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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Northumbrian Birding (1 Viewer)

Linton is cr@p these days, not heard of anything there in years.

Watch out for road closure (all of Feb and first half of March) between Cresswell Pond and Druridge Pools - leaves a huge detour to get between them.

Budge screen is the west-facing 'hide' overlooking the wet field (the Budge field) at Druridge Pools; Budge is the name of the mining company which did the opencast there and funded its conversion to nature reserve.
 
Nutcracker said:
Linton is cr@p these days, not heard of anything there in years.

Watch out for road closure (all of Feb and first half of March) between Cresswell Pond and Druridge Pools - leaves a huge detour to get between them.

Budge screen is the west-facing 'hide' overlooking the wet field (the Budge field) at Druridge Pools; Budge is the name of the mining company which did the opencast there and funded its conversion to nature reserve.
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Not quite, Michael. The mining at druridge pools was carried out by Crouch Mining on behalf of the NCB Opencast Executive between 1971/2 and 1973. I was a surveyor on the site for the final part of that period.

The Budge connection came much later, in the early 1990s, when British Coal, by which time the NCB had become, decided to give up the ghost on some very flat undrainable fields and to add them to the nature reserve catalogue on the bay.

Richard Budge of RJB Mining, which was operating a mining site at West Chevington/Colliersdene offered the use of some of his bulldozers to push the soil about to create the scrapes. A small wooden hide, named after Richard was built there. The hide eventually suffered from failure of the concrete floor and was replaced with the present screen by the wildlife trust.
 
Lindisfarne spring or autumn

Hi,

Planning a spring visit (or should I wait for autumn)? Can't decide on where to stay Berwick? Looking for a boat trip also if there was any recommendations

Many thanksB :)
 
the hawk said:
Hi,

Planning a spring visit (or should I wait for autumn)? Can't decide on where to stay Berwick? Looking for a boat trip also if there was any recommendations

Many thanksB :)
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I'd stay in Bamburgh or Seahouses if I were you. Berwick is just a bit too far north, and quite a way from the best places to visit.

With Bamburgh, you get easy access to Stag Rock and Budle Bay, as well as being closer to Lindisfarne, but the choice of accommodation is rather limited. Seahouses is just down the coast a few miles and has more options for accommodation, as well as being the place where boats leave for the Farne Islands. From either, you are well-placed to get to some other interesting birding sites to the south.

Late Spring / early Summer is the best timing for the Farnes, to experience the amazing phenomenon of thousands of auks and terns, with shags, ducks, gulls and seals thrown in, too.
 
Took a walk down So Tyne from our village this afternoon. Nice to hear Ring Ousel singing despite the gale force conditions. The winter storms and high river levels have wreaked havoc the amount of plastic rubbish has to be seen and we are very rural! Interestingly a destroyed Larson trap found it must have been carried a long way downriver there are none located in immediate area. Thats one less :0)
 

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Still hoping for info re Hauxley. Checked the council site re road closures but couldn't see anything there is it closed around the weekend, of 12 - 14 February.?
 
Stewart J. said:
Took a walk down So Tyne from our village this afternoon. Nice to hear Ring Ousel singing despite the gale force conditions. The winter storms and high river levels have wreaked havoc the amount of plastic rubbish has to be seen and we are very rural! Interestingly a destroyed Larson trap found it must have been carried a long way downriver there are none located in immediate area. Thats one less :0)
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Ring Ouzel singing, are they wintering?, I'm not being detrimental, just curious.
 
Black Scoter - Stag Rocks

Great views of the Black Scoter at Stag Rocks on Sunday. Much easier to get all the ID features at this site then at Cheswick last time this species was seen.
If you stand above the white building/compound you can look down on the birds and not have the waves getting in the way.

LT Ducks, RB Merganser, Common Scoter, Goldeneye and a cheeky weasel (next to the compound) among the supporting cast.
 
Just a quick post to thank all the locals we bumped into yesterday who helped us to 77 species on our day out. We will not dwell on the ones we missed, but instead mention waxwing, black necked grebe, fulmar, twite, white fronted goose, goosander, scoter, marsh harrier, med gull, stock dove and long billed dowitcher as part of the total. Full report with photos will be a while as I don't get home for a week, but when it is done I will post a link here. Cracking day, mainly dry and well worth the effort of a 0715 start in the hide at Linton Lane. As you can see we were not inconvenienced by the road closure or lack of Hauxley.
 
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Barred Wobbler said:
I had a very useful meeting with Steve on site yesterday, when we walked the outfalls from both pools and discussed the problems and potential solutions to the restrictions of flow.

Hopefully, after the current breeding season we might expect to see improvements.

Fingers crossed and thanks for your time Steve.
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Anything happened yet ?
 
Spring migrants appearing in the south, warmer south-westerlies forecast by the end of the week. Sedge warblers will be here soon. They and other migrants as well as the residents will be looking for a place to nest and so far not a sod has been turned at East Chevington regarding reed clearance from the clogged outlet ditch that is causing the north pool not to drain and remain polluted, despite the promises. Congratulations NWT on another year lost while you have all been concentrating on your vanity project at Hauxley.

I was at Gosforth Park a couple of weeks ago and the management there have been making all sorts of changes to the habitat on the reserve since I was there late summer as well as making hide improvements.

What is it about NWT that they seem to make simple management jobs so impossible? I give up, I really do.

Maybe they could hire Steve McClaren as a manager? He could be an improvement.
 
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Alan, i really can't understand the wildlife trust, time and time again you have identified the problems and the solutions to East Chevington and time and time again they choose to do absolutely naff all.What happened to all the conversation and promises Steve Lowe talked about in September? Again we will see another crap year for waders at East Chevington unless by some miracle god decides to give us a boiling hot summer.
 
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