in and around south tyneside (1 Viewer)

[seggs]

This morning

Had a walk around the pier area and along it, plenty Kittiwakes around here and Sandwich terns diving.
2 Knots in summer plumage along with 6 Turnstones 1 Oystercatcher and 2 Redshanks on the south side of the pier, 1 Eider in ecilpse close in.
Linnets and Goldfinch feeding in the Dunes/rough grass area, 70+ Starlings all grouped on a roof of a building by the fair.

 

[rokermartin]

Nothing much at South shields beach this afternoon very few terns there .A few Common and Sandwich Terns fishing offshore did'nt see any Roseate Terns.A single Whimbrel flew north also 5 knot and at Whitburn a single Knot.

 

[Mary Evelyn]

Walked at Shields as usual this morning.

Pleased to see plenty of Kittiwakes too.

 

[seggs]

This pm

Went down to the Coastal park, all the usual birds and loads of Butterflies-Meadow browns,Ringlets,Common blue and Small skippers( i think see pic) and Burnet moths aplenty also.
The rifle range was in use so i could not go along the path here.:C
Later on checked on the Don estuary, Waders starting to return and some of the Redshanks still sporting their summer best.
3 Common sandpipers, 8 Curlews, 25+ Redshanks and 60+ B.H.Gulls.

 

[seggs]

Walked at Shields as usual this morning.

Pleased to see plenty of Kittiwakes too.

Yes Mary, great to see them close like this:t:
The friendly looking Gull as i call them...Lovely looking gull

 

[rokermartin]

Went down to the Coastal park, all the usual birds and loads of Butterflies-Meadow browns,Ringlets,Common blue and Small skippers( i think see pic) and Burnet moths aplenty also.
The rifle range was in use so i could not go along the path here.:C
Later on checked on the Don estuary, Waders starting to return and some of the Redshanks still sporting their summer best.
3 Common sandpipers, 8 Curlews, 25+ Redshanks and 60+ B.H.Gulls.

Hi Steve yes your id is right the skipper butterfly is a Small Skipper its another species which is expanding it range north and it used to be rare in our area.

 

[echo24]

Hi folks,

Thought I’d pop back up to the Boldon area very early this morning, after last weeks pellet find, I really fancied there to be Barn owls in the area so I got myself ‘on site’ and settled for 5.30am in the hope of getting a result……. I was there no more than twenty minutes before I had superb (but distant) views of a hunting bird flying low over the surrounding fields eventually landing on a far off fence post, also male Sparrowhawk over at the same time, too far for photos really but I tried all the same (well, you’ve got to, haven’t you!) ….. I think the Barn owl might be a female due to the darkish wings – any advice welcome:t:.

Visited crimdon dene this afternoon, it wasn’t planned but seeing as the missus had dragged me kicking and screaming to Dalton park shopping centre I thought I’d get my own back and take her to see the Little Terns, she wasn't impressed! - no supper for me tonight:-O! But all in all, a canny day out

Cheers,
Dougie.

 

[woodhornbirder]

How could anyone not be impressed by little terns?

I would trade it in for a refund!

 

[Quacker]

Visited crimdon dene this afternoon, it wasn’t planned but seeing as the missus had dragged me kicking and screaming to Dalton park shopping centre I thought I’d get my own back and take her to see the Little Terns, she wasn't impressed! - no supper for me tonight:-O! But all in all, a canny day out

Cheers,
Dougie.

Aye trade her in Dougie mate - loads of women out there, but only one little Tern colony lol.

Speaking of women, our lass lives Hebburn/Jarrow border, and recently we visited the River Don area and finished up watching a few (Common) Terns, Heron etc. by following a narrow road to the end. Apparently a "doggers" paradise - Just like West Pastures (why do they nick the best sites). Do you or any of the S Tynesiders know the area I refer to and its correct name?

Cheers

Steve

 

[seggs]

Aye trade her in Dougie mate - loads of women out there, but only one little Tern colony lol.

Speaking of women, our lass lives Hebburn/Jarrow border, and recently we visited the River Don area and finished up watching a few (Common) Terns, Heron etc. by following a narrow road to the end. Apparently a "doggers" paradise - Just like West Pastures (why do they nick the best sites). Do you or any of the S Tynesiders know the area I refer to and its correct name?

Cheers

Steve

Hi Steve, the road i think you took is by St. Pauls church??? if so its normaly know as Jarrow slake area, i tend to call the area "The Don estuary"as there is only a small mud patch left of the Slake now(to the right at the end)..
I was there just yesterday(post above), its a well watched patch by some of the local lads who live near by. And has produced some good birds.
As for the dogging...not sure about that but there is some dodgy looking people about sometimes and lads baiting at low tide at times.

