Northumbrian Birding (4 Viewers)

[woodhornbirder]

...am sure the lad(never met him tbh) can tell differnce between a green sand adn a dunlin?

Unless of course he only caught a glimpse in flight. However the inference was that the bird was in the same grp of dunlin>? so was similar size and colour?

so curlew sand or white rumped would be the likely id.... both of which having been in the area. However at this time of year waders tend to not stay around very long.

 

[lazza]

There were a couple of Green Sandpipers at Castle Island earlier on Thursday afternoon (31st July) - maybe it was one of them? Also yep, two Little Ringed Plovers (and one Common Ringed Plover) there then too.

It was certainly in with the dunlin, and I hadn't thought there was anything other than dunlin in the group, whereas I think I would have noticed the different general appearance of a green sandpiper (see my earlier post on 17 July!).... but that's not to say it wasn't!! It was only the white rump which caught my attention, and I'll be honest, my ID skills are such that nothing unusual came to mind (umm....I probably thought it was some kind of juvenile plumage!) so noted it down with a view to looking it up later (so some credit at least for realising it was different!!!!) :eek!:

...am sure the lad(never met him tbh) can tell differnce between a green sand adn a dunlin?

Unless of course he only caught a glimpse in flight. However the inference was that the bird was in the same grp of dunlin>? so was similar size and colour?

so curlew sand or white rumped would be the likely id.... both of which having been in the area. However at this time of year waders tend to not stay around very long.

thanks for the vote of confidence! Maybe unfounded, but thanks anyway :-O

 

[lazza]

Had a very pleasurable cycle up the Coquet Valley and over Otterburn ranges yesterday, and was amazed by the numbers of wheatear all the way up the valley from Alwinton to Chew Green - must've been 50+ along the valley, including at least 15 at Blindburn farm. Also a good number of whinchat in a couple of places, meadow pipits almost everywhere, and a couple of ravens on the crags above Featherwood.

I noticed a sign at Chew Green suggesting there are black grouse in the area. Is that true? Is there a good place in the area to see the lek at the right time of year?

 

[Zappa99]

I noticed a sign at Chew Green suggesting there are black grouse in the area. Is that true? Is there a good place in the area to see the lek at the right time of year?[/QUOTE]

Black grouse numbers on the training area have been falling for many years as with other parts of the North sadly, but reports from Kielderhead recently are encouraging!

 

[Mark Newsome]

...I noticed a sign at Chew Green suggesting there are black grouse in the area. Is that true? Is there a good place in the area to see the lek at the right time of year?

If you struggle in Northumberland, numbers in Durham are the best they have been for years. It's easily possible to see 50-70 in a couple of hours around Upper Teesdale, and you can watch them lek from the car without risk of disturbing them. Quite a few other sites in Weardale and Teesdale also have a good presence. Worth a thought if you don't find a suitable lek up your way.

Mark

 

[lazza]

If you struggle in Northumberland, numbers in Durham are the best they have been for years. It's easily possible to see 50-70 in a couple of hours around Upper Teesdale, and you can watch them lek from the car without risk of disturbing them. Quite a few other sites in Weardale and Teesdale also have a good presence. Worth a thought if you don't find a suitable lek up your way.

Mark

Teesdale is the only place in the UK I have ever seen black grouse! I thought they were pretty much absent from Northumberland, so was quite surprised at the sign saying otherwise.... admittedly, it was less than a mile from the Scottish border!

 

[Michael A]

Sandpipers

Druridge pools excellent views of Stilt Sandpiper along with Common and Green. Snipe and Yellow Wagtails all feeding in front of hide.

 

[The Liverbirder]

Druridge pools excellent views of Stilt Sandpiper along with Common and Green. Snipe and Yellow Wagtails all feeding in front of hide.

OUTSTANDING quartet of images, Sir! Well done. :t: The Snipe / Wag photo would make a good caption competition.

 

[martin kitching]

Northumberland Pelagics

2014 Northumberland Pelagics (in association with the Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club)

We're nearing the end of our 4hr evening trips for 2014, but we've got a couple of 10hr pelagics out to the Farne Deeps (12th and 28th August, 08:00, £70/person), searching the NEWT/MARINElife study area in Northumberland's deep offshore waters, and three seabird-focused 8hr pelagics (23rd August, 6th September, 8th September, 09:00, £50/person), which will be heading to another seabed feature that we think will hold cetaceans and seabirds. All sailings are from Royal Quays marina, on the JFK TWO, a 12m catamaran which is already proving to be an excellent platform for observation and photography.

Places are filling quickly, so if you're interested please give me a call on 01670 827465 or email [email protected]. We do give discounts to members of some of our local conservation groups too, so remember to mention any that you're a member of :t:

cheers
martin

 

[glenkerr]

Love the snipe/wag pic!

 

[Ron Hindhaugh]

Cracking shots Michael the snipe and wagtail together is brilliant, well done.

