[Gill Osborne]

Bit late getting it started on here but here we go....

Friday, 1st January
Alnwick, Northumberland

Very heavy snow overnight so not getting out far today as the roads are lethal so sticking to wiondow birds and a walk along to the Canongate Bridge and back.

1: Blackbird
2: Magpie
3: Collared Dove
4: Starling
5: Jackdaw
6: Black-headed Gull
7: Blue Tit
8: Mistle Thrush
9: Chaffinch
10: Wood Pigeon
11: Mallard
12: Moorhen
13: Grey Heron
14: Cormorant
15: Goldfinch
16: Robin

[Gill Osborne]

Saturday, 2nd January
Alnwick

17: Pied Wagtail
18: Long-tailed Tits ~ absolutely delightful group of 8 in the trees above me as I got home Must be one of THE loveliest birds in the UK

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday, 3rd January
Alnwick

19: House Sparrow
20: Bullfinch
21: Siskin
22: Rook
23: Nuthatch
24: Coal Tit
25: Tufted Duck
26: Mute Swan
27: Common Gull
28: Little Grebe
29: Teal
30: Carrion Crow
31: Pheasant
32: Redwing
33: Wren

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday, 5th January
Alnwick

34: Feral Pigeon

Getting a bit bored with being snowed in in Alnwick SO frustrating having the coast so close but not being able to reach it because there's no way my car will get through the untreated roads

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday, 7th January
Alnwick

35: Great Tit

Went up to the top part of Alnwick to get a few sprigs of bramble for my two Leaf Insects and got another tick in the process...along with wet feet from plunging into 12 inches at least of snow!

36: Song Thrush

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday, 14th January

Crikey, my year list is trailing along VERY slowly this year due to just not being able to get out and about And today we had to do a few odd jobs for brother-in-law who is laid up with a broken leg so no time to go birding!!!
So....only one to add today: perched in top of a tree as we drove down the A1 this morning.

37: Buzzard

[Gill Osborne]

Saturday, 16th January
Alnwick

Woohoooo birding in the dark! Male hooting away on trees outside living room window tonight at 7.51pm

38: Tawny Owl

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday, 17th January
Boulmer

Had a nice couple of hours with hubby at Boulmer today. Gorgeous sunny day

39: Kestrel
40: Oystercatcher
41: Redshank
42: Bar-tailed Godwit
43: Meadow Pipit
44: Ringed Plover
45: Dunlin
46: Grey plover
47: Turnstone
48: Red-breasted Merganser
49: Eider
50: Rock Pipit
51: Lapwing
52: Dunnock
53: Stonechat
54: Sanderling

After a snowed-in start I'm finally managing to get out once more Yesterday's trip felt good. But I've learnt one thing....leave hubby at home!!! He didn't want to walk miles yet if I had only went around the next cove there were reports of two shore lark!!! ARGHHHHHH .....such is birding!!!

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday, 19th January
Amble

Today I finished work at 1pm so had three hours to play with before Neil got up at 4pm. Was very tempted by two Bewick Swans that were hanging around Blyth but a few miles down the road the fog became so thick I wasn't happy with the conditions so Plan B - turned off towards Amble Harbour where I had hopes of a few sea ducks.

55: Mediterranean Gull
56: Wigeon
57: Great Black-backed Gull
58: Whooper Swan

No ducks but the Med Gull and Whoopers made up for it!

[Gill Osborne]

Because I was snowed in at Alnwick for the first two weeks of the year it's felt as though I'm making slower progress this year but I've just checked my 2009 list and on 22nd January 2009, I had bird number 60 which was a treecreeper. Yesterday I managed to sneak out for an hour and got my year list up to 61 so, surprisingly for me, I'm slightly up last year I was hoping to reach 100 before January was out so I'd best get my skates on!!!

