Northumbrian Birding (6 Viewers)

[The Liverbirder]

Derek - one word for the day's first foray - DEAD!

And for the second? BETTER! Green (Bob - same place as last week) and Great Spotted Woodpeckers in Cramlington. And a fox.

Third sortee? As the first.

Fourth? Hat trick! Flat with a capital F.

 

[piecatcher]

Derek - one word for the day's first foray - DEAD!

And for the second? BETTER! Green (Bob - same place as last week) and Great Spotted Woodpeckers in Cramlington. And a fox.

Third sortee? As the first.

Fourth? Hat trick! Flat with a capital F.

Hi, could you let me know where you saw the green woodpecker please. I'm looking for somewhere to go out bird watching tomorrow and I always struggle with this bird.
Cheers
Steve

 

[deugar]

Prompted by seeing them circling from my window, I went and checked out the Rayburn Lake whooper flock this afternoon. 55 of them on the mostly frozen lake, viewable from where the pylons cross the Longhorsley-Netherwitton road. Perhaps worth noting that they circled high and wide several times before settling - the ornithological consultant for the wind farm plan on this site (see http://www.parkheadwindfarm.co.uk/media/211169/park head turbine locations.pdf ) claimed they would only come in from the Druridge Bay area and so there was negligible risk of collision with the proposed 127m turbines 200m from the N, W and S shores. While plans have currently been rejected, they may well come back in revised form so worth keeping an eye on if like me you worry about such things.

I know SEOs are two-a-penny at the moment but had at least 3 while driving along the Wingates-Forestburn Gate road (another windfarm site, this one in the construction stage). Again, perhaps of note was the fact that 2 of them were flying very high, something the ornithological consultant for this site said they don't do, but which I've often observed, especially when interacting with each other or with the numerous buzzards on site. Actually the ornithologist said they weren't present, but that's another issue - one of the pairs were blindingly obvious carrying food across the road to their nest site 30m from the wind farm site entrance while they were doing their surveys (something I wouldn't normally divulge except that the area is about to be covered in c. 2000 truck loads of stone and concrete so I don't think they can be disturbed much more).

Also if you drive by during daylight there is a good chance of seeing a female hen harrier.

 

[DCJ]

things.

I know SEOs are two-a-penny at the moment but had at least 3 while driving along the Wingates-Forestburn Gate road (another windfarm site, this one in the construction stage). Again, perhaps of note was the fact that 2 of them were flying very high, something the ornithological consultant for this site said they don't do, but which I've often observed, especially when interacting with each other or with the numerous buzzards on site..

This is a very common thing with shorties, they will often go that high you can lose sight of them! Its part of the "pairing up" ritual before they leave for the moors etc. (They have actually been paired for a few weeks now)

personally I absolutely love it when the so called experts say "oh they don’t do that"!! Regarding a lot of species really, the best thing to do is to record your own notes, even take a foto for next time they spout absolute drivel!!

The foto is from 5th of December, they are pretty much paired up before they leave their wintering sites….

.

 

[_pauls]

Anyone know what's afoot at St Mary's wetlands? Stuck my head in on the way past for the first time since mid-january and it looks like the bulldozers have been in doing some landscaping?

 

[deugar]

This is a very common thing with shorties, they will often go that high you can lose sight of them! Its part of the "pairing up" ritual before they leave for the moors etc. (They have actually been paired for a few weeks now)


.

Many thanks for that DCJ. Great photo. I'll look out for courtship behaviour. Other times it seems linked to disturbance. I did actually send this really poor video in purely to make the point http://www.flickr.com/photos/gilbertroberts/3107264044/in/set-72157610816570218

 

[Adam W]

Had an excellent day in the Druridge area yesterday,Highlights included 3 Red head Smew on the country park lake,Slavonian Grebe at east Chev(though distant) Scaup at East Chev and Cresswell, single Whoopers at Cresswell and QEII,Short Eared Owl at Cresswell and Druridge pools also my first Stonechats of the year at both these sites.
Lots in both number and variety of Ducks and Geese spread between all these sites including Goldeneye,RB Merganser,Gooseander big numbers of Pinkfeet and 2 Whitefronts at East Chev with the Greylags and Canadas.

 

[Adam W]

A few more shots from yesterday.