 

[daz_martin]

Lovely walk with the family and dog up Drurage beach today, kicking myself for not taking my bins, so many birds around. At the base of the dunes there were loads of flies in the seaweed and a small flock of wagtails jumping up and grabbing them. However, these were definitely not pied wagtails, not enough definition of the black and white. One landed near my daughter and she said it looked light blue. Not knowing all my birds I turned to my app. White wagtail ! never heard of them before, it this possible ? probably not but I can't find anything else that looked like them, can anyone else suggest whet they may have been please, they had the tails flitting, much paler than pied but about the same size quite a plain pale blue/grey back and not much colour to the head but did appear to have a black cap. Sorry as before I didn't have my binoculars.
On another note, stopped for a pint (wife driving) and a walk at QEII near Woodhorn. 2 little white egrets flew over struggling in the wind. First for me :0)

 

[Nutcracker]

Lovely walk with the family and dog up Drurage beach today, kicking myself for not taking my bins, so many birds around. At the base of the dunes there were loads of flies in the seaweed and a small flock of wagtails jumping up and grabbing them. However, these were definitely not pied wagtails, not enough definition of the black and white. One landed near my daughter and she said it looked light blue. Not knowing all my birds I turned to my app. White wagtail ! never heard of them before, it this possible ? probably not but I can't find anything else that looked like them, can anyone else suggest whet they may have been please, they had the tails flitting, much paler than pied but about the same size quite a plain pale blue/grey back and not much colour to the head but did appear to have a black cap. Sorry as before I didn't have my binoculars.

White Wags do pass through Northumbs on migration, but not at this time of year - what you saw was very likely juvenile Pied Wags, they can look very similar to White Wags, being much paler grey than adult Pied Wags. There's a lot of them around at the moment. Hope this helps!

 

[daz_martin]

Thanks for the clarification Nutcracker :t:

 

[Boro Birder]

Lovely walk with the family and dog up Drurage beach today, kicking myself for not taking my bins, so many birds around. At the base of the dunes there were loads of flies in the seaweed and a small flock of wagtails jumping up and grabbing them. However, these were definitely not pied wagtails, not enough definition of the black and white. One landed near my daughter and she said it looked light blue. Not knowing all my birds I turned to my app. White wagtail ! never heard of them before, it this possible ? probably not but I can't find anything else that looked like them, can anyone else suggest whet they may have been please, they had the tails flitting, much paler than pied but about the same size quite a plain pale blue/grey back and not much colour to the head but did appear to have a black cap. Sorry as before I didn't have my binoculars.
On another note, stopped for a pint (wife driving) and a walk at QEII near Woodhorn. 2 little white egrets flew over struggling in the wind. First for me :0)

Spotted the same scene on Saltburn beach last week and like Nutcracker already stated they are juvenile Pied Wagtails but there was also a couple of Greys mixed in, feeding furiously on the tiny flys.

Damian

 

[martin kitching]

No reason there shouldn't be White Wagtail amongst them, although Pied is much more likely. I found White Wag on the beach in the summer/autumn when I lived in Tynemouth in the late 1990's, and I'm aware of two mixed White/Pied pairs, and one 'pure' pair of White Wagtails breeding in Northumberland within the last few years.

cheers
martin

Spotted the same scene on Saltburn beach last week and like Nutcracker already stated they are juvenile Pied Wagtails but there was also a couple of Greys mixed in, feeding furiously on the tiny flys.

Damian

 

[Nutcracker]

Probable Caspian Gull, Amble

Can people keep a lookout for colour-ringed gull Yellow PKCS in the Amble area, please? Ringed as a nestling in a Caspian Gull colony in southern Poland in May 2011; now in adult or near-adult plumage.

It was roosting on the Coquet Estuary mudflats on Saturday 9 Aug., too distant to get photos or to distinguish between Caspian / Herring / hybrid, so anyone refinding it, please try to get pics. There's every chance it will come into Amble Harbour for bread or chips when it's hungry.

If this bird proves to be Caspian, it'll be only the second or third Northumbs record :t:

 

[Andy Swan]

Yellow PKCS is a CASPIAN GULLo

 

[woodhornbirder]

if it comes to food, lets hope for some good pics soon )

 

[Boro Birder]

No reason there shouldn't be White Wagtail amongst them, although Pied is much more likely. I found White Wag on the beach in the summer/autumn when I lived in Tynemouth in the late 1990's, and I'm aware of two mixed White/Pied pairs, and one 'pure' pair of White Wagtails breeding in Northumberland within the last few years.

cheers
martin

I've seen White Wagtails on a couple of occasions at RSPB Saltholme and I'm pretty sure they were Pied Wagtail juveniles, however Martin not 100% has I am not experienced enough to give a certain I.D and it does not surprise me that mixed and 'pure' White Wagtails are breeding here, I'm sure they are more out there than we know about.

Thanks
Damian