little sparrow

Bittern

2011-01-09T17:56:00.000Z

It must be about four years now that I have been visiting the cresswell area,and in all that time when the bittern was there I always seem to miss it,but this week I was in luck,I was told by a photographer friend he is still in the area,if only we were about half an hour sooner we would have seen the bittern right next to wall nearest to the parking area.Not to though,We did get some great views of him flying in from a reed bed about a hundred yards up the road.He was also giving us some great views preening him self right next to the reeds at a distance but great to see.

These shots were taken from a fare distance,lets hope we get closer views in the future.a visit to the coast next to cresswell got use to see at least 200 common scoter,8 Red-throated divers.Newbigin Showed us 5 red-throated divers and three med-gulls.

back to cresswell

2010-11-08T15:00:00.000Z

I don't know what it is, but I'm always drawn to the cresswell area of Northumberland to do my bird watching,there is a good feel about the place,its always still and calm as is the Druridge area .plus if there is any body in the hide you always get a good bit crack.as we did this weekend, popped into Queen Elizabeth park first to see what was there.Plenty Canada, geese greylag,moorhen,coot,mute swan,tufted duck,and wigeon.

love to see geese flying into land on the lake.

Nice to get close to the wigeon.

Onto Linton pools,another area I love to visit,lots of female bullfinch,not one male,a few juvenile goldfinch blackbirds,but no redwing or fieldfare,sill plenty of time to see these over the winter.At the front of the hide we got some good views of mute swans in the still waters of the lake.

The so graceful swan.

Cresswell was as it always,plenty to see,we didn't spend to much time there as the light is so short at this time of the year and we try to pack as much into the day as we can.but what we did see was worth the visit,I counted 26 snipe,that is the most I've see at one time.dunlin,teal,wigeon 5 whooper swan on the fare bank maganser,lapwing,redshank,and a lot more.

A nice little wren

See this lovely little bird on the way into Druridge pools, I'm afraid that all we got to see there apart from one heron and half a dozen tufted duck.

The Hauley rat

This big bugga was at the small hide at hauxley reserve,we went into a few hides but all was very still,nothing to see as the light was well gone,next time we must visit hauxley first.

THREE WEEKS IN A ROW.

2010-10-26T14:04:00.001+01:00

Its unheard of me out three weeks in a row,work has been unbelievably buzzy,one of the reasons iv not been bloging so I do apologise for that.My first week spent a day with my mate Jeremy at Washington WWT.It makes a change seeing birds you will not get to see on your normal patch.plus weather was crap, Jeremy only gets out one day a month,work is a mare with your social life,I was imprest with the cranes they have there, wicked burgers they are,told not to get to close.this one was giving me the eye,any closer mate and i will have you.

I must admit there was a lot more species there than I thought there would be plus a lot more than iv not see before.I don't want to fill this page with to many here's just a few.

FEMALE SMEW

AMERICAN WOOD DUCK

MANDARIN

RUDDY SHELDUCK

BEWICK'S SWAN

This is a short video of the female smew,the first time I've used this video on my d300s camera.hope to improve my shooting with more interesting subjects.

HOODED MAGANSER

PINK FLAMINGO

A visit to the feed station gave use some good views of a male bullfinch,great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, Cole tit,goldcrest just a short glimpse of the goldcrest.no chance of a photo though to blinking fast.

HOW HEAVY IS THIS COLE TIT

HE'S SNAPPED THE BRANCH

My second week out was at cresswell,nothing out of the ordinary apart from the bittern which I've still not seen,sat in the hide for about three hours but he did not show.But we did get to see the marsh harrier being mobbed by crows and buzzards they put on a pretty good show. I did get a few shots of of a nice little stoat,on the way into cresswell.

STOAT

Last week newbiggin to see if we can see the med gulls,

(LOST BLOGGER) WITH ON CAMERA WHAT TO DO.

