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

 

Change afoot?

 

I don't know whether it is just an age thing but I feel change in the air.

Not just in relation to the wintry weather we had around Storm Bert last week but other stuff too. Change seems to sneak up on us and before we know it we lose track of where we were.

Recently Gavin Haig touched on some Social Media changes he has made here . The move from Twitter or X as it is now called to a platform called Bluesky has taken a surge recently in the Naturalist / Birding community. So much so it has been referred to as an 'X-odus'. 

Stewchat has also started down this route to try to get away from the cesspit that Elon has created from a once interesting format. Now, on Twitter ( calling it X is like saying Lapland Longspur to me) we are inundated with ads and bots daily. I block two or three every single day who are clearly not people socialising... On Bluesky this has not happened - yet, so all my bird and natural history related posts will be on there keeping Twitter just to get some bits of info . I'll not be following anyone else on there either, I feel it has had its day to be honest. We will see.

While we are on about this change, a more personal move for me has been starting to use eBird regularly.

eBird is an American based online recording site developed by boffins at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology but it is a worldwide platform. Its used to record bird counts , basically, but has other uses too. Say if you are going on holiday somewhere new, you can look that area up for birding sites and get up to the minute info about what has been seen or occurring there. Not just rare bird info, but ALL bird info.

For example, now, if I go out birding, I use my phone eBird App to begin a list. This maps the route you take and you count down all species seen on the template as you go. Its a doddle. You can see one such list in my previous post.

eBird is also a good way to keep local patch lists, and to see the lists of others too. At the minute I am data crunching all of my previous birding notes that stretch back to 1985. I just wish I had kept notes earlier! It will take some time to get 40 years worth of birding into the website but its an interesting task to do on a dark night.

When looking back in my old logs, am up to 1991 now, I can see massive changes in the bird life locally in that period. Its amazing how many Whinchats we used to see, or Corn Buntings, Hawfinch, Little Owls, Pochard and Smew. On the flip side there were only single figure Pinkfeet counts, no Buzzards or Egrets. Siskins  and Gadwall were quite low too.

Its a very nostalgic exercise but it might take some time...