Durham Birding (1 Viewer)

[JBee]

Bet you'll find a few LBJ's (little brown jobs) in that area too 8-P

How does their song go and I'll listen out for them |=)|

 

[ted hilland]

How does their song go and I'll listen out for them |=)|

Phrrrrrrrrrrt, phrrrrrrrrrt, phrrrrrrrrrrrt, who the f.... was that!!! :h?:

 

[JWTodd]

Ring-necked Duck still showing well this morning at Low Barnes.
Also Green Woodpecker and Tawney Owl behind the North hide.

Buzzards and displaying Goshawks over Hamsterley Forest.

 

[IanF]

After seeing the Eagle Owl in Middlesbrough last Monday I've been trying all week each lunchtime to locate it again. Today I came across what appears to be it's regular roost spot. Quite handy for viewing too - 20 yds away with viewing from just short of it's perch height. Local workers say it's been there since last September and most days roosts in the same spot. The only food it's been seen to catch on a regular basis are pigeons. Last night at midnight it was perched on the roof of a derelict house by the back gate of the new Middlesbrough police station.

The local paper the Evening Gazette have named it 'Boro Owl'.

 

[The gaffer]

Boldon Flats

A quick visit this afternoon provided most of the usual species and numbers, the ones of note are as follows;

5 grey heron
5 canada geese
20 greylag
18 curlew on the flats and 32 in the field across the road
2 pairs of gadwall

Plenty of the usual gulls but no 'white wings'.

 

[Mark Newsome]

A Hooded Crow was at Houghton-le-Spring quarry/tip today, mixed in with large numbers of the usual corvids. Looks like a pure bird, no dark markings where they shouldn't be.
I had a run up to the Waldridge Fell area this afternoon. Not too much happening in the actual Waldridge area, but the Daisy Hill LNR 'next door' was very enjoyable. Birds seen in a hours visit included Green Woodpecker, 15+ Lesser Redpolls, 2-3 Willow Tit, a few Coal Tits and a singing Yellowhammer. Also a fine Roe Deer stag bolting through the grassland. I don't know this area well, but it looked a promising site.

I didn't make it seawatching this morning due to work, but Pablo had a good first hour or so with Great Skua, Little Gull, adult Mediterranean Gull and a few ducks and divers.

 

[MalR]

Gull query

Drake scaup still on Marine Park lake at Shields this afternoon. A cliff-top walk from Souter car park to Marsden Bay produced a total of 32 razorbills on the sea, plus nine eider. 12 shags on Marsden Rock, with a couple more on the sea.

I could have done with the help of a local gull expert this afternoon. There was a "funny 'un" with the black-headed flock on the grass by the car park just north of The Grotto. What struck me at first was how pale it looked. About herring gull size, pure white head, dark eye and virtually all-dark bill. The wings and back looked almost white, but with pale patches of grey showing through. I started to think "Iceland Gull", but the bird's primaries were pale brown. Would they not be white in an individual starting to show the grey of adult plumage?

What confuses the issue is that I was looking more or less directly into the sun. I was torn between trying to get a quick look through my scope or moving round to get the sun behind me. I decided on the latter, but before I could get into position the bird took off and flew inland over the houses.

I'd more or less dismissed it as an abnormally pale herring gull with the paleness exacerbated by the bright sunlight, but I'm no gull expert and I'd be interested to hear any comments.

Cheers,

Malcolm

 

[NeilF]

Washington WWT this morning had an impressive total of 41 Shelduck on or beside wader lake together with 120 Black-headed Gull, 43 Lapwing, 30 Tufted Duck and numerous Grey Herons, many on nests. Elsewhere on the reserve a single Jay and a pair of noisy Oystercatchers overhead were the highlights.
The noticeboard in the visitor centre reports singles of Spotted Redshank and Dunlin mixed in with the regular Redshank flock recently.

