Gill Osborne's 2011 List (1 Viewer)

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday, 24th April
Beacon Hill area

109: Blackcap ~ male singing.
110: Willow Tit
111: Tawny Owl ~ 2 males hooting at 3.10pm in bright sunshine!!!
112: Kestrel
113: Reed Bunting
114: Rock Pipit ~ just realised it's been missed off list!!! Seen many times over past month or two! Ditto kestrel!!! :smoke:

Also first Green-veined White and Large White butterflies.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Summer has arrived! o

Sunday, 1st May
Alnwick Market Place

115: Swift ~ single bird belting north across Market Place at 8.10am :t:

 

[Gill Osborne]

Monday, 2nd May
Druridge Pools

116: Spoonbill
117: Garganey

Cresswell Pond

118: Common Tern
119: Sedge Warbler
120: Whitethroat

 

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday, 10th May
East Chevington

121: White-winged Black Tern
122: House Martin ~ at last!!!!! A good 35 days later than last year!!! :eek!:

 

[Gill Osborne]

Monday, 16th May
Stag Rocks, Bamburgh

123: Lesser Black-backed Gull

 

[Gill Osborne]

Time to update after far too many weeks stuck working and hardly having time to get outdoors...:-C

Tuesday, 24th May
Cresswell Pond

124: Black-tailed Godwit

 

[Gill Osborne]

Wednesday, 25th May
Beacon Hill

125: Stock Dove

 

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday, 26th June
Moors above Alnwick

126: Red Grouse

 

[Gill Osborne]

Friday, 1st July
Stag Rocks

127: Puffin
128: Guillemot

 

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday, 18th August
Druridge Pools

129: Common Sandpiper


Cresswell Pond

130: Ruff

 

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday, 25th August
Cresswell Pond

131: Whinchat
132: Greenshank
133: Bittern o

 

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday, 11th September
Low Newton

134: Little Stint ~ 2 jueniles on beach with various other waders.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday, 4th October

Jay flying across A1 near turn-off for Eshott & Helm.

Single swallow flying S @ Morpeth.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Friday, 7th October

Chiffchaff singing @ 9.30am from gardens behind flat in Alnwick.

9 Whooper Swans on River Coquet at Amble Marina.

Terrible photo below....basic digital camera zoomed in |:$|

 

[Gill Osborne]

Friday 28th October
River Wansbeck @ Sandy Bay

135: Little Egret ~ one seen on river bank as we drove overhead on the Spine Road! :t: Totally unexpected o

 

[Gill Osborne]

Monday 7th November

Updating Year List and found a few VERY embarrassing gaps :eek!:

Barn Owl....Goldcrest....Grey Wagtail....Kingfisher....Kittiwake....Little Owl....Merlin....Pochard....Raven....Razorbill...Red Kite....Redwing....Short-eared Owl....Smew....Snow Bunting....Water Rail....Woodcock..........:smoke:

Birding in the latter part of the year seems to have ground to a halt......must get my act together and get out over the next few weeks!!! No goldcrest????? No grey wagtail?????? I've got the river and Hulne Park within half a mile so NO EXCUSE!!!!!!! :smoke:

 

[Gill Osborne]

Birding is being restricted due to my having a cripplingly sore knee - I can barely walk!!! :-C Very frustrating!!!!!! :storm:

So.....stuck with what I can see from the windows :smoke:

Today I had a gorgeous male sparrowhawk perched in the top branches of the neighbour's sycamore :t: Fabulous bird and I got some super views before he suddenly shot off towards Pottergate.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday, 15th November
Hauxley Nature Reserve

Knee has been sorted......most likely a bit of split cartilage leading to fluid build-up. Pah! Nowt wrong with me :-O So went birding after seeing doctor!

136: Greater Yellowlegs *Lifer No 211* :loveme:
137: White-fronted Goose

 

[Gill Osborne]

Friday, 18th November
Holy Island

138: Eastern Black Redstart *Lifer No: 212*:loveme:
139: Short-eared Owl ~ hunting in the dunes :t:

Two ticks in three days.....I'm turning into a twitcher :-O

Went to find those Ross' Geese and Bean Goose near Craster but Neil took a wrong turning and we ended up in Longhoughton :smoke: It was 3.45pm by then and dark soon after 4pm so I'll try for the geese on Sunday afternoon after work.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday, 20th November
Dunston Hill

140: Barnacle Goose
141: Taiga Bean Goose*Lifer No: 213* :loveme:

Just dipped on the two Ross' Geese :-C They were at Low Newton Pool when I parked up in the village but as I walked to the hide a huge flock of geese flew up and headed off towards Dunston Hill :smoke: I could have sworn there were two lighter coloured geese in there but didn't get good enough views to be 100% certain. Passed by Dunston Hill once more on my way home but the geese were settling down behind a rise in the field so were obscured from view :smoke:
Never mind.....there's always my day off on Tuesday