Durham Birding (1 Viewer)

[echo24]

Hi folks, been having a bit of a book 'clear out' lately and have two bird books to offer......

1, Observers birds.

2, Collins pocket guide to british birds...

Both books in very good condition & free to a good home - they go out to the first person to reply.......

I'm in south shields so collection/delivery is an option for anyone living locally who wants them................. Anyone outside of the area PM me your address and I'll get the posted to you (uk only ))

Cheers,
Dougie

 

[StevieEvans]

Treat threatened.....

Hi folks, been having a bit of a book 'clear out' lately and have two bird books to offer......

1, Observers birds.

2, Collins pocket guide to british birds...

Both books in very good condition & free to a good home - they go out to the first person to reply.......

I'm in south shields so collection/delivery is an option for anyone living locally who wants them................. Anyone outside of the area PM me your address and I'll get the posted to you (uk only ))

Cheers,
Dougie

Dougie
i can put those two titles to good use.:t:

Kingfishers
They've been coming on nicely in Co.Durham over recent years -

2-3 birds are using the Moors Burn/Lumley Park Burn at Sedgeletch (between Newbottle & Fencehouses), 3KM downstream from Hetton Bogs on a daily basis & are 100% impossible to miss .

Park / Walk downstream from here:-
http://mymultimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=54.8501&lon=-1.4954&scale=25000&icon=x

dont forget to look on the concrete ledges under the road bridge, as they can fish from here (Daubentons bats here in season, with the odd Water Vole & Water Shrew here too).....
birds use the whole stretch from here to the Wear, but 600metres down stream the concrete wall area at the sewage works stream / outlet is a cert for Kngfshrs. (image attd - best area for WRails too)

Reedmace swamp (2nd image) on way there has held a large assortment of good birds over the years.

NB:
I recently heard the plan is to apparently re-direct the whole of this section of stream :eek!:when the new road goes through from Rainton to the Coke works....
Its a clarty, rough place but if you come through please remember to send sightings of all species, (not just the special Schedule 1 protected ones) in to the County Record - the ever growing info in this database may well just help keep some of these wildlife havens intact............

cheers
Steve

 

[[email protected]]

lamesley again

Been down Lamesley again before sun up still trying to see some owls but to no avail .been down a lease 6 times in last 3 weeks
This morning
Snipe 3
Redwing 7
m/thrush 1
s/thrush3
yellowhammer 8
reed bunting 3
goldies 15
m/pipit 4
greylag 3
curlew 4
kestrel 2
redpoll 3
buzzard 1
lapwing 50+
no owls...

 

[joe1969]

cowpen bewley
2 scaup,goldeneye,gadwall,l/grebe,tufted,goldcrest,yellowhammer,tree sparrow
seal sands
red breasted merganser,redshank,curlew,reed bunting,shelduck,oystercatcher.
zinc works road
pink footed geese[thanks ian f],stonechat(i think)little egret flew over as i watched the geese
north gare
mediteranean gull (i think)on a smallish pool before you get to the jetty

 

[echo24]

Dougie
i can put those two titles to good use

Steve, they're yours mate )

You're welcome to collect them or I could drop them off the next time i'm at RM/Hetton bogs - let me know which you'd prefer, i've also got stacks of bird magazines in my garage if you could use them?

Thanks for the Kingfisher info - that's next weekend sorted!

Cheers,
Dougie.

 

[StevieEvans]

Houghton area Local Patch

Left the house at 2pm for a walk across to RMeadows

Not much doing, Willow tit, fem Shoveller, Sparhawk etc, then i bumped into JohnG within a few mins in came a large flight of grey geese to land with a Pink foot amongst them.
Then a female Hen Harrier appeared from nowhere at the back of the main pool, before it was attacked by a male Kestrel !! Excellent !
Hopefully it'll roost close by with it being late in the day & will be there again tomorrow morning...?

cheers
SE

PHi mentions a Firecrest today at Mount Pleasant, West Boldon

 

[DEREK.C.]

Had a look over the Dales today . Decent day for Black Grouse with 20 at one site showing well, although i could only see one female. With another 10 males at another site nearby. 4 Crossbills ( 2 pair) in courtship at Brownberry Plantation near Grassholme Reservoir. One pair seen carrying nesting material. I never knew the female Crossbill sang as much as the male.
Plenty of Buzzards about with about 15 seen in total including 4 at Westgate and pairs at Selset Res and Newbiggen.

 

[echo24]

Left the house at 2pm for a walk across to RMeadows

Not much doing, Willow tit, fem Shoveller, Sparhawk etc, then i bumped into JohnG within a few mins in came a large flight of grey geese to land with a Pink foot amongst them.
Then a female Hen Harrier appeared from nowhere at the back of the main pool, before it was attacked by a male Kestrel !! Excellent !
Hopefully it'll roost close by with it being late in the day & will be there again tomorrow morning...?

cheers
SE

PHi mentions a Firecrest today at Mount Pleasant, West Boldon

Steve, I spent an hour or so at RM late this afternoon, the light was pretty bad but I still managed to get one or two shots of the Hen Harrier ( albeit poor ones, but then i'm no JBee! ) it lifted from the back of the main pool about 3.15pm - it was quite distant from me and I thought it was a SEO at first then noticed the ringtail - superb!