This afternoon another walk around Causey Arch revealed 2 beautiful Grey Wagtail's on the Causey Burn, 2 Skylarks fighting for air supremacy over an adjoining field and at least a dozen Pied Wagtail's feeding at the Tanfield Sewage Works.

 

[Mark Newsome]

...I could have done with the help of a local gull expert this afternoon. There was a "funny 'un" with the black-headed flock on the grass by the car park just north of The Grotto. What struck me at first was how pale it looked. About herring gull size, pure white head, dark eye and virtually all-dark bill. The wings and back looked almost white, but with pale patches of grey showing through. I started to think "Iceland Gull", but the bird's primaries were pale brown. Would they not be white in an individual starting to show the grey of adult plumage?
What confuses the issue is that I was looking more or less directly into the sun. I was torn between trying to get a quick look through my scope or moving round to get the sun behind me. I decided on the latter, but before I could get into position the bird took off and flew inland over the houses.
I'd more or less dismissed it as an abnormally pale herring gull with the paleness exacerbated by the bright sunlight, but I'm no gull expert and I'd be interested to hear any comments. Cheers, Malcolm

It's sound very much like the regular very faded Herring Gull that has been around South Shields/Marsden all winter. Attached is a pic of it last November, but by January, it had faded considerably further. We're pretty certain its just a very pale Herring and not a hybrid. Glad to know its still around - I'll keep a lok out for it tomorrow.

 

[seggs]

LOW BARNS this pm

had a nice strol around the reserve this afternoon.. all the usual tits including willow and nuthatches at the feeding station.. a single siskin near here also..g.s.woodies and treecreeper all over the place..at least 3 pair of goldeneye and the odd one. spotted the drake ring necked duck (what a cracking bird a first for me and ere in doors) :bounce: at the east end of the lake with a famale did't have the scope with me but certain it was a female ring neck as it seemed to be paired with the drake and no other ducks in this area :h?: anyone know of it?

 

[MalR]

It's sound very much like the regular very faded Herring Gull that has been around South Shields/Marsden all winter. Attached is a pic of it last November, but by January, it had faded considerably further. We're pretty certain its just a very pale Herring and not a hybrid. Glad to know its still around - I'll keep a lok out for it tomorrow.

Thanks for the reply, Mark. Not being a regular at the coast I hadn't seen or heard about the Herring Gull you mentioned. Glad to know my instincts proved right. The bird I saw was certainly paler than the one in the pic you posted, but since you say the bird has faded since then, and as I was looking into bright sunlight, it seems pretty certain that was the bird. I've certainly never seen such an extremely pale example of a Herring Gull before.

Thanks again.

Malcolm

 

[StevieEvans]

Bishop Middleham

Another good turn out from volunteers today, all planned work completed by 14:30.

We added another fantastic Peregrine to our list of "birds seen on DBC working party days", it spooked the whole of Castle Lake, including a flock of 100 or so Curlew, the falcon stalling overhead as if to checkout what we were doing.

Stoneybeck Lake had Little Owl & male Lapwings in display flights.

A detour to deliver some BO boxes, saw us pay a brief visit to Cowpen Bewley alongwith with Waxyplumage. It produced a pr of GSW, Goldcrests, Fox, numerous Hares & Grey Partridges.
A roost of 42+Magpies counted, a Woodcock dropped into rank rough grassland infront of us at dusk & left as a Short eared Owl hunting as the light faded.

SE

 

[StevieEvans]

A Hooded Crow was at Houghton-le-Spring quarry/tip today, mixed in with large numbers of the usual corvids. Looks like a pure bird, no dark markings where they shouldn't be......<snip>.....

Hiya Mark, i wonder if this is the same as the one day-er nearby last October...?

......<snip>......
but the Daisy Hill LNR 'next door' was very enjoyable. Birds seen in a hours visit included Green Woodpecker, 15+ Lesser Redpolls, 2-3 Willow Tit, a few Coal Tits and a singing Yellowhammer. Also a fine Roe Deer stag bolting through the grassland. I don't know this area well, but it looked a promising site...................