 

[_pauls]

Quite a sight at druridge this morning as a light airplane put up circa 1,000 pink footed geese from the fields between cresswell and druridge pools.

The pool at Cresswell was largely devoid of wildfowl but along the road the budge field still has a pair of drake pintails amongst the teal, wigeon, shovelers and 10 heron, plus a couple of grey partridge mooching along the edge of the field.

 

[deugar]

Prompted by seeing them circling from my window, I went and checked out the Rayburn Lake whooper flock this afternoon. 55 of them on the mostly frozen lake, viewable from where the pylons cross the Longhorsley-Netherwitton road.

Just in case I had sent anyone on a wild swan chase today, they're actually feeding in a green field amongst plantations just W of Rayburn Lake so not so easy to view from the road -but very easy from my desk

 

[Gill Osborne]

Fabulous couple of hours this afternoon ~ inbetween work and returning to housewife duties ie feeding hubby :smoke:

Picked up Lifer No. 213 in the two Bewick's Swans grazing in a field approx quarter mile south of Maidens Hall Pond/Pool/Lake *you know the one I mean....y'cannot miss it!*
Also a mahoosive flock of White-fronted Geese and Pink-footed Geese on the actual Pool :t: Never seen so many white-front in one place before!!!
Country Park next for scaup/smew etc......despite the lake being predominantly frozen with just a few stretches of open water (shouldn't be hard to find the two target species I thought...famous last words! :smoke: ) no sign of either :-C
With time running short (ie had to be home by 4pm and it was now 3.45pm!!!) I popped along to East Chevington...thinking that perhaps the smew & scaup might have got fed up of the Unwashed Masses with their dogs and screaming kids at the Country Park and retreated to the quieter East Chev.
No such joy.....BUT I did pick up the gorgeous Slavonian Grebe, starting-to-display Red-breasted Merganser and THREE Short-eared Owl quartering the fields ~ one beside North Pool, the other two the South Pool :t:
Sadly didn't have time to do Cresswell Pond - that will have to wait until Tuesday's day off :smoke: But altogether a very enjoyable couple of hours that sneakily became three! :-O

 

[shellscape]

Hi Deugar
Was lucky enough to see the female hen harrier up there today- as well a shortie- i know its very early, but a buzzard was taking sticks to a nest allready!
smashing place, shame about the wind farm!

 

[deugar]

Hi Deugar
Was lucky enough to see the female hen harrier up there today- as well a shortie- i know its very early, but a buzzard was taking sticks to a nest allready!
smashing place, shame about the wind farm!

Glad the hen harrier showed for you - she was quartering the area when I drove out and back. Extraordinary numbers of buzzards just hanging around. A few lapwings and curlews back too. Some whoopers still in the fields over in the Rayburn Lake area.

 

[lazza]

If you will be in Cramlington and heading to Morpeth, the back road (A192) passes right by Plessey Woods, which is good for a couple of hours. Usually good for dippers and kingfishers, a variety of ducks (including goosander, but not so far this year!), and most woodland birds, woodpeckers, finches, tits, treecreeper, nuthatch. Have also had a grey shrike there in the past, and of it's also a good place for red squirrles, otters and deer.

In fact.... all of the above woodland bird species seen at the weekend in an hour and a half, even with two four year olds in tow!

 

[Ron Hindhaugh]

Some from Whitley Bay today. Bar-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Sanderling and Grey Plover.

 

[woodhornbirder]

probable black necked grebe at castle island today.

 

[lazza]

no sign of the green woodpecker at Bassington industrial estate this afternoon, although only managed an hour there between 2 and 3. Plenty of tits, chaffinches, a couple of treecreepers, a GS woodpecker, and a kestrel though.

Better fortune at Bothal pond earlier in the afternoon. A single Whooper swan, one goldeneye, a couple of hundred wigeon, and several teal. Geese numbers seems to have dropped a lot in the last week or so, down to maybe 100 Canada geese.

 

[The Liverbirder]

no sign of the green woodpecker at Bassington industrial estate this afternoon,....

I keep her in the attic and only let her out to play at the weekend! :-O

 

[lazza]

I keep her in the attic and only let her out to play at the weekend! :-O

|:d| I'm not allowed out of our attic at weekends...

 

[The Liverbirder]

|:d| I'm not allowed out of our attic at weekends...

She was showing well at 3pm today.