Cheers,
Dougie.

 

[DEREK.C.]

Steve, I spent an hour or so at RM late this afternoon, the light was pretty bad but I still managed to get one or two shots of the Hen Harrier ( albeit poor ones, but then i'm no JBee! )
Dougie.

You`ve done well to get a picture at all Dougie. The females really blend in with the surroundings. Surely this bird is the same one that was at Seaton Pond ?
Its amazing how they appear and disappear so quickly, About new year time, i sat in the car at Seaton Pond for an hour with no sign of the Harrier. In fact she had been sitting less than 100 yards away in the grass all the time, till a man came along with his Gyr Falcon and Springer Spaniel.

 

[craigthirlwell]

Good to hear the female hen harrrier is back at rainton. I was starting to think i was seeing things.

I spent the day in the Derwent/Barlow Valley.
Plenty of Kites as to be expected.
Green woodpecker in barlow valley
The birds at Thornley woods feeding station included good numbers of siskin, stock dove also about half a dozen redpoll.

 

[Auntystatic]

Was in Hartlepool today for a photo shoot with forum members from dslr user magazine, and decided to go home via the Seaton Carew road.

The road into north gare was as far as I got, because this little chap was sitting happy on a fence post along the road into the car park.

 

[StevieEvans]

Steve, I spent an hour or so at RM late this afternoon...<snip>...... ringtail - superb!
Cheers,
Dougie.

Dougie, i know a school teacher who will use the books, me PM you. (& any pellets too.)
Thinking back, i musta been 100 yards ahead of you at pool1 this afternoon - i pressed on to the "hide" with having that late start !
John & i didnt see Harrier till 15:40 ish

Surely this bird is the same one that was at Seaton Pond ?

Only 5,000 or so metres between these 2 sites (with a decent area of rough ground inbetween at the Seven Sisters)


Steve

 

[peterlevin]

has noone seen this large light brown harrier over at seaton or rainton yet

????

any thoughts even on what this might have been. i thought maybe marsh harrier, but to be honest this seems very unlikely. see my earlier posts but
it was bigger only just than a hen h

thanks all

peter

 

[StevieEvans]

bird news

Jack Snipe out in open at Gatesheads Far Pasture at 11am (JG)
Firecrest this morning at Mt. Pleasant, West Boldon
Hooded Crow at Stella "gull site"
Steve

100 species so far in 2008 on Houghton area Local Patch
recent additions include Goosander, Med Gull, PFGoose, YLGull

We're still looking out for RLPartridge, LBBGull !, Waxwing, Mealy Redpoll, Scaup, Twite, Red Kite, Oystercatcher, Glaucous Gull, Water Pipit, Iceland Gull, Pintail, Green Woodpecker, LSW, Blackcap,

 

[The Chairman]

has noone seen this large light brown harrier over at seaton or rainton yet

????

any thoughts even on what this might have been. i thought maybe marsh harrier, but to be honest this seems very unlikely. see my earlier posts but
it was bigger only just than a hen h

thanks all

peter

Speaking to falconers there last week who tell me there is an escapee Harris Hawk in the area. Didn't see it - or the HHarrier for that matter - but it may have been your mystery bird???????????

 

[great bustard]

a walk along roker pier this morning birds spotted included

Numerous Redshank, Oystercatcher, 4 Sanderling, Hundreds of Herring Gulls on Harbour Wall, 4 Eider - 1 of which i watched catch a crab, removing its limbs 1 by 1 until just the body remained and then swallowed the crab whole!! Would like to be that duck having to pass it through the other end! OUCH

 

[Auntystatic]

There has been a harris hawk around catterick garrison for about the last 4 or 5 months, as far as I know its still in the area, it was first seen at foxglove covert lnr in the middle of the barracks, but has moved around. No one knows where it has come from but it still has its bells attached.

 

[joe1969]

coxgreen
called in to see the mandarins, still 3 present.also seen a strange white goose with a large knob at the top of its bill,and a white duck with a mohican of feathers on the top of its head,just wondered if anyone else has called by and identified them,think they are most probably some kind of farmyard fowl

 

[echo24]

You`ve done well to get a picture at all Dougie. The females really blend in with the surroundings.

Thanks Derek, I promise you it was more good luck than anything else mate )

I was looking for SEO's and it just appeared - one of those moments I guess!

Cheers,
Dougie

 

[The Chairman]

REMINDER

Two reminders actually

1. If you are interested in upland birds - and living or birding in Durham many of you will be - there is a great chance to find out what is going on in the uplands from an expert when Dr Pat Thompson speaks to the Durham Bird Club this Thursday evening. Meet at The Castle Hotel in Bishop Auckland on Thursday 17 January - the talk will start shortly after 7.30 but there will be plenty of opportunity to have a chinwag with other Durham birders.

2. Do you have trouble with your tits! Separating Marsh and Willow that is - if so you might be interested in the 2nd Durham Bird Club Identification workshop which takes place next Sunday 20 January. Meet in the car park at Thornley Woodland Centre at 9am.

Look forward to your company