Northumbrian Birding (3 Viewers)

[Peewit]

Had a lovely run out yesterday.
Up to Powburn then in on the wee roads lovely wee flock of Pinkies in the fields near Glanton, then over the wee rds to Alwinton what a treat of a journey. Lots of different breeds of sheep out there might have to get better at id'ing these!!
Stoat's in a mottley cream coat, some wonderful bop. Then up the Coquet Valley to beyond Barrowburn - spectacular, loads of dippers + merganser. Then a male kestrel in wonderful plumage sitting for a while on a rocky outcrop.
Dusk was drawing in so not many others spotted but a wonderful area to visit esp as the river was running high.

Must have been great fun for you Osprey - to see all the wildlife on your trip.

Love to hear you adventures anyday :t:

Nice post,

Regards
kathy
x

 

[June Atkinson]

Glad you had such a lovely trip, Osprey!
Can you give more precise details of your tracking up the Coquet Valley to Barrowburn - is it accessible by car? (My husband is unable to walk).

We love Alwinton - have you been in the little church - very interesting!

Please keep an eye open for kites in that area when you go .............

Had a lovely run out yesterday.
Up to Powburn then in on the wee roads lovely wee flock of Pinkies in the fields near Glanton, then over the wee rds to Alwinton what a treat of a journey. Lots of different breeds of sheep out there might have to get better at id'ing these!!
Stoat's in a mottley cream coat, some wonderful bop. Then up the Coquet Valley to beyond Barrowburn - spectacular, loads of dippers + merganser. Then a male kestrel in wonderful plumage sitting for a while on a rocky outcrop.
Dusk was drawing in so not many others spotted but a wonderful area to visit esp as the river was running high.

 

[Michael A]

No sign of Desert Wheatear today but plenty variety of waders and good numbers of Eider at Newbiggin.

 

[ospreyscotbird]

Glad you had such a lovely trip, Osprey!
Can you give more precise details of your tracking up the Coquet Valley to Barrowburn - is it accessible by car? (My husband is unable to walk).

We love Alwinton - have you been in the little church - very interesting!

Please keep an eye open for kites in that area when you go .............

Hi June, never been to the wee church in Alwinton. Been too the Bunk hse at Barrowburn a couple of x's. The last was when eldest was there for a 'Brassmonkey' camp with scouts!! It was quite snowy when I went back to collect, 1st weekend Dec!!
The valley is wonderful beyond Alwinton. If you drive past the pub + that narrow bit of the village, the road it goes on + on. There is a tea room at Barrow burn + then the rd still goes on - not got to the end of it yet but according to the map it does happen!! There is a lovely flat area by the river which the kids loved playing footy on, but did get in the car rather smelly of sheep - a change of trousers next time!!
There are some lovely bits where the rd is right next to the Coquet + you can see dipper + merganser from the car.
I have 2 v good bop id'ers (DS1+2, 13+10yrs) in the car when out + about - so the chance of a red kite might persuade them out more often!!
Saw an osprey over the Coquet a wee way before Rothbury last summer - I'm quietly hoping it was on the hunt for a nesting site!! Will getting the boys to keep eyes open on the way to + from school in early spring!! Exciting x's ahead!!

 

[June Atkinson]

Sounds lovely! We know the area well, but may not have explored up as far as Barrowburn. Looking forward to the first fine - and warmer - day when we might rise to the challenge.
My grandfather was born at the foot of the Cheviot in Langleedale, so I do feel an affinity for the hills!

You're a keen osprey fan - so am I. Have you been to Loch of the Lowes, near Dunkeld? I reckon it's the best place to see the ospreys at close quarters. Have you read the book about Marge, "Lady of the Loch"? Very interesting, especially when we had followed her story all year! I wonder if we'll see her this spring?

Kielder is doing very well with the osprey platforms; the difficulty is the birds are too far away!

I shall save your instructions; thanks for your swift response.

Have a look at our website: www.friendsofredkites.org.uk
I have just put on a new page of schools befriending a kite - interesting!

Hi June, never been to the wee church in Alwinton. Been too the Bunk hse at Barrowburn a couple of x's. The last was when eldest was there for a 'Brassmonkey' camp with scouts!! It was quite snowy when I went back to collect, 1st weekend Dec!!
The valley is wonderful beyond Alwinton. If you drive past the pub + that narrow bit of the village, the road it goes on + on. There is a tea room at Barrow burn + then the rd still goes on - not got to the end of it yet but according to the map it does happen!! There is a lovely flat area by the river which the kids loved playing footy on, but did get in the car rather smelly of sheep - a change of trousers next time!!
There are some lovely bits where the rd is right next to the Coquet + you can see dipper + merganser from the car.
I have 2 v good bop id'ers (DS1+2, 13+10yrs) in the car when out + about - so the chance of a red kite might persuade them out more often!!
Saw an osprey over the Coquet a wee way before Rothbury last summer - I'm quietly hoping it was on the hunt for a nesting site!! Will getting the boys to keep eyes open on the way to + from school in early spring!! Exciting x's ahead!!

 

[patmartin]

The valley is wonderful beyond Alwinton. If you drive past the pub + that narrow bit of the village, the road it goes on + on. There is a tea room at Barrow burn + then the rd still goes on - not got to the end of it yet but according to the map it does happen!

