I think it was just one of them summer colds. I've still got a heavy chest.  What with that and the relentless poor weather I've struggled to find much to write about. Even my notebook is a bit thin but here goes the update so far.

26th June, thick fog decended. That puts the kybosh on most things but on this occasion a few Sandwich and Arctic Terns flew over our house quite low calling as they lose sight of the actual coast.  

A poor juvenile Song Thrush made a bang as it crashed into the kitchen window unfortunately. I decided to draw it, life sized...

Song Thrush a window casualty.

Friday 28th June, on my way to work a surprise Red Kite very low above the road at Red Row was nice. It was so low it became at risk of being another casualty but luckily it dodged the bullet so to speak...Kites may well be the new Black headed Gulls around the rest of the UK but in this black spot they are still very much noteworthy.

On Saturday 29th June at midnight there was a bit of a mystery unfolding.

I was out for Peggy's late night stroll. It was calm and still when I heard a totally unfamiliar call over towards the coast. It called once, then a gap, called a second time then another gap, then called a third time as it made its way south. Given the three clear sounds I was able to memorise the info long enough ( minutes) until I got in and added the details to the notebook before I could forget.

Then I put a tweet out to those who like to record nocturnal migrants overhead at night - Nocmig. They are more practised at this specialist field than me. From what I could tell, this was a wader, sounds like a small calidrid type on the move. Soon two replies came with Temmincks Stint? 

This is s scarce migrant of muddy edged pools so cant imagine one over here but I went straight online to Xeno Canto and checked the call there. It sounded good and I passed thanks to the responders.

I still was a bit unsure. As a Nocmig sceptic as you might have seen here I always wonder what else it may have been. You cant see it, so its always a long shot for these unfamiliar migration sounds. This kept me thinking about the so called Temmincks overhead in the night. Its not impossible but lets face it, it is unlikely.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I am speaking to my neighbour, published bird sound recordist and all round expert in avian audibles, Geoff Sample, when I recount the tale. Straight away he says what about Curlew Sandpiper? 

I have heard them calling before but didn't remember 'my' call. Time for another check on Xeno Canto. Well I never, Geoff was spot on. Similar to Temmincks but as my note says, drier and more distinct. At that time there were a couple of Curlew Sandpipers down the coast so they were certainly out there. A much more likely fit than the stint. Interesting isnt it....

Have a listen to this link - Xeno Canto Curlew Sandpiper Flight Call try the 8th one down the list by Stanislas Wroza 22 seconds Mongolia its the clearest without the background noise. Most like my bird.

To compare try the Temmincks Stint calls here too.

Oh and as I actually heard it and didn't just hear a recording of it, it was a patch tick too!

 

The adult Curlew Sandpiper taken a few years ago has the reddish belly in this pic with a juv Curlew Sand to its right and some Dunlin.

 

Sunny Patching

What a difference a week can make.

Since last Sunday's post, I have twisted my back dragging a dumpy bag of logs and have been in pain all week, I have had a bit of a thing on one of our local What'sApp bird groups, that has resulted in me bowing out ( it was just getting a bit too fussy for me, so no hard feelings to anyone reading this) and I have had a right old debate on Twitter about a certain gull north of the border and whether it is right to add it to a life list. (No, of course it isnt!).

Social Media and me definately have a love/hate relationship. Sometimes I cant stand it and think 'thats it, I'm packing it all in' then, there are good days with some interesting snippets of info that could not be found elsewhere. Its these things that are educational, funny and interesting that keep me on it.

With that put behind me it was a relief to get out on the patch again. Saturday was very windy and just a bit uncomfortable, but today has been a glorious sunny, cold, calm one.

Nothing of note was seen on Saturday really though I did take a photo of a House Spider, Tegenaria sp, in our boiler shed. I am faffing around with flash, trying to get it to help me take some sharp record shots when there is not enough ambient light. Its all in the 'diffusion' of light so as the image doesnt come out too harsh with dark shadows. My home made diffuser, constructed out of a plastic chinese takeaway carton, some tin foil and a piece of kitchen roll fitted on the front of a 30 yr old flash gun seems to be working. Here is the image below -

Today, John couldnt get out until later on, so it was back onto the patch first thing.

On a morning like today's I feel so lucky to live in a spot like this. No inland urban reservoir for me. The views are lovely.

I began down at the Rumbling Kern. Here is a good stand and watch spot, in a way, its my own East Bank / Patch / Narrow Neck . Its a good open vista looking at the sea, the rocky shore and is backed by some degraded scrub. In the past, it has held Red backed Shrike and Olive backed Pipit in season and it could always produce again. Today I was hoping for lesser fry such as Bar tailed Godwit or Lesser black backed Gull but there was little moving. On the calm water was a single Red throated Diver, 10 Goldeneye, 1 Shag, 1 Cormorant, 10+ Eider and a Porpoise was hunting below.  The rocks held 6+ Turnstone and a Purple Sandpiper with 108+ Curlew in the field behind. On my way back up, the old muck heap by the layby had one each of Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit.

The Rumbling Kern view point. No freshwater here, but it still hold some variety.

The track to the right of the first shot viewing south. Some scrub that holds a few migrants in season.

The view north over the bathing house towards Dunstanburgh Castle.

Behind the watchpoint is Seahouses farm. It has an old barn dump and some straggly gorse and dog rose. Stright in off the north sea, whats not to like.

John turned out to join me at about 9.30am so we had a walk through the Howick Estate just a few hundred metres inland from the coast.

Crossbills were very active with at least 7+ birds calling and flying around, but there could be double this. I hope they are nesting nearby? A singing male Siskin was my only new list addition of the weekend. In February and March up here patch listing is a case of diminshing returns, with this little songster lifting me to 97 sp. Also in here were 6+ Bullfinch, 3+ Jay, 4+ Nuthatch, 12 Tufted Duck, 3 Teal, 3 Mallard, 1+ Buzzard and a fly over Brambling.

3 Roe Deer added to the interest as did the first Hoverfly of 2019, an Eristalis tenax female.

Above - The Muck Heap Grey Wagtail.

Song Thrush.

Eristalis tenax, a female, according to Hoverflies UK.

At dusk, a trip to the bottle bank at Craster found two seperate Barn Owls, 1 near the Arnold Reserve and 1 near the Cottage Inn. Still a lot of sparrows were at our feeders with 38 Tree and 30 House Sparrows making good inroads into the feed left for them.

I am off work on Wednesday, dog sitting so, weather permitting I'll get out again to break up the working week...

A 300mm shot of Dunstanburgh Castle and Cullernose Point taken from Rumbling Kern...