Durham Birding (3 Viewers)

[A W Gregory]

A few more Cuckoo pics

 

[Michael A]

A few more Cuckoo pics

Lovely shots Alan have had seven locally but no decent photos yet.

 

[A W Gregory]

Thanks Michael here's a couple more !

 

[A W Gregory]

A couple of Little Owl shots

 

[A W Gregory]

Redshank.

 

[CharleyBird]

So we visited the three reservoirs on the low fells of Waskerley, .driving the road Castleside to Stanhope.
Saw young cormorant, oystercatcher, red grouse family, lapwing, skylark, sand martins I think; something that could have been a common sandpiper on Waskerley Reservoir?

And a complete mystery near Smiddy Shaw at a couple hundred yards, I got it in my bins...
Flying low, two feet above the grass/Heather, flying fast and straight. About 6pm.
Brown, lightish brown with some whitish streaks. Maybe 3-4 times bigger than a skylark, buzzard size? But with sleek wings and long body & tail but didn't see pointed ends to wings. So not to my mind curlew/whimbrel shape with which I'm familiar. Wings not owlike as I remember
Like a big brown sparrowhawk maybe Looking through the guides vaguely a cross between goshawk/nightjar shape. I didn't see the head properly it was flying so fast.
Landed in the grass/heather and vanished, guessing to a nest.

Any thoughts? Anyone familiar with the birds of the area?

 

[CharleyBird]

Excluding my guess at size against the grass, it was probably a merlin. Shape of wings, flight, habitat, all fit, and also never seen one before.

 

[Cyclops]

Anyone on here visit Brinkburn Nature Reserve in Darlington? Its just up the road from me and its had a bit of clean up over the last few years I think. We sometimes visit as a family, good walk in the woods and there's a good size lake with jetty.

 

[Cyclops]

Two kestrels spotted in fields in Darlington. One was quite a surprise spot because the tree it was in overlooks a field which has been destroyed for housing development. The whole area is a mess, a former farmers field ruined for more houses.