V.Nice shot of the Roe Buck.
A promising site indeed !
see the link below for more info:-
http://www.durhambirdclub.org/siteguide/daisy-hill/index.html

Stevie

 

[Ross Ahmed]

Thanks for the reply, Mark. Not being a regular at the coast I hadn't seen or heard about the Herring Gull you mentioned. Glad to know my instincts proved right. The bird I saw was certainly paler than the one in the pic you posted, but since you say the bird has faded since then, and as I was looking into bright sunlight, it seems pretty certain that was the bird. I've certainly never seen such an extremely pale example of a Herring Gull before.

Thanks again.

Malcolm

Here's a photo of it on 17th February - it probably still looks something like this. Has been a fascinating bird to study as has allowed scrutiny of the changes in it's plumage as well as the tracking of it's movements.

 

[[email protected]]

owling!!!!

Laim and I went to our local woods (Washingwell ) tonight looking for owls. We got there for 5pm just in time to see a sparrowhawk hunting for his supper. single yellowhammer singing from a top of a small tree. Liam spotted a corvid flying strangely not like a crow when we got the bins on it looked like c/ crow but 25% white on body and wings? then at 6.30pm 3 tawnys were heard calling to each other but were not seen. 2 million candle power must not be enough must get a 3million one soon!
thanks will and liam
ps mark ..can you put birds heard on the record card? ie 3 tawnys

 

[grahmec]

Also a nice Short-eared Owl on the way home from work at dusk, hunting the cut grass field by Seven Houses, on the north-west corner of Nissan. It was quite happy racing cars along the roadside for a while!

The SEO has been using the area for at least 3 weeks. I also occasionally see Barn Owl there too. It's a good area.

 

[Mark Newsome]

Seawatching at Whitburn was still good this morning. Three flocks of Pink-footed Geese were seen returning north, totalling 180 birds, 7 species of wildfowl included Goldeneye and Goosander and a superb full summer Mediterranean Gull flew south.
Long-eared Owls were still present at a roost in South Tyneside - not long until the roost breaks up and then it's finding where they've gone to...

 

[StevieEvans]

R.Browney valley

2 hours in a frosted, dull & cold central section of the valley with Skelly this morning.

All 3 woodpeckers; 5 or 6 Greens - 3 seen, several pairs of GSW with 5 drumming, 1 LSW drumming.
2pr Treecreeper, 1 Nuthatch, 8pr LTTit, 9 Goldcrest, 1pr Willow Tit, 12 Siskin, 10 Lesser Redpoll, pr Jays.
Dippers busy nr nest, 4 Grey Wag, 1 Pied Wagtail, Moorhen, Mallard, 3 gull ssp.
Lapwing & Curlew displaying over territories.
2 Tawny owls calling & another glimpsed in the back of an open fronted nestbox.
Single Stock Dove, pr Grey Partridge, sev Pheasant, 10 Linnet, Skylarks & Yellowhammers singing, 10+ Tree Sparrow.
Decent numbers of the 4 common finches, but little song today due to weather.
A single Hare, signs of Otters & fine 4 pointer Roe Buck just ahead of us on the other side of the river, added interest.

Afterwards, a pr of Kestrel perched overlooking set-a-side at Kaysburn & Sparrowhawk hunting at Sacriston & 30 each of Lapwing & Golden Plover on Findon Hill.

approx 56ssp recorded.

Stevie

Hooded Crow again at Biffa Landfill site, Houghton-le-Spring (CW).

 

[Mark Newsome]

...ps mark ..can you put birds heard on the record card? ie 3 tawnys

Any records are welcome Will. Without them, we don't know what's happening with the birds in County Durham. Calling birds are just as important as ones you've seen. Thanks for taking the time to send them in.

 

[[email protected]]

Great Crested Newt?

i know nothing to do with birds but is there any where whey are any Great Crested Newt locally as i have never seen one in years and my no1 son liam has never seen one
thanks will and liam.