And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Hauxley Nature reserve was our port of call yesterday morning and was delighted to get a possible 2 ticks in one day. A cracking morning was spend scanning the pond from the hides and also the fields around the reserve where the warden was telling us 4 Heron were nesting with 12 chicks hatched.

My first Tick (I hope) is of this Partridge, I have seen Red Legged Partridge before but I think these 2 are Grey Partridge....I came to this conclusion by the lack of white on its neck and also the rusty colour on its head. A hare was seen running along the top of the field which was nice. We headed to the first hide spotted Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Widgeon, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Mute Swan Redshank Mallard and hopefully Tick number 2.

I think these Geese are Pink Footed..... The bill isn't as bright as the Greylag and the necks seem a bit more stumpy. The only thing putting me off is that my book says that they are a winter visitor so if they are Pink Footed Geese then why are they here, Birds and books can be confusing hehe

Also on the ponds were what I think are Gadwell, These ducks have been pointed out to me before so it's not a tick but it will be a positive ID if I'm right. Scanning my bird book Gadwell and Pochard are the only ducks I could see with the Black rump, so fingers crossed I'm right.

On the way back to the car a beautiful Whitethroat was spotted in the trees lining the path and sat and sung it's little heart out. I have seen Common Whitethroat at Castle Island, Ashington and thought they were the Lesser variety but my gut feeling is that this one is a Common Whitethroat but still a cracking bird who was very obliging and photogenic.

Also spotted were Coot Moorhen Long Tailed Tit, Tree Sparrow (I think) ohh and not forgetting the family of Rats which apparently visit the bird feeders, ahhh I hate rats

A good morning out and as always comments and suggestions always welcome.

Sandy Bay Sea Watch

Went to Sandy Bay tonght for an hours sea watch. The sun was shining and it turned out to be a pleasent evening despite half of the Sandy Bay caravan parks youth population trying to set fire to every available piece of shrub. The amount of rubbish in the dunes was disgusting but we managed to find a quiet spot and sat down and waited.

To my delight Martins were seen dashing here and there and my guess was they were Sand Martins, they are darn quick and everytime I focused on one through my bins the little blighter flew into the light.

Next Terns started fishing just in front of us. Now I went to the Farne Islands last year and was told by the wardens all about the terns that visit us and my un- educated guess is that the ones I saw were Sandwich Terns. I think they had black beaks and to be honest thats all I can remember. They didn't stay long but they were a delight to watch.

A few Eider ducks swam by and off to the left of where we were sitting I spotted a group of odd birds. The sun wasn't doing me any favours but there semed to be a redish tinge to some of them, others had dark heads and necks with pale chests. They were well away from shore and after consulting my book and ruling out Eider Duck, Scoter, Goosander and Shelduck I finally came across Red Breasted Merganser . I think they may have been Mergansers but they were to far away for photo's.

On the way back to the car either Pipits or Sky Lark was spotted on the ground running up the little path. Didn't get a good look at it but the behavior seems to steer me towards Skylark running away form the nest site. I didn't realise that they can be seen in the dunes till I consulted my book. I'm often wrong though.

So I definately spotted Eider Ducks, and Martins but unsure weather House or Sand. Skylark but it could of been a Pipit and and odd thing that could be a Merganser, and a Tern that really could of been either Sandwich, Common or Arctic. Hey Ho hehehehe had a cracking time though. I'm pleased when I'm out and about that people don't ask me to ID something because my answer is normally one of several.

Birding at Last

Today saw hubby and I have a couple of hours birding....YIPEE it's been ages so we headed off to see if the Ibis was still around at Druridge. It was a bit colder today so armed with scarf, gloves and hat just incase we started off by visiting Cresswell pond. We saw a lovely group of about 40 Lapwing resting in the shallows next to the hide and a Little Grebe was swimming infront of us which was nice. My first Teal of the season was lovely to see with the juvenile males