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Northumbrian Birding (3 Viewers)

Ring Ouzels

Vipers said:
I had a trip upto Harthope Valley today. Still a bit early for migrants, but did see Wheatear, Chiffchaff, Buzzard, Peregrine, lots of willow Warblers and Red Grouse all over the place. The stars of today though had to be the five Ring Ouzels in the Hawsen Burn area.
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Aren't they lovely! We were very lucky some years ago when we had a pair in our back garden. One left after a couple of days, but the other stayed for almost a week.
And we are just an ordinary garden albeit with plenty of cover, just a stone's throw from Newcastle Airport!
I did report our visitors to our local Birding official and it was recorded in the Year Book.
We have also had a merlin and a nutcracker - that really was rare!
We regularly have a sparrowhawk - yesterday he killed a blackbird right in the middle of the lawn. There was nothing I could do. Sad, but that's nature............ the sparrowhawk has to live too.
 
Rouzels are back up the Coquet now - at last! Some huge flocks of Mippits have arrived and the Merlins seem to have followed them, seen 2 males in the past 2 days.

Theres a Red-tailed Hawk flopping around near Otterburn, it has jesses on it - is there a place to report lost falconry birds?

Cheers,


Rob
 
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Beautiful Bothal

0715 today - 1 LRP, 1 White Wagtail and several Pied, numerous ducks (Shelducks, Tufties, Gadwall, Mallards), Mute Swan and Canada Geese. Redshank, Moorhens and Coots.

The highlight was over 80 Sand Martins and 40 Swallows on the fence and the part-submerged tree opposite the 30 mph sign viewpoint.
 
Nice one jerkin! Good to know they are still there. It's been two or three years sins i last saw a LEO there. I take it Mill house is the one at the crossroads.
 
Blasted laptop wouldn't let me have internet access last night so couldn't report stuff from my day out |^|

Three hours at East Chevington produced a couple of unexpected birds - Swift (first of the year for me) and a HOODED CROW!!!!! :eek!: Couldn't believe my eyes when it flew past me at a distance of 20-30 yards!!! Landed in the sheep field next to South Pool (that IS the one without the islands, isn't it?) but quickly took off again when four Lapwings decided to launch an attack on it! Disappeared from view over far hedge before I could put a couple from Filey on to it |:mad:|

Also c.30 Pinkfeet and 13 Barnacle Geese and numbers building up of Swallows and Sand Martin :t: Five Black-tailed Godwits and a Red-breasted Merganser on North Pool (the one WITH the three islands!). Oh, just remembered, five Sandwich Terns flew in at 12.30ish and proceeded to bathe and fly around North Pool. Single Whooper Swan too. *apologies for disjointed reporting...checking through diary LOL*

Willow Warbler singing next to Budge Hide at Druridge Bay.
 
Ahhhh! Grasshopper

Two Grasshopper Warblers at Arcot this evening. One in the north west corner of the field to the south east of the lake, and another in the field to the north of that one. I could hear both but could I see either...............
 
Cheers Gordon, I've emailed IBR but haven't had a reply yet.

Had fledged Dipper chicks near Alwinton today.

Rob
 
Not Quite Bott All

Bothal quite quiet this morning. Didn't get a Yellow Wag but 5 Whites and a Pied. Common Sandpiper too (all on the east shore). No Sand Martins but a few Swallows and a selection of ducks inc. duck Wigeon with an injured right wing.

Longhirst Flash equally quiet. Buzzard over the woods though.

Off up the coast now..........

Sandwich Terns (2) at East Chev (N Pool), Lesser Whitethroat at Arcot. LRP at Bothal this pm.
 
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Beehive Flash
2 Little Ringed Plovers and a Greenshank there 20mins ago. LRP's too far for a pic, best I got of Greenshank below...
 

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Beehive Flash

LSB said:
Beehive Flash
2 Little Ringed Plovers and a Greenshank there 20mins ago. LRP's too far for a pic, best I got of Greenshank below...
Click to expand...

.. no sign of the Greenshank by 3.15pm BUT a single Snipe and Dunlin, several Lapwings, a solitary Redshank, plus a flyover by half a dozen swallows as well as overhead Skylarks made the dash worthwhile!

JF
 
Gill Osborne said:
That seems incredibly early - do they normally begin breeding early in the year?
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Some of them will have been on eggs at the end of February. As well as the fledged young, we had pairs that were nest building, incubating and feeding young. They should manage to get in two broods in a season.

Ring Ouzel singing today at last years nest site. Also had Snipe on 4 eggs and Grey Wag on 5.

Rob
 
Had a mooch around the local area today, started off with singing Dipper and Grey Wag on the river while taking the dogs for their morning splash and dash. Heard Reed Bunting while I was feeding the chickens.

Heading over into the Rede Valley had Raven picking at cleansings in a lambing field, the shepherd has told me they are nesting on a crag where they haven't been for years. We stopped for 10 mins at Cottonshopeburnfoot to get a few of the commoner woodland chaps, got another Dipper there too. On through the forest drive had a brew in the Wildlife Hide over looking the burn and weedy pond, there wasn't much about but it was a great place.

At Bakethin we had goodviews of a Long-tailed Duck, but I wasn't sure whether it was a female or juv male. Also had Little and GC Grebes, Common Sand, and Crossbill, with the best view of Goldcrests I've had in years.

Our target species for the day was Mandarin at Falstone, and we got a glimpse of a pair that flushed off the river and flew back overhead. We went a bit further upstream and had Blackcap and Nuthatch in the village. Above the village we got a good look at 2 male Mandarin that were sat on rocks midstream. Someone has gone bonkers putting up nest boxes by the river, there's one on every tree nearly!

On our way home we had Goosander on the river Tyne, Lapwing and northern race Goldies on the white ground above Bellingham. We added Wheatear and Linnet coming back over the range, and Buzzard displaying while on our evening dog-walk. We missed out on Curlew and other raptors but the weather on the tops was horrendous with low cloud and strong wind.

Ended up with 53 species without really trying.

Cheers,


Rob
 
Sandy Banks - River Tyne, Close House.
Sand Martins within three weeks now number 50.
Little Owl seen just off Station Road, Heddon on the Wall. First sighting for two months, thought it had moved elsewhere, but, great to see it again.
 
Heard a Cuckoo yesterday near Knowesgate. Also heard Grasshopper Warblers near Holystone and Comb.

Had great views of a pair of Rouzel near Byrness on Monday, they were on a high crag and really made up for not seeing anything else after the 3hour walk!!

One of my colleagues saw Osprey high overhead in the Rochester area on Monday too.

Rob
 
Missed You All

Glad to be back on line. Yesterday, day at Harthope added Grey Wagtail to my 2007 list, and also gave great views of Buzzards, Ring Ouzel, Wheatear and a BIG first fo me, a 15" adder within as many inches of my sylph-like physique!!!
 
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