2010-09-08T19:51:00.000+01:00

The last time I was out with my camera it was disastrous,We were having a brill day at the coast near howick taking shots of sandwich terns diving into a cut of pool.with camera on tripod thinking it was safe,when a gust of wind blew over tripod,hitting the deck with a gut retching smack,(sh--).Its not three weeks since I got my 500 lens back from repair.Just been told by Nikon casing is cracked and beyond repair.Am I gland its insured, hopefully it will be replaced with a new one.

This is the last shot I took with my D300.

The only thing I could do now is borrow the D70 I sold to my mate.so thanks for that Sean.With the kids six weeks holidays coming to a end, I promised my grandson Cole that I would take him camping for a night in Scotland.Here is a few photos Cole took on his camping trip.

the start of his trip

driving through Bonchester bridge.

driving through the historic town of Hawick

After we drove through Hawick we had to find a place to camp,I was going to camp near Alemoor reservoir but the road leading to it was blocked of,we ended up at a very nice spot at Craik forest.

This is the first photo of a bird Cole has taken,what do you think,not dad as he is only ten,he love the camera
but I am having a problem to get him birding,give it a few years and I will have him hooked.

here one of a dragon fly,not a bad shot,not sure what species this one is,any help would be appreciated.

I MUST APOLOGISE FOR NOT BOGGING,BUT WITHOUT MY TRUSTED CAMERA I HAVE BEEN LOST THESE PAST FEW WEEKS,ON THE BIRDING SIDE , THINGS HAS BEEN VERY SLOW FOR ME,WORK GETTING IN THE WAY OF THINGS AGAIN.I DID GET TO SEE THE SPOTTED RED SHANK,AND THE WHISKERED TERN AT SALTHOLME,TWO MORE TICKS FOR ME.I HOPE TO GET OUT AND ABOUT SOON,ALL THE BEST,

TO THE FARNES WE GO.

2010-06-28T23:38:00.000+01:00

Yes we got there in the end.After being disappointed last week.The trip across to the island was a bit hairy,but well worth it. There was only seven people on the boat that took us across giving us plenty of room to photograph what ever we wanted.The first thing that caught my eye was a gannet flying past pretty low.

This is the first time iv see the gannet at such a close distance,what a bird impressive to say the least.I was surprise there was only about a dozen seals around the islands,they did show up but at a distance,they to

are a wonderful creature to see on our shores.
On to the island to see the tern's,and puffins,this is the second time for me on inner farne island,the first time we were bombarded by the Arctic tern's,this time not a single bird made any attempt to put holes in my head
for what reason I don't know,if anybody has the answer I would love to know.There was one that I did notice was that the terns didn't seem as agitated as the last time we were there,could this be that they are getting more used to the public around them,who knows,that another answer that needs answering.

The puffin must be every body's favourite sea bird,I know it is mine,they must be one of the most colourful sea birds around.The best thing about the island you get to see the puffins and the terns at such close quarters.

Here is some shots of the other bird life on the island.

The shag with young.

Arctic tern chick.

Razorbill..

herring gull.

After our trip on the island we headed of to Hauxley to see if there was any thing about,we were in luck and got some good views of a curlew sandpiper on the reserve,a good day by all,looking forward to my next trip out and about.

I MUST APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING HEAR.

2010-06-25T15:44:00.004+01:00

Hi all,

I must apologize to all of you that follow my blog.The reason why I have not updating my blog for so long is because my 500mm lens died on me,well dropping it didn't help.It left me in a sad state,but now it is back with me to do what we do best together,I hope all of you with good lenses will understand.As without our trusted companion's it is hard to leave home to search for life's nice surprises .Still I had my 300mm to keep me company until my best mate was repaired.I did have a good trip down to saltholme reserve with my mates,I got to photograph a reed warbler for the first it time.We were told there was a broad billed sandpiper in the area but as luck has it we mist it (again).there was plenty sky larks about giving us a song I love to here.

