A winter visitor in summer...

After spending the last couple of Sundays on our inland patch we felt it was time to stay coastal this week. To be honest, this is a quiet spell until August kicks in so we hadn't really been missing much. Late summer holiday time can be a pain on the coast with lots of visitors around but an early start means you can make the best of it and leave as things get busier.

Today we met at Boulmer at 6.15am and with a 5 mtrs high tide at 7.30, we decided to start at the North End to see if any waders had been pushed in closer.

Although still early in the 'autumn' bird numbers were picking up with 250+ Dunlin, 6+ Turnstone, 8+ Bar tailed Godwits, 4+ Whimbrel, 1 Sanderling, 2 Ringed Plover, 1 Common Sandpiper, 30+ Curlew, 20+ Oystercatcher, 25+ Golden Plover and 30+ Redshank.

15 moulting Goosanders were in the haven and a juv Wheatear was on the beach..

On an area of barley field flattened by tractors putting in new drainage pipes ( god forbid an area around here has so much as a puddle left) a few passerines were attracted. 10+ Yellow Wagtails, 6+ Skylarks and Tree Sparrows, 1 juv Whinchat and many Meadow Pipits. A large, difficult to view, gull roost in a cow field had 1 ad Mediterranean Gull.

More unusually, a Hooded Crow was sitting along the wall. At this time of year we always get reports of Hoodies that are actually dull, dusty greyish juvenile Carrion Crows, but this was the real deal. Can't recall ever seeing one here in summer?

Common Sandpiper

Hooded Crow.

Returning waders....

After a couple of hours we headed back for tea, pasties and cake, you have to look after yourself in this game, to stop concentration levels dropping you understand. From here, the car park was full by now so we moved base to the South End at Seaton Point. We checked the point and along the road to the golf course layby.

A few more waders were on the shore. The tide had dropped considerably by now so most birds were distant but closer on show were 1 Bar tailed Godwit, 3 Ringed Plover, 6 Dunlin and 2 Sanderling in summer plumage. Off shore a few Sandwich, Common and Arctic Terns milled around but there were no Roseates unusually.

Along in the scrub at the edge of the golf course were 1 Sedge Warbler, 3+ Willow Warblers, 3+ Lesser Whitethroats, a family party likely, and 1 Common Whitethroat. 12 Crossbills flew S overhead.

The morning was almost over, so it was time for home to get the moth trap done. Its best to count the moths early on, but on Sunday they always get counted at the worst possible time when the slightest movement sends them flying away...

Boulmer Village viewed from the North, Longhoughton Steel.

Turned out nice again...

A bit of a photo montage of this mornings visit to Amble with JWR...

Snow squalls coming in on a noreaster this morning...

We got caught in it....JWR sheltering his camera....

It soon cleared revealing a lovely day...

A party of Turnstones found a batch of edible crabs dumped on the shore and showed well in the morning sunshine...

  

Good evening...

You know those evenings when your patch seems to be the best in the world? It was one of those tonight. Certainly not because of the birds seen, there were no new year species or anything, but it was sunny, mirror calm and very quiet. Lovely.

Down at the Rumbling Kern there were still no Sand Martins, but Swallows were more in evidence. A small wader roost was quite wintry looking - 45 Oystercatcher, 10 Turnstone and 2 Purple Sandpipers. 11 Common Scoter flew N....a pair of Grey Partridges were being harassed by some very young calves.

The stroll back via the lane end, had a few singing Chiffs and Willow Warblers and little else...

Turnstones and Purps.

Amble Harbour.

Today's weather turned out a lot better than expected. The forecast on Thursday said it would be raining all day and blowing a gale. It was windy, but the sun shone brightly most of the time.

I met up with John and we covered the Coquet Estuary area from Warkworth road bridge down to the harbour. Bird-wise it was all a bit same-old same-old so we just pottered around getting some nice photographs in bright sunshine.