 

[johnsulli]

Jarrow Slake

Hi Steve, the road i think you took is by St. Pauls church??? if so its normaly know as Jarrow slake area, i tend to call the area "The Don estuary"as there is only a small mud patch left of the Slake now(to the right at the end)..
I was there just yesterday(post above), its a well watched patch by some of the local lads who live near by. And has produced some good birds.
As for the dogging...not sure about that but there is some dodgy looking people about sometimes and lads baiting at low tide at times.

Hi Steve

The road you are referring to is actually called Slake Road. I often see some dodgy looking people down there as well a lot of them with binoculars and camera's

 

[seggs]

Hi Steve

The road you are referring to is actually called Slake Road. I often see some dodgy looking people down there as well a lot of them with binoculars and camera's

Ya not wrong there John:-O

 

[seggs]

Much the same

Not a great bird wise day but nice all the same..
Started off at Whitburn Steel, Waders returning now- 60+ Oystercatchers..70+ Redshanks, ...5 Golden plover,..7 Dunlin,..5 Curlew..along with 2 Herons,13 Eiders,20+Sandwich terns and 10+ Common terns.
Marsden quarry same as usual, 3 C.whitethroats,Linnets etc.. ive not seen any Little Owl here on the last few visits?
Odd one was seeing a Greylag fly over the Quarry flying north.
Checked the Trow Quarry at 6 tonight...again much the same as usual, the Little owl did not disappoint and C.whitethroat showed.
The big beach would have been a waste of time i think with the amount of people on it.

 

[seggs]

One for the fungi minded

Found this mushroom thing under the gorse on the top of Marsen quay.
ps...
Dougie nice plan, taking your lass shoping at Dalton park and then dropping into Crimdon:t:...hope the chip shop was open for your tea:-O:-O

 

[nellieberta]

Found this mushroom thing under the gorse on the top of Marsen quay.
:-O:-O

Hi Steve the mushroom appears to be a member of the agaricus family(pink gills turning brown would confirm this), which one I'm not sure but most are edible. This family is the same as the cultivated ones in the shops, it is however worth remembering that one or two of this family are poisonous and no wild mushrooms should be eaten unless you are 100% sure of identification.
On a different note I had a trip to Shields yesterday, saw a couple of Roseate Terns on the beach just south of the pier. Popped along to the leas next not thinking for one minute that I'd get to see the Little Owl (I've tried on at least 10 occasions this year) low and behold there it was sitting in it's usual tree:t::t::t::t::t::t:. To say I was over the moon is a huge under statement. The little s*d sat there for a good 3 to 4 mins giving excellent views. It only dived for cover when we tried to move even closer (just being greedy) than we alredy were. Even though It has taken all year to see it, it was worth the wait!

Regards

Mick

 

[seggs]

Glad you managed to see one of our Little fellows at last Mick:t:, it was sunning itself yesterday when i first seen it as i was approaching its regular hang out, untill i got nearer and it jumped back onto a branch with a bit of cover nearer its bolt hole, a usual tactic it takes...
The bird does not know your face Mick other wise he would have let you get closer:-O..
Great you also managed a couple of Roseates:t:..
ps. Nearly forgot ! thanks for the mushroom id., i don,t eat them anyway but good advice given:t:

 

[rokermartin]

No Roseate Terns this evening at South Shields they must have moved on just a few Common and Sandwich Terns.I noticed a few of the Common Terns had rings on there legs .Nothing much at Whitburn a few Redshank,Dunlin,Ringed plovers the usual gulls no Med Gulls yet they usually return roundabout now.

 

[echo24]

Barn Owl

Spent a couple of hours in a quiet corner of South Tyneside last night with good mate John Sulli, watching this beauty hunting the nearby fields:t:, we got some superb views, quite close at times…..managed to get a few photos, most of them were disappointing due to the very low light levels, so…. I guess these are the best of a bad lot….

Cheers, Dougie.

 

[echo24]

Mick, well done with "Trowl" glad you finally caught up with him:t:

He's a great addition to the quarry and visible most days - unless he knows that the bird race is on, lol!!

Cheers, Dougie.

 

[seggs]

Before work

Went down to the big beach(Sand haven) at 7am, no Roseates whilst i was here:C
A few poorly lite shots..
1...Thought it would be peaceful!....not so:-O
2...Pair bonding still going on with these Common terns!
3..Young Sandwich tern and Adults showing signs of going into winter plummage.
4...Mainly G.B.B.gulls here this morning in all stages of development, fewer H.gulls and the odd L.B.B.gulls.