Our next trip out was going to be on the farne islands,but the weather let us down plus the crossing to the islands were cancelled,so of to the cliffs at Dunstanburgh to see and photograph the razorbills fulmars and kittiwakes.will try the farne's on Saturday.

PRESTWICK CARR HAS A LOT TO OFFER

2010-05-12T16:01:00.000+01:00

I spent most of the weekend at the Carr hoping to see the tawny owl,but as luck has it he did not show.

But I did get to see the whitethroat,this was a first for me and get a photo of this cracking bird was a bonus for me.that was on Saturday,when I was there I met city birder for the fist time,I am glad I did for he put me in the right direction to see the whitethroat,I thank him for that.

Sunday was a cracking day,the barn owl was out hunting for a good half hour,the views we got of him were the best I have had in a long while.

To see the goshawk

2010-05-05T23:43:00.000+01:00

This weekend was supposed to be a camping weekend,But like every bank holiday it was to bloody cold to lie under the stars.Never mind it gives me some time to do a spot of birding.So off to the Scottish borders it is.There is a little place we go not to far from Roberton,I am sorry I cannot disclose were because I my mates would throttle me,we re- visited the nest of a goshawks we saw last year.(photo above).Not sure if we would be in luck as we were not sure if the goshawk use the same nest from previous years,one of the lads seen a male goshawk fly from the tree the nest was in last year, here's hoping he finds a female and do as well as they did last year,two chicks they reared.(photo below).

As far as we know only one chick survived,on a re-visit to the nest four weeks after this photo was taken
we only saw one chick next to the nest roosting,what a size after only four weeks.(photo below)

One thing I love about birding is you never know what you will see,next to a small lock in a row of willow tree was a least eight willow warblers,not one of them was bothered about me being there.so I got a few shots before they moved on.

Being on the borders of Scotland you get to see a fare few roe deer,this one was showing of his territory.

I will be going back to visit the goshawk in a few weeks time,If I have any luck I will keep you posted,all who read my blog enjoy your birding.

BLACK GROUSE ON THE LEK

2010-04-29T15:39:00.000+01:00

The red grouse is at it best,a trip down to Teesdale was not a wasted journey,to see the red grouse with there best togs on was a treat for me and my mates.

This male was giving us the best display we could ask for,not at all bothered about us been there.

But the highlight of the day was seeing the black grouse on the lek.there were 9 in total,there was 18 on the same lek last year.they were at a great distance so the photo's have been blown up considerately.

The great white egret gives the run around.

2010-04-04T20:07:00.001+01:00

This sanderling was enjoying the midday sun at newbiggin,well what sun there was on Saturday,

These ones were keeping a good eye on us,you can only get so close to the sanderling then one foot to close and there off.

Perfectly balanced on one leg,they to are enjoying the sun.

Onto Cresswell as we here the great white egret is hanging around,not here I am afraid was the cry,try looking at Druridge pools,getting to the pools was the problem,water water every were it get in your boots it gets in your hair, that's if you have any.(check my photo)alas it gives us the slip again.hauxley is our next stop you never know your luck.It's been a while since we had any crack with brain in the main hide so the visit is worth it. Now the hide is open until 5 o'clock you get a better chance to see things.Plenty here but no great white egret,one chap came into the hide and gave use good news,he was looking at the great white down at
warkworth lane pond.it was at a distance from the lane but worth a look.Off we went to see if our luck will hold out,and guess what it bloody well did,it was at a distance but what a bird,we viewed it for about while then off it took,what a sight seeing this bird in flight,I just managed to take a shot of it as it flew overhead,not a sharp shot but who cares.seeing the great white was our goal.