Thursday, 21st January
Cresswell Pond

59: Curlew
60: Great Crested Grebe
61: Shelduck
62: Goldeneye

[Gill Osborne]

Fruday, 29th January
Old Bewick Farmouse B&B

63: Red-legged Partridge

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday, 4th February
QE11 Park Lake, Ashington

64: Coot
65: Canada Goose
66: Gadwall
67: Herring Gull

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday, 11th February
Stuck indoors!!!, Alnwick

Seeing as hubby is away in the Lake District until tomorrow afternoon and I start a fortnight's holiday on Sunday in which I plan to do obscene amounts of birding today has been a get-the-housework-out-of-the-way day Scrubbed the house from top to bottom - hoovered, cleaned the kitchen floor, ironed, took a few old books along to charity shops and bottles to the bank and just got a letter to finish writing and I'm done!
Whilst doing all this I kept the binoculars next to the bedroom window as the garden two houses along has a number of bird feeders which are very active at this time of year. I was thrilled to bits to see my first woodpecker of the year, a male, on the feeders pecking at a fat ball and a group of five very lively Long-tailed Tits

68: Great Spotted Woodpecker

[Gill Osborne]

Wednesday, 17th February
Druridge Bay

69: Tree Sparrow ~ in hawthorn hedge next to Cresswell Pond
70: Pink-footed Goose
71: Snipe
72: Shoveler
73: Greylag Goose
74: Pochard

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday, 18th February
Billy Mill, Tyneside

75: Greenfinch ~ male singing in trees. Heard them a couple of weeks ago but this is the first sighting of this delightful bird Always one of my favourites.

[Gill Osborne]

Friday, 19th February
North Seaton Cemetary, Ashington

76: Waxwing ~ flock of 36

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday, 23rd February
Stag Rocks

77: Shag

Christon Bank

78: Fieldfare

[Gill Osborne]

Saturday, 27th February
Boulmer, Northumberland

79: Gannet

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday, 2nd March
Low Newton

80: Yellowhammer
81: Golden Plover

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday, 7th March
Stag Rocks, Bamburgh

82: Common Scoter
83: Skylark
84: Fulmar

Budle Bay

85: Lesser Black-backed Gull

Holy Island

86: Little Egret
87: Brent Goose

[Gill Osborne]

First time out in three weeks.....blasted depression got a hold again and left me lethargic and lacking in motivation or energy


Good Friday, 2nd April
Boulmer

88: Linnet
89: Wheatear

Eshott

90: Common Crane

[Gill Osborne]

Saturday, 3rd April
Druridge Pools

Finished work at 1pm, home by 1.15, computer on and saw that there had been a Great White Egret just down the road at Druridge so I grabbed the bins, notebook and pencils and flew down the A1 Sadly I dipped as the bird was quite mobile and I just didn't have time to hunt it down at a likely spot (had to be back home by 3pm) so tomorrow I will return at first light. Picked up another couple of birds tho' for the Year List

91: Chiffchaff
92: Grey Partridge

[Gill Osborne]

Today was fun! Traipsed around all the sites the egret has been hanging around - East Chevington, Druridge Pools, Cresswell, Warkworth Pools, Druridge again and finally East Chevington Saw some nice birds, saw LOTS of mud and flooded areas Just SO glad I put my wellies on today or I would never have got through in a few places

Monday, 5th April
East Chevington

93: House Martin
94: Sand Martin
95: Reed Bunting
96: Great White Egret

Canongate Bridge, Alnwick

97: Dipper

[Gill Osborne]

Gorgeous sunny & warm spring day so straight after an unavoidable appointment at the hairdressers at 11am I jumped in the car and headed off to Druridge - surely today would bring some spring migrants and, hopefully, a butterfly or two?

Saturday, 10th April
Druridge Pools

98: Barn Swallow
99: Red-throated Diver ~ group of 11 just offshore on a flat calm sea
100: Pintail ~ stunning male WOW!!!!!

Cresswell Pond

101: Knot ~ group of 40+

Also had my first Honey Bee of the year feeding on a coltsfoot and my first, albeit rather tatty, Small Tortoiseshell Noticed a lot more Dandelion in bloom today too.

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday, 20th April
Cresswell Pond

102: Yellow Wagtail ~ 4 stunning males; my first in over two years
103: Common Sandpiper
104: Jack Snipe *Lifer No: 203*

Druridge Pools

105: Garganey
106: Black-tailed Godwit ~ flock of approx. 77

This must be the first time for ages I have went out hoping for certain birds and actually seen ALL of them Perhaps, after 27 years, I'm getting the hang of this birding lark
Only downside was finding a rabit with myxie and, upon taking it to a local vet, was made to feel like a fool because ''it's only a rabbit!'' Well if I'm a fool for loving animals and caring about something having a humane death then so be it Feel quite upset about it TBH.....not the death of the rabbit, more the attitude of my fellow humans