This Turnstone on one of the trawlers in the harbour came out well. It is almost a full image, with only a very slight crop to balance it out.

Its not often I wish I hadn't left my small lens in the car, but this young Great black backed Gull was way too close for my 300! It spent the whole time pulling bits of flattie from the net, followed by an entourage of Turnstones cleaning up after it.

Wigeon are usually the most wary of wildfowl but here, half a dozen birds were pushed up by the rising tide to a point they were used to people wandering around the prom. The drakes are stunning in the sunshine, one to be appreciated when the opportunity presents itself.

They were accompanied by a nice adult Med Gull loafing just offshore...

A day of two halves...

...to use a football analogy.

This morning was another sharp, crystal clear day for a wander down the coastal section of my patch.

We started at the Howick burn mouth where things were pretty much the same as usual. A Kingfisher called and flew upstream, unseen, while  the first of 2 Shelducks flew north. A perusal of the gulls revealed nothing but the locals, but offshore there was a steady passage of Herring Gulls all going north along the breakers at a rate of about 100+ per hour.

The view north from the Rumbling Kern, a geological feature on the shoreline.

Herring Gulls moving north.

 Back up at the farm, 130+ Golden Plover, 2 Grey Partridges, a few Skylarks were in the coast fields, while a Rock Pipit was a bit unusual forsaking its usual pelagic habitations in favour of a roadside muck heap.

Golden Plover in sheep pasture.

A muck heap loving Rock Pipit.

Next stop was to the far northern end of the patch where we drank tea and ate biscuits without a great deal of ornithological disturbance. I did get embarrassingly carried away with a glimpse of a Collared Dove dropping into a garden and out of sight.

The sunshine was lovely in the harbour so a few minutes were spent checking out what was lurking in there.

Craster Harbour

Turnstone

Purple Sandpiper

Another Purple Sandpiper

Redshank with a third Purple Sandpiper.

So, with a few Purps in the bag it was time to call it a day as I had be get home to be ready for another 'first' for me...

St James's Park, Newcastle.

 This first is not surprising really. We had a chance to of two season tickets to see Newcastle play Stoke ( thanks to Lady Howick) at home. Anyone who knows me, will now be shocked, as there is not a less sporty person on the planet, but its always good to try a new experience. I really enjoyed the afternoon out and from here we tried out a new restaurant in the city centre before getting the train back away from 'civilisation'...

Oh, the score was one each....I hope on the match of the day highlights they show the Grey Wagtail running around outside the dug outs. It put on a better performance than the Toon thats for sure!

92. Collared Dove

All's quiet...

Wall Brown

 Apart from solid lash, what could be the worst weather for an east coast birder in August? Yep, a strong westerly with bright sunshine. Still I headed out to check a few sites, just in case. Starting off at Boulmer, at high tide,  A wander around Seaton Point was borderline depressing, where the highlights were 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear and a scatter of waders roosting on the shore.  This area has taken a severe down turn in the last five or so years since I covered it regularly. The fields are sterile and surrounded by blue 'daleks' to feed the local 'game'. People complain about open cast sites in the county ( I was one of them) but I think it would improve things here...

Turnstones at Seaton Point

 Moving on, a short stop at Foxton for a glance down at the tide full river flood plain had 130 Curlew, 4 Common Sandpipers, a Greenshank and an unringed Little Egret.

With the morning holding little inspiration, I drove down to Hauxley Goose Sanctuary  Nature Reserve. The pool was full with no muddy margin for waders, so a check around the lushly vegetated car park had a scatter of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap. The flowers here are still looking good with masses of Marjoram and Fleabane adding the colour. A few butterflies were around, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood and Peacock. On returning to the car a Whimbrel flew over calling.

Willow Warbler

The final stop was Amble Braid as the tide was beginning to drop back. Lots of birds were dancing around waiting for the mud to be uncovered, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. 35 Shelducks was a good count. The wind was still increasing, so I cut my losses and headed back home.

Lets hope that wind does a 180 soon...