WE ARE BACK SAID THE AVOCET

2010-03-30T15:45:00.000+01:00

A trip down to saltholme was not a wasted journey,the avocet are back in force.We seen five, but were told there is eighteen in all,when we were there a little ringed plover showed up,that was a bonus for me as it been a while since iv seen one,

A visit to the RSPB centre was very good.A good chin wag with the staff there was pleasant and very friendly, plenty to see,in the shop, and a fare bit on the reserve its self.got some good shots of the black tailed godwit there playing with a leaf.The changing of the gogwits plumage is now in progress and its looking good.

Onto dorman's pool to see if we can catch the great white egret,guess what bluddy missed it.story of my life,not to worry though got to see thirteen great crested grebe there,they all seemed to be paired off.

I am posting the shot of the little ringed plover because it the first time I have had the chance to photograph one,sorry its not a very good shot but what the hell its a lovely bird,and I was pleased to see it.

Can the weather spoil it.

2010-03-21T18:39:00.000Z

Can the weather spoil your bird watching,yes if you let it, Saturday started very dull in my part of the world,then the rain started,should I stop in or go out, sod it get wet and enjoy myself.which I did and glad I did,went to queen Elizabeth park to see if any new visitors have arrived yet,would you believe it eight sand martins skimmed the water once then of they went in the direction of Linton,so off to Linton it was,on the way there we saw 39 whoppers in the field on the right about half a mile past the park.with my mate Eamonn we did some digiscoping with pretty good results,sorry no photos all images are on eamonn's camera,In the same field as the whoopers were 6 skylarks, first ones this year,what a song they sing,you know spring is on its way when you here them.Linton ponds was very quiet, 1 shoveler,1 goosander,goldeneye, teal,tufted,and about a dozen wigon. Hauxley was quiet to but got a good look at the grey heron fishing next to the big hide. Newbiggin has still got the med gulls, now in there breading plumage,what a beautiful bird,plenty oyster catchers,sanderlin, and the odd dunlin showed up. Druridge pools had 8 shovellers plenty wigon and the odd teal.last stop Cresswell,a chance to see the whoopers again,same count as the ones earlier in the day.

THE WAXWING

2010-03-09T18:31:00.002Z

At last I have getting to see these fantastic looking birds,I count my self very lucky to get to see them,as far as I know they are no longer at the place were they were for the past three weeks,(Ashington)there was not a berry on the trees to be seen.so onto the next port for them.That was on Friday, Saturday another trip up the coast to see as much as posiable at least 300 common scoter of the coast at stag rocks.no long tailed ducks or divers though,Fenham flats was buzzing with waders,as was budel bay,the best arrival when we were there was a approx 200 light bellied geese came in,we were not sure if there was a few dark bellies amongst them as they were at a distance away.onto Woodhorn to see the Greenland white-fronted goose,light was fading fast so we left it for Sunday,got good views of the geese on photos as they were at a distance away.off the coast of Cresswell was seven red-throated divers,pretty close to the shore giving us good views through the scope.There was a snow bunting seen on the coast at Druridge but we were to late to see it not to worry maybe next time.

BARN OWL OK AFTER BAD WINTER

2010-02-07T15:50:00.000Z

Our first stop off today should have been stag rocks at Bamburgh,hoping to see the grebe's and divers reported there.As usual some thing stops us.this time it was the bloody traffic on the A1,black ice caused a few vehicles to crash, hope all is OK The detour ended us at Cresswell,I am glad we did as we bumped into the bike list birder for a good bit crack,sorry forgot his name but this bloke knows his stuff.Onto the hide to meet a fellow snapper,here is his sight WWW.digiphotog.com (Derek bilton)I don't think he would mind, Derek done me a very good favour and let me uses his Nikon 500MM f4 lens on my camera to take the barn owl shot ,he was quit a distance away,but to get to see him made my day. further up the road at bells farm the field was occupied with four species of geese,200 plus pink feet,30 Canada geese,7 barnacle geese,and one bean goose,if I am not mistaken I think it was the taiga species,( so I was told)it was very east to identify it from the pink feet as its legs were a very bright orange,and the patch on the bill was a good orange colour also.Onto Druridge pools for a short visit,not a lot to report, teal, wigon,tufted,shell duck,and shoveler,gadwall, and heron,Not a lot there but still nice to see them,I was surprised to see so much water on the left hand side pool,lets hope it attracts more waders there.
on the coast next to hauxley reserve got to see plenty eider duck,and a large group common scoter I would say about 60 at least.and 5 red breasted merganser.well that it for today,highlight of the day was using a sooper dooper lens to capture the barn owl.(thanks Derek)