Hi, I cover this area regularly. If you head up Coquetdale you will eventually come to a barrier. The barrier separates the MOD live firing area from the Dry (blank ammo) training area. When the red flag is flying at the barrier or the barrier is down there is no access past the barrier, no red flag and the barrier is raised you can access the range roads all the way to Byrness and Redesdale to the south and Holystone to the east.
There is also a period during spring when access is unrestricted to the range roads (lambing time). Definitely worth a visit as long as you don't start wandering off the road and go picking things up that could go bang. If raptors and moorland birds are your thing this area is well worth a visit. Hope this helps

 

[June Atkinson]

Guess where we have been today!! Yes, from Ponteland we headed north on the A696, then across to Elsdon, Harbottle, Alwinton and into the uppoer Coquet Valley.
It was so lovely to be driving alongside the tumbling cascades of the river, although we didn't see any dippers. Lots of buzzards and two kestrels were enjoying the thermals.
We had a light lunch at the Barrowburn Tearoom, where the owners were extremely helpful and welcoming.

It was beautiful today; it will be even more magical when we go again in warmer weather!

Hi June, never been to the wee church in Alwinton. Been too the Bunk hse at Barrowburn a couple of x's. The last was when eldest was there for a 'Brassmonkey' camp with scouts!! It was quite snowy when I went back to collect, 1st weekend Dec!!
The valley is wonderful beyond Alwinton. If you drive past the pub + that narrow bit of the village, the road it goes on + on. There is a tea room at Barrow burn + then the rd still goes on - not got to the end of it yet but according to the map it does happen!! There is a lovely flat area by the river which the kids loved playing footy on, but did get in the car rather smelly of sheep - a change of trousers next time!!
There are some lovely bits where the rd is right next to the Coquet + you can see dipper + merganser from the car.
I have 2 v good bop id'ers (DS1+2, 13+10yrs) in the car when out + about - so the chance of a red kite might persuade them out more often!!
Saw an osprey over the Coquet a wee way before Rothbury last summer - I'm quietly hoping it was on the hunt for a nesting site!! Will getting the boys to keep eyes open on the way to + from school in early spring!! Exciting x's ahead!!

 

[degsy_safc]

Someone once told me that stacking converters never yields good results picture wise - well i know its difficult to keep the camera steady considering the effective focal length is 1785mm in the shots below - Nikon D300 & 500 VR with 1.7 & 1.4 Teleconverters and crop factor of 1.5 for the D300.

But i'm pretty pleased with these considering the shutter speeds range between 1/25th (bird on fence post) and 1/60th & 1/100th for the ones on the top of the tree :eek!:

Nice to see the Owls are still hanging around Prestwick Carr and nice to see a few regulars up there again today :t:

 

[yukonite]

Someone once told me that stacking converters never yields good results picture wise - well i know its difficult to keep the camera steady considering the effective focal length is 1785mm in the shots below - Nikon D300 & 500 VR with 1.7 & 1.4 Teleconverters and crop factor of 1.5 for the D300.

But i'm pretty pleased with these considering the shutter speeds range between 1/25th (bird on fence post) and 1/60th & 1/100th for the ones on the top of the tree :eek!:

Nice to see the Owls are still hanging around Prestwick Carr and nice to see a few regulars up there again today :t:

all 3 are great but number 3 is fantastic detail

 

[degsy_safc]

all 3 are great but number 3 is fantastic detail

Thanks Yukonite :t:

 

[The Liverbirder]

Thanks Yukonite :t:

I add my own BIG :t:. All three are fantastic in terms of clarity, colour, focus, 'you name it'!

AS someone who takes a sh@te shot (see my blog), if I had a hat on, I would take it off! :-O

 

[degsy_safc]

I add my own BIG :t:. All three are fantastic in terms of clarity, colour, focus, 'you name it'!

AS someone who takes a sh@te shot (see my blog), if I had a hat on, I would take it off! :-O

:-O:-O:-O:-O Cheers Gordon - LOL

 

[woodhornbirder]

woken up by more howlin westerlies! probably doesnt signal anymore birds at this time of year(

 

[Gill Osborne]

Don't suppose anyone knows if the Desert Wheatear is still around?

 

[Alan Tilmouth]

Last reported on 3rd

 

[Davy Tee]

Shrike showing really well and close up at prestwick today around 11.30-12.30 also couple of SEO

 

[Gill Osborne]

Last reported on 3rd

Thanks Alan - saw it a few weeks ago but we're going down the coast tomorrow so wondering if it was still around so I could make a slight detour

 

[Vipers]

Shrike showing really well and close up at prestwick today around 11.30-12.30 also couple of SEO

It was showing really well yesterday as well, directly opposite the goat compound.

 

[degsy_safc]

It was showing really well yesterday as well, directly opposite the goat compound.

Well done Gary, great pics mate :t:

 

[Ray.Scott]

Spent the day at Prestwick Carr yesterday:
Birds seen - great grey shrike, fieldfare, redwing, willow, blue, great and coal tit, chaffinch, robin, wren, kestrel, buzzard, hen harrier which was seen off by one of the owls, 8 or 9 shorties, 2 of which, were interacting in the air, and the usual blackbirds, crows etc.
One of the kestrels caught a vole or field mouse and carried It off to the wood, where It sat and demolished It :eat:.

Another great day out :t:.

Oh! also two roe deer seen to the North West of the path.