Northumbrian Birding (1 Viewer)

(Dab) Chicken tonight

Druridge Pools this afternoon.

This male marsh harrier turned up, but stayed annoyingly far from the hide. Then something caught his eye in the north east corner of the pond. He had two or three abortive plunge-dive attempts (1st photo) at something under water. We speculated that it might be a fish (I once photographed one at Cresswell plunge-diving and coming out with a fish).

We found out the answer when he came up with a dabchick that he carried to the north side for lunch.

EDIT Ooops. :-CI should have looked more closely. When I was taking the photos I was concentrating on the viewfinder and not the ID and the first I saw of the images was when I cropped them to upload late last night. Others in the hide had called it as a dabchick and I took their word for it. A kindly soul has just pointed out to me that this dabchick is a young moorhen. (Actually I has thoughts about checking the ID after when I went to bed last night but left it til this morning). The third shot confirms what I should have spotted last night. My excuse is that it had been a long day.

Thanks for the PM.

Better title might have been More Hen, Sir? :-O

Great photos regardless. :t:

Barred Wobbler said:

Druridge Pools this afternoon.

This male marsh harrier turned up, but stayed annoyingly far from the hide. Then something caught his eye in the north east corner of the pond. He had two or three abortive plunge-dive attempts (1st photo) at something under water. We speculated that it might be a fish (I once photographed one at Cresswell plunge-diving and coming out with a fish).

We found out the answer when he came up with a dabchick that he carried to the north side for lunch.

EDIT Ooops. :-CI should have looked more closely. When I was taking the photos I was concentrating on the viewfinder and not the ID and the first I saw of the images was when I cropped them to upload late last night. Others in the hide had called it as a dabchick and I took their word for it. A kindly soul has just pointed out to me that this dabchick is a young moorhen. (Actually I has thoughts about checking the ID after when I went to bed last night but left it til this morning). The third shot confirms what I should have spotted last night. My excuse is that it had been a long day.

Thanks for the PM.

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Superb sequence of pics, I'd never have thought such a large bird was a prey item for a harrier!!!

Many thanks for sharing BW

Don't tell Neil :eek!: You know what he's like about his precious Moorhens!!!!!! :smoke:

Stewart J. said:

Superb sequence of pics, I'd never have thought such a large bird was a prey item for a harrier!!!

Many thanks for sharing BW

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Saw a Marsh Harrier at Chevington North Pool today. This proved to be the highlight of the day as the water levels are awful, particularly at Cresswell, which is flooded. The road is partially flooded too so I'm hoping for another high tide so that someone might dig out the channel tomorrow.

Does anyone know if there are more high tides to come in the next few days so have we had them for the short term? If I had a JCB, I'd dig it out myself! Oddly, I don't have one....

Bob Biggs said:

Saw a Marsh Harrier at Chevington North Pool today. This proved to be the highlight of the day as the water levels are awful, particularly at Cresswell, which is flooded. The road is partially flooded too so I'm hoping for another high tide so that someone might dig out the channel tomorrow.

Does anyone know if there are more high tides to come in the next few days so have we had them for the short term? If I had a JCB, I'd dig it out myself! Oddly, I don't have one....

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We're coming up to the equinoctals, so the spring tides at this time of year are higher than they've been through the summer.

The highest tides have just passed. When they started to build the other day there was a strong swell that increased the effect and over-topped the sand bar on the beach, causing the water level to rise in the pond. This wasn't a big problem at first because on the ebb the outflow cut a deep channel through the bar and there was a strong flow out of the pond.

The problem came the next day when the swell persisted, but there wasn't enough outflow to cut a channel, so nothing could run out. There's been more over-topping since.

I was there on the beach at high water this evening and today's tide is smaller than those earlier in the week and the reduced swell (there were hardly any waves) has lessened the effective height by even more. On Monday and Tuesday the swell had the second high tide right to the base of the dunes. Today there's a large margin of beach between HWM and the dunes.

My tide tables give the following tide heights;

Sun 28 Aug; 4.95m & 5.00m
Mon 29 Aug; 5.25m & 5.22m
Tue 30 Aug; 5.48m & 5.34m
Wed 31 Aug; 5.61m & 5.34m
Thur 1 Sep; 5.61m & 5.23m
Fri 2 Sep; 5.46m & 5.04m
Sat 3 Sep;5.19m & 4.78m

The next set of Springs (Full moon) aren't as large, with the biggest being Sep 14 with tides of 5.12m & 4.91.

The end of the month brings another set of New moon springs with the biggest being 5.70m and 5.44m on the 29th Sep. They are the biggest we'll be getting for the rest of the year.

October springs are 5.04m & 4.95 on the 13th and 5.61m & 5.43m on the 28th.

All of these heights mean bugger all if a northerly storm pushes them up the beach like the winds in the North Sea did this week. Without the swell the high tides would probably been held back by the bar.

The north pool at East Chevington is a different matter. A machine came and started to clear the blocked outlet channel in February 2010, but didn't finish the job because it didn't have enough reach for the section behind the bracken mound on the dunes, so about 80 -100m was left blocked. In my days in earth-moving we selected the machine for the task in hand. It doesn't seem to be done like that in certain quarters.

I complained about it on here at the time and Steve Lowe came on from NWT, promising that the ditch would be cleared in the following week before the spring migration kicked in (message 5439, page 218 on this forum, 17th Feb 2010). Over a year later it still hasn't been done and the sections that were cleared are now becoming overgrown again for lack of flow.