NUTHATCH PLAYING WITH HIS FOOD

2010-02-04T15:15:00.001Z

This is the first photo iv posted for a while as my computer has been down.Bloody virus.This nut hatch was struggling with this frozen fat ball at bolam lake.I have and I suppose a lot of people can see a decline in our small birds,this winter has been a disaster for them,the robin wren,tits,and buntings,must have suffered,because when I have been out and about bird watching they have been very scarce.
As I said my computer has been down for the last few weeks,I have not visited any of my followers blogs,plus not being able to go on to the bird notheast sight has done my head in.I have lost the chance of seeing some of the visiting species iv not see before,now back on the road lets hoping im back on track.

weasle in northumberland

2010-01-12T19:39:00.000Z

This is the fist time I have seen a weasel,and to see him hunting was something else,with the snow down he was very easy to see,its a pity the vole did not see him though.

early bird catches the worm

2010-01-12T19:32:00.000Z

This curlew struggling to find food at seaton sluice on Saturday,
he was one of four,the others were having no luck at all.
Thank god the snow is melting,the birds have been struggling a lot this winter.
The ones that normally come and feed from my feed station in my garden have been very scarce,
I will say the local robin has showed his face a lot though,dunnock,blue tit,coal tit,have not been seen for over two weeks,keep my fingers crossed that they will be back.

NOT A BAD WEEKS BIRDING

2009-11-29T15:10:00.002Z

Night shift has it's advantages,gives me the chance to do a bit birding through the week.Monday went to killingworth lake to see the female mandarin,missed it but did get to see the four goosanders plus two graylags, Wednesday & Thursday went to my local patch bigwaters,not a lot there,golden eye on the lake along with great crested grebe,little grebe,kingfisher,tufted,teal mallard,coot,moorhen.In the feed station a visit from a female sparrow hawk,great spotted woodpecker,magpie,goldfinch,greenfinch,wren,tree sparrow,blue coal and great tits having a good feed at the well stocked station.Friday went to clera vale,as it's been some time since I visited there.I was in luck,the kingfisher was fishing in the big pond,after about 15min's he came over and started to fish in the pond right in front of the hide.I missed the sparrow hawk but got to see all the local birds.Saturday trip to newbiggin by the sea,one of my best places to see waders,in luck again four med gulls 30 common scoter,three males amongst them.ringed plove mixing with redshank,oyster catchers dunlin,and plenty of sanderling.Before we got to cresswell,there were 30 twite on the flash next to the alcan works. cresswell was worth the visit,about 150 golden plover,well over 200 lapwings,50 plus greylag,20 pink feed in the top field,4 knot,40 redshank,wigeon teal,1curlew.Last stop east chevington to see the starlings ready to roost,not a very good show as it was the last time I was there,not to worry our visit was not wasted,we got to see two short eared owls hunting just before dark.

female blackbird

2009-11-27T04:13:00.000Z

2009-11-15T12:54:00.003Z

what a sight to see,at least 5000 starling at east chevington.

