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Northumbrian Birding (1 Viewer)

Yes. I was the guy you saw at Cresswell yesterday morning. You have a new car, yes? It wasn't until you'd left that I realised where I knew the reg. number from. Having seen not a lot before the rain set in, I went back at 1845 last night and saw the Stint and the Sandpiper. Off to try for the Jack Snipe tonight as the weather's getting drier/brighter.

The Snipe is shown at the South Hide. This may be the old one looking south towards the Budge Hide and on the path to the Oddie Hide.

I have just (1708hrs) PM'd you too.
 
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The wind was too strong this morning for a wader count but on the way home we came across this unlikely bunch of a resident Lapwing, 4 Ringed Plover and a pair of Dunlin right next to the road at 1500ft ASL. I had a panic as they were more or less in the same place as the Dotterel were in 2005.

Rob
 

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Druridge this afternoon...Garganey Drake,Whopper and Mute swans,Mallards,Gadwall,Coot,Moorhen,Shelduck,Greylag,
Dunlin,Redshank,Common Sandpiper,Oystercatcher,Lapwing,
Wheatear,Meadow Pipit,Sedge and Willow Warbler,Reed Bunting
Linnet,Kestrel....a single Teal in the north pond couldn`t really see if it was the hybrid one as the sun was reflecting off the water..
 
For those who are still wondering about the hybrid teal at Druridge, here's a photo from this morning. Unfortunately the light was hopeless.
 

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that teal

Thanks for the banter on the teal,I hope proper ones turn up so I can compare.Have only had terrible views of one in Girton,=Notts before.Alex Lees found that so it must have been proper!!
Drurudge at 2.30pm
2 little stints and curlew sandpiper still about
wood sand from the budge lean to
sandwich terns over the road.
No shrikes
 
Eric - my thoughts are that as the teal has both a vertical and horizontal stipe, it is a hybrid. I will look at the photos on Birdguides and test that theory. I am not too bothered either way. In all honesty, had I not been influenced by other information on this Forum and elsewhere, I would have gone with a GW Teal and moved on. It would be helpful if the birder who called it a hybrid shared his/her better wisdom, but life's too short I guess. There's plenty more birds I the air!

Anyway, at 2.30 today, where were the LSs and the CS? I was there at 7 - 8am today and saw nowt from all three hides.

However, did see two Little Gulls at East Chev. and a drake Garganey at Bothal. No sign of the Glaucous Gull(s) at Longhirst but there were so many gulls in the flock and given my alias, that's not a surprise!!!!
 
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Gordon, it is the presence of the horizontal flank stripe that gives it away as a hybrid. It has a lot of GWT characteristics, such as the vertical white stripe (although this is quite narrow on this bird) and the almost lack of yellow lining between the chestnut and green head markings. The horizontal white stripe was at times quite pronounced, but at other times quite hidden by the flank feathering.
 
Just checked Bird Guides on my way out and there was a Spoonbill at Cresswell Pond at 6am this morning :t:

One of my fave birds......I'm outta here :-O
 
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No sign of the Spoonbill despite quite a few folks looking (just HOW do we manage to lose a muckle big three feet high white bird?) :-O

At Cresswell Pond I had my first Wheatear and Sedge Warblers of the year.

Druridge Bay at the Budge Hide - our 'dodgy' Teal was there hanging out with a normal male teal so I was able to get good comparisons :t: THe Whooper Swan that's been at East Chev for a while was there too. Lots of Orange Tip, Wall, and Green-veined White butterflies flying about and a single Red Admiral. Zillions of St Mark's Flies too - I used to have a boyfriend who would run away screaming from them...what a wuss!!! :-O
South Hide......Lapwing, Coot, single Mute Swan, 2 Shelduck, Canada Geese and Tufted Ducks and a very flighty group of eight Dunlin. Very sunny at this point and the majority of the birds were mere outlines as the sun was in front of the hide! One unmistakable critter was a Fox casually walking by the edge of the pool :t:
Oddie Hide....Biggest pond of the lot yet nearly always the emptiest!!! 2 Mute Swan, 5 Gadwall, 23 Shelduck,2 TUfted, 4 Canada Geese, 2 sleeping Dunlin and 3 Moorhen. No sign of any Stints or Sandpipers :-C
AS I left the Oddie Hide, however, it had clouded over so I decided to have another little look at those Dunlin - just a feeling I had, especially after reading in my Collins Guide that they (the Curlew Sandpipers) are barely bigger than Dunlin (I'd thought they were more like a Redshank in size! |:$| )
BINGO!!!!!!!!! There it was - clear as day and Lifer No. 187 :t: Watched it for a good half hour or so until I was sure I'd recognise one again in the future. I was helped by having borrowed a very nice scope off a fellow birder/naturalist that I kept running in to - I'm not shy LOL ;)

East Chevington was HEAVING with birds!!!!!!! First impression was Stonechats feeding their young all over the place and Sedge Warblers singing from every shrub and reedbed!!! Had my first male Whitethroat of the year who obliged me by posing in full view on top of a fence post - whoever says these birds are boring and dull needs to really LOOK at them as this chap was STUNNING!!!!
North Pool full of life.........various gulls and terns including Arctic, Common and Sandwich and two Little Gulls. 2 Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, lots of Gadwall, LBBG, Canada & Greylags too.
 
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just remebered I was at st mary's early this morning!
the regular bloke was there who pointed me to the first whitethroat of the year.stonchats and swallows close up and sandwich terns north.
 
Arcoot Pond

Not a spelling mistake in the title, just that everything on the water appeared to be a Coot. Usual ducks and warblers on the fringes and a pair of Common Terns on the exposed submerged hedge across the centre of the lake. Hirundines a plenty too.

Went looking for the Spoonbill too this morning. Blanked at Cresswell (the guys fixing the stone wall said it was like the Sermon on the Mount earlier!), Druridge, Longhirst and Bothal. No sign of the Glaucous Gulls at Longhirst and all quiet at Bothal.
 
thornley woodland centre this morning..3 jays,great tit,blue tit,chiff chaff,robin,wren, pheasent ..after a pretty frustrating morning a red kite soared overhead for about 5 minutes ..just to high to see any rings or identification tags...
 
Ring Necked Duck at Linton

I have from sun up (5-ish?) to 0630 am tomorrow (start work at 0700) to try and locate Lifer 205. Cannot get there tonight as I am working now.

Can anyone assist by letting me know which of the two lakes the bird is on, please.
 
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mILLYg said:
I have from sun up (5-ish?) to 0630 am tomorrow (start work at 0700) to try and locate Lifer 205. Cannot get there tonight as I am working now.

Can anyone assist by letting me know which of the two lakes the bird is on, please.
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was still there at 9 this evening, showed really well around the small island infront of the hide. (left-hand pond after you cross the railway track)
 
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