That lack of flow should be another concern apart from it meaning waders having nowhere to go to rest and feed. For about 5 years there hasn't been any meaningful outflow from the pool (only a trickle each winter) and all of the water level reduction each summer has been from evaporation. Evaporation means concentration for any run-off from the fields around the pool. I don't know if anyone is carrying out water quality tests on the north pool, but it was notable that the lapwings, gulls and terns that made up the bulk of the birds on the mud before the rains flooded it again were just resting - not feeding and waders were in short supply.

Thanks for that Alan. Yes, there were very few waders around in the Bay yesterday. Quite simply, none of the "usual" ponds are of any use to them. Given that we might have seen the worst of the tides for a while at least, I hope that something can be done to reduce the levels at Cresswell, even if a quick fix is less available at the other pools.

The right machine (and it wouldn't be a big one) could clear the dammed section of stream at Chevington in a very few hours. It's not a big job. That's what's so frustrating, the ship being spoiled for a ha'porth of tar.

It just baffles me why NWT don't seem to give two hoots about the Druridge area :C

Perhaps it's time to storm HQ with pitchforks and flaming torches!!! Or all of us make sure we are at the next AGM and put our views across again and again and again!

Gill Osborne said:

It just baffles me why NWT don't seem to give two hoots about the Druridge area :C

Perhaps it's time to storm HQ with pitchforks and flaming torches!!! Or all of us make sure we are at the next AGM and put our views across again and again and again!

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Maybe (if its not been tried already) a "friends of Cresswell pond" type group could be formed to work with the NWT. to resolve these water levels problems and any other issues regarding the site?
Small groups are very important to the "bigger boys" especially regarding man power and in these cash strapped times.

Just a thought...

Yes, that could work if folk don't mind giving up a day's birding to do some maintenance work. I'd be game if it was on a day I'm not working ie usually Tuesday or Thursday....tho' getting everyone together on the same day IS often the problem! :smoke:

Does anybody know any friendly farmers who would be willing to 'lend' their diggers for an hour or two? Newton Stringer used to mention the farmer who helped him with his scrape at Newton Pools.

And whatever happened to regular groups of volunteers (BCTV?) that used to help out at Gosforth Park? I'm sure I remember something like that a few years ago - does it still go on? And wasn't there a regular group meeting at NWT HQ to be taken out in a van to various reserves?

Okay, just checked the NWT site. They DO do volunteers still so what is their excuse!!!!!! :smoke: Are they all a bunch of botanists or summik at HQ and couldn't give two hoots about birdlife? Or is Druridge just not trendy any more.....which IS the latest trendy reserve? Hard to believe they have somewhere as fabulous for all manner of nature along this coastline yet bugger all is done to keep it going! :-C

http://www.nwt.org.uk/index.php?section=helping:volunteer

`Maybe (if its not been tried already) a "friends of Cresswell pond" type group could be formed to work with the NWT. to resolve these water levels problems and any other issues regarding the site?`

I think it be better to cut out the nwt altogether, they are a failure of an organisation who cant be trusted, to perform in the best interests of birds/birders.

Better to build new reserves like lynemouth flash into a wader haven. Manage woodhorn flash(has issues tho) Form a reserve near river blyth/cambois. Extend castle island. etc

IMo thats the way forward.

woodhornbirder said:

I think it be better to cut out the nwt altogether, they are a failure of an organisation who cant be trusted, to perform in the best interests of birds/birders.

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I am under the understanding that the trusts don't just cater for birds and birdwatchers, rightly so as biodiversity is key to "bringing the birds in". A bird will choose a habitat where the food supply is plentiful.

However in this case the trust doesn't seem to care less about Cresswell Pond, however I did hear that some species of rare newt has found the pond to its liking and if waters levels were lowered could this effect the species? Just a question to those in the know, haven't got a clue about newts.

Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club's first Indoor Meeting of the 'new year' is on 8th September 19:00 at Newcastle Falcons, Kingston Park.
Our first speaker will be former RSPB Species Protection Officer Dave Dick delivering a talk entitled 'Golden Eagles in Scotland'.

If you're not a member why not come along and sample the atmosphere and consider joining. Anyone needing directions or further details email [email protected]

Gill Osborne said:

Yes, that could work if folk don't mind giving up a day's birding to do some maintenance work. I'd be game if it was on a day I'm not working ie usually Tuesday or Thursday....tho' getting everyone together on the same day IS often the problem! :smoke:

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Not everyone can turn up on certain organised occasions to carry work out Gill thats a fact of life with work/family etc. But even a handfull of like minded folk can make a difference.:t:

Don't think the newt situation this time of year will be affected by any type of work undertaken here. Maybe in the Spring or mid summer months yes.

white tailed

I've just taken a phone call from a friend of mine who has just picked up a white tailed sea eagle from the police in bedlington. It's a fife bird, not in the best condition but is eating well so fingers crossed.

Sea Watching

Anyone got a view as to which is the best autumn sea watching point between Church, Beacon or Snab?

IMO Church is the best because it's usually better populated by birders as it is nearer a car park and has that 'bijou residence' that adds that touch of luxury. :-O

More birders = more pairs of eyes and more expertise = better results too.

Beacon is a walk, no shelter and so is less attractive.

Snab has a car park, a seat (there's that luxury aspect again :t and to its and Beacon Point's credit, it is raised (as Whitburn is) and so gives better views over the waves as opposed to Church where you often have to look 'through' them, so to speak.

craigthirlwell said:

I've just taken a phone call from a friend of mine who has just picked up a white tailed sea eagle from the police in bedlington. It's a fife bird, not in the best condition but is eating well so fingers crossed.

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Please keep us posted - especially as/when/if it gets released locally. Good luck!