2009-11-15T12:45:00.000Z

Saturday was a lot more busy than I thought it would be.Newbiggin had a fair few waders, plus a med gull,4 grey plover,30 ringed plover,3 purple sandpiper,2bar- tailed godwit,20 plus dunlin,and on the coast there was around about 100 common scoter.Cresswell was worth the visit.2 golden plove,50 plus redshank,10 dunlin,100 plus lapwing,4 female red breasted merganser,1 male merganser, wigeon,teal,tufted,and a visit from the otter.Druridge pools showed nothing.Had a problem getting to the hide, as the walkway was flooded.Last stop, East Chevington, to see the short eared owl.We were in luck,sitting on a post at a short distance,I had a good look from a birders scope. Sorry mate,I forgot your name.To round the night off,I got a few shots of the starlings getting ready to roost.

FEMALE PHESANT

2009-11-12T04:14:00.000Z

COMMON PHEASANT

2009-11-12T03:54:00.001Z

What a beauty

Blackbird

2009-11-12T03:47:00.001Z

RINGED PLOVER

2009-11-07T17:39:00.001Z

Take at st mary's island

REDSHANK

2009-11-07T17:29:00.001Z

Taken at Hauxley

SMALL TORTIOSESHELL BUTTTERFLY

2009-11-01T17:13:00.001Z

This small tortoiseshell was take at holywell pond.on 31/10 2009

female stonechat

2009-11-01T16:54:00.001Z

2009-11-01T15:36:00.000Z

Saturday was a busy day,so many places to go to,and not much time to do it in,first stop whitley bay cemetery.must have been 3 to 400 starling roosting in the trees,a few thrushes,blue tits, coal tits,black birds,

I did see a warbler.but what species I could not say,and a sparrow hawk flew past looking for his next meal.Next its off to st, mary's to see the gloden plover,you could see them from the cemetery flying pasts I would say there was about 1000 at least.curlew were in abundance as well,shoveler,snipe,teal, wigeon,mute swans,tufted duck,and a pair of stone chat were at st mary's wetland.Next stop holywell flash to see if we can spot the pectoral sandpiper as it was reported see there,no luck so we pushed onto holywell pond,got some good vews of a white fronted goose,and eight pink feet along side some greylag.Amble is our next port of call
as my mate eamonn's belly is calling for his chips.Hauxley was very quiet but I did get to see a pair of golden eye.East chevington was our last place to try and see some thing,we were very luck as we spotted a long tailed duck,and two pintail ducks with out eamonn's scope it would have been imposable.

EASTERN CROWNED WARBLER

2009-10-25T20:29:00.001Z

Saturday was a very good day for me and for a lot of others,I would say about 90 others in fact, that's how many people were there when me and my mate Eamonn got there.the sighting of the eastern crowned warbler weren't as good as I was hoping,the weather put a damper on it(pardon the pun)for a short while,but as the weather improved the views were spot on,as a lot of people said that day it does not come any better than this.

This photo is not sharp by any means but who cares,To see the eastern crowned warbler was my main interest to get the photo was a bonus.

taken at hauxley nr

2009-10-23T18:10:00.000+01:00

kingfisher

2009-10-20T20:07:00.002+01:00

2009-10-20T19:55:00.001+01:00

kingfisher

2009-10-20T19:39:00.003+01:00

all taken at bigwaters

AVOCET

2009-10-17T12:16:00.000+01:00

Saturday is normally my birding day,but not this week,came down with pleurisy,Bloody nuisance,Was planing to go to saltholme rspb.Next week will have to do.The last time me and my mates were at saltholme we got to see that beautiful bird the avocet.This shot is not sharp but what a bird to see.

2009-10-16T20:41:00.000+01:00

snipe taken at bigwaters

2009-10-16T20:02:00.000+01:00

this dotterel was taken last September at newbigon church point, when we had the floods,

2009-10-16T19:13:00.000+01:00

BEING THERE AT THE RIGHT TIME IS THE SAYING,WELL ME AND MY MATE EAMON DONE JUST THAT,
RINGERS AT DRURIDGE HAD A RADDE'S WARBLER,

2009-10-16T19:01:00.000+01:00

GREENSHANK TAKEN AT DRURIDGE POOLS