Gill Osborne's 2015 List (1 Viewer)

[Gill Osborne]

Not a bad day despite the increasingly bad weather - by 1pm that wind was getting seriously strong and making the scope hard to use :smoke: A possibly Slavonian Grebe at Stag Rocks has not been included as I didn't get a good enough view due to the buffeting I was getting....not a rare species at this site so I'm sure I'll catch up with one in the coming weeks on a much calmer day.

First bird of the day, seen from shop doorway (where I spent a lot of time this morning inbetween serving the few customers we had ) at 7.51am, was a male Blackbird on the roof of the house opposite.

1: Blackbird
2: Jackdaw
3: Magpie
4: Starling
5: Black-headed Gull
6: Feral Pigeon
7: Rook
8: House Sparrow
9: Herring Gull
10: Wood Pigeon
11: Long-tailed Tit
12: Carrion Crow
13: Buzzard
14: Pheasant
15: Kestrel
16: Wigeon
17: Eider
18: Mallard
19: Little Egret
20: Grey Heron
21: Redshank
22: Shelduck
23: Stonechat
24: Cormorant
25: Oystercatcher
26: Red-breasted Merganser
27: Curlew
28: Turnstone
29: Great Black-backed Gull
30: Ringed Plover
31: Black-necked Grebe

Crikey....just been typing these up as I went through my notebook and didn't realise I had seen so many! Pleased with today's total :t: 100 by the end of January? I've often challenged myself to do it and then let other things get in the way but determined to make 2015 the year I make a point of doing all the stuff I mean to! The blinkers are on and there's gonna be no clarting about!!! :-O

 

[Gill Osborne]

2nd January
Alnwick

Funny how on 31st December there are birds EVERYWHERE yet come January 1st they all disappear! It's like they know I've got my beady eye aimed at them :smoke:

At work most of today (and tomorrow!) so restricted to what I could see on way to work. Roll on Sunday when I finish at 8.30am so have all day to play :t:

32: Collared Dove

 

[Gill Osborne]

Saturday 3rd January
Alnwick

Another day taken up as a wage slave so the only birding I got the chance to do was on my walk into work which I took a detour on and went through Swansfield Park instead of straight up past Barter Books and the vets.

33: Chaffinch
34: Blue Tit
35: Robin
36: Pied Wagtail
37: Goldfinch
38: Greenfinch

 

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday 4th January
Alnwick

39: Dunnock


West Hartford

40: Great Grey Shrike
41: Lapwing


clifftop parking area opposite Golden Sands Caravan Park

42: Fulmar ~ 4 on sea & flying around cliffs


Cresswell Pond

43: Moorhen
44: Teal
45: Water Rail ~ flushed by passing birders and ran across sheep field!
46: Reed Bunting
47: Meadow Pipit ~ 3 in sheep field
48: Tree Sparrow
49: Goldeneye
50: Mute Swan


Budge Hide, Druridge Pools

51: Wren


Druridge Bay Country Park

52: Sanderling ~ 7 on shoreline despite the masses!


Amble

53: Whooper Swan
54: Little Grebe
55: Common Gull
56: Greylag Goose

 

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday 8th January
Low Newton

Today's trip was an afternoon walk with the Alnwick & District Natural History Society to look for wintering wildfowl and waders. Lovely sunny day but a fairly strong wind which perhaps had a lot of stuff staying hidden in cover. Still a very pleasant couple of hours outside :t:

57: Purple Sandpiper
58: Rock Pipit
59: Dunlin
60: Merlin
61: Gadwall

 

[Gill Osborne]

Saturday 17th January
Alnwick Moor

62: Red Grouse
63: Great Tit


Bit of a quiet week for me as I've been stuck doing extra hours at work but not in until my usual lunchtime today so took the opportunity to nip up onto Alnwick Moor in search of grouse and any raptors. Got two Red Grouse before I had even got out of the car and they obligingly stayed put until I got the scope onto them :t: Other birds included a Buzzard on fence post, a pair of Kestrel and 10 Carrion Crow. Pretty quiet and a rather chilly 2c which had my hands and ears freezing after an hour...and a bit of a headache too which is very unusual for me. Perhaps it's time to start wearing a hat!!! :eek!:

 

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday 20th January
Alnmouth

64: Song Thrush

Hard frost overnight and pond 95% frozen which had me hoping for a Water Rail. One WAS seen as it dashed into cover :t: Typical eh,...no water rails for years and already, in the first 20 days of the year, I've seen TWO!!!
Also saw my first Snowdrops of the year and noticed a few small catkins developing on Alder trees around the pond. And, a first for me, quite a lot of the fungus Jew's Ear on a stretch of elder shrubs o
Despite the frost and cold the birds themselves were in good voice with the ubiquitous Collared Dove and Woodpigeon cooing away to each other, a few Robin and, definitely a spirit lifter, both Blue and Great Tit in song :t:

 

[Gill Osborne]

Monday 26th January
Alnwick

Heard my first Blackbird singing this morning as I walked to work at the unearthly hour of 5.30am :t:

I am ignoring all the Blizzard Armageddon that they say is going to hit us in 48hrs....Spring is on it's way o

 

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday 27th January


Short shift today *6am - 9am* so after a quick bite to eat I made my escape to get in a few hours' birding just in case the weathermen DID get it right and heavy snow arrived on Wednesday! My original
idea was to pop along to Craster and do the Arnold Memorial Reserve and look for a few bullfinch and then have a walk up to Dunstanburgh Castle....but I changed my mind as it was such a nice day and decided to head up to Stag Rocks instead!
Wonderfully organised person that I am however...I headed for Budle Bay first Tide was well out and the bay was a sea of mud....and a sea of birds too! :t: Knot and Bar-tailed Godwit were feeding right in front of the layby area. Further scans produced a few Grey Plover and then a small group of Brent Geese flew by. This was followed minutes later by a HUGE amount of Barnacle Geese which were constantly landing in fields nearby and then taking to the air again. It was hard to get an accurate figure but estimating on groups of 10 and then 100 I guess it would have been around the 1000 mark! Never having yet made the trip to Caerlaverock the most I'd ever seen previously would be either singles, doubles and certainly never more than six! So to see and hear the wild cacophony from this immense number was just magical! o
Stag Rocks, just as on New Years Day, was quiet and,apart from Oystercatchers and Eiders, annoyingly bird-free! Even the regular scoter flock was so far out to sea that I had to shelter in front of the lighthouse to scan the sea through my scope and eventually find the birds! I certainly had to work hard for my birds at this site and in two hours managed to see, apart from oyks & gulls, a meagre four species to add to the Year List :smoke: Notable though was the female Long-tailed Duck being pursued noisily by three stunning males. Seen originally far out and only visible through the scope, she and her suitors came much closer to the shore and were soon right in front of where I stood and I was able to enjoy the spectacle with my bare eyes, never mind bins or scope! :t:
Heading back in the direction of home I stopped off at Monk's House Pool and then took a detour through Beadnell to spend some time looking out to sea before reaching Low Newton at sunset in the hope of seeing the reported Bewick's Swan and Bean Goose - no joy with either but the colour in the sky over Stringer's Scrapes was gorgeous! :t:
A very enjoyable few hours outdoors and another 11 birds to add to the Year List. Somehow I doubt I'm going to reach my 100 by the end of January but at least I'm doing better than previous years in which it was April before I reached three figures!

Budle Bay

65: Knot
66: Bar-tailed Godwit
67: Grey Plover
68: Brent Goose
69: Barnacle Goose

Stag Rocks

70: Common Scoter
71: Red-throated Diver
72: Long-tailed Duck
73: Shag

Monk's House Pool
74: Coot

Beadnell
75: Sparrowhawk

 

[Gill Osborne]

Saturday 7th February
Hulne Park, Alnwick

Just had an hour or so to spare today so rather than go stir crazy stuck indoors I had a quick walk up Ratten Row and a short distance into Hulne Park.

76: Coal Tit
77: Nuthatch
78: Goldcrest

 

[Gill Osborne]

Whoops....I've fell a bit behind this year |:$| I normally keep a Year List in the back of my diary so when I realised I hadn't updated this I've had to work out various dates from scribbled notes on the day to day pages (thank heavens I write everything down!!!) :smoke:

Monday 16th February
Alnwick

79: Tawny Owl ~ one hooting from trees behind my flat after dark.


Sunday 22nd February
Alnwick

80: Great Spotted Woodpecker ~ male in sycamore behind flat.


Thursday 26th February

81: Grey Partridge
82: Bullfinch
83: Dipper
84: Goosander

 

[Gill Osborne]

Sunday 5th April
Ratten Row, Alnwick

85: Chiffchaff


Tuesday 14th April
Alnwick

86: Willow Warbler ~ a male singing at 9.45am in sycamore outside flat: first time I've had one here! An hour later he fell quiet so I assume he was just passing through.

Boulmer

87: Sand Martin
88: Sandwich Tern
89: Gannet


Wednesday 22nd April
Willowburn Sports Centre, Alnwick

90: House Martin

Hulne Park

91: Blackcap ~ pair seen feeding on sycamore buds as I tended my allotment.


Friday 24th April
Hulne Park

92: Grey Wagtail
93: Swallow ~ 2 mobbing a Sparrowhawk overhead. Then approx. 7 around sawmill.
94: Mistle Thrush

Also first Orange Tip and Green-veined Whites :t:

 

[Gill Osborne]

Monday 11th May
Budge Fields

95: Swift
96: Avocet
97: Shoveler
98: Tufted Duck
99: Canada Goose
100: Skylark
101: Garganey ~ male to right of Budge screen.
102: Barn Owl ~ on fence post next to trees...sunbathing?

Main Pool

103: Great Crested Grebe


Cresswell Pond

104: Wheatear ~ male in cattle field
105: Linnet
106: Whitethroat ~ male in usual spot next to car park.


East Chevington

107: Great White Egret ~ in reeds to left of first hide
108: Grasshopper Warbler ~ reeling in front of hide

 

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday 2nd June
Bailiffgate, Alnwick

109: Treecreeper ~ single bird searching on wall of No: 11 Bailiffgate!

 

[Gill Osborne]

Monday 8th June
Druridge Pools

110: Sedge Warbler
111: Snipe ~ continually flying & drumming over walkway & Oddie Hide :t:


Cresswell Pond

112: Spoonbill ~ two sleeping (as per norm!) on far side of reserve
113: Yellow Wagtail ~ male on telegraph wires; flew off as I passed and landed in cattle field opposite farm
114: Marsh Harrier ~ female flew up from field and over car (yes, I almost drove into a ditch!!!) and landed in field just up from wagtail! o


East Chevington

115: Reed Warbler ~ male in reeds in front of first hide
116: Arctic Tern
117: Little Gull

 

[Gill Osborne]

Forgot to add.....I saw an OTTER on the main pool at Druridge Pools and just before I left the hide two Black-headed Gulls landed on the ground outside and proceeded to eat Three-spined Sticklebacks which they had caught - the fish were still alive!!! Through the bins I was able to see the fish were two females and a male.

Back home there was a bit of a commotion in the sycamore in the garden opposite our living room window and it turned out to be a group of young starlings (newly fledged?) which were hassling their parents for food! :t:

 

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday 11th June
Alnwick Moor

118: Red-legged Partridge ~ single adult bird feeding next to field gate
119: Yellowhammer ~ male singing near Snipe House Farm


Later on as I watered the allotment I saw a Wren inside my polytunnel and as I watched from the door at the opposite end I saw her fly up to a part of the frame behind some wood Neil has had stacked against the side. Young birds were heard cheeping and the female soon flew off through the open doorway. I very quickly took a look which showed a nest virtually hidden from sight on a wooden support. I don't have any crops growing at this end so the female and young will be left in peace. I also wedged the door open to make access easier for the female and, the next day, got a tub of mealworms which I placed in a clear stacker box close by. I'm sure if the female doesn't feed them to the young she will eat them herself :t:

 

[Gill Osborne]

Thursday 11th June
Craster & Dunstanburgh Castle

A very warm day was promised so after finishing work at 8.30am I decided to head to the cooler coast rather than spend umpteen hours in my suntrap of an allotment doing some weeding! As it turned out I am VERY glad I did!!!

An hour spent in the Arnold Memorial Reserve produced two pairs of Bullfinch as well as singing Willow Warbler & Chiffchaff. A walk along the coast path towards Dunstanburgh Castle produced a few nice birds along it's length which included my first Lesser Black-backed Gulls of the year (I know, I know...I haven't been out much so far this year :smoke: ) and a few Guillemot in two's & three's on the sea just offshore.
As I rounded the back of the Castle I heard the distinctive call of Kittiwake and there were quite a few of these on the cliff face and flying around in the curved bay that is, according to the map, called Rumble Churn. Also present in good numbers were Guillemot and Razorbill along with a few Fulmar and Shag. AS I scanned the water in the bay I found a single Puffin swimming amongst a group of Razorbill.

As I walked back to Craster, trying hard to ignore the blister developing on my left heel, I noticed a few gulls feeding offshore and when I looked through the scope they appeared to be mostly Herring Gull, a few Guillemot and two Gannet - one of which was seen to dive and emerge with a large slim silvery fish. As I idly scanned further offshore I saw not one but TWO silvery backs break the surface - dolphin!!! :eek!: They were soon joined by more and I estimated about six adults and two youngsters as they jumped out of the water and were watched for approximately 15 minutes before continuing on their journey south :t: Needless to say I pointed them out to other folk walking along the coastal path as soon as I realised what they were! I was on a bit of a high for the rest of the walk back o My very first Bottlenose Dolphins! :t:

120: Lesser Black-backed Gull
121: Guillemot
122: Kittiwake
123: Razorbill
124: Puffin

 

[Gill Osborne]

Tuesday 14th July
Howdiemont Sands

125: Whimbrel ~ four flew overhead, calling, as the yellow RAF helicopter from Boulmer passed nearby.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Saturday 19th September
Warkworth Gut

126: Black-tailed Godwit


Druridge Pools

127: Greenshank


Also an Otter seen feeding briefly on the far left side of the main pool and, later on, on the beach a Common Seal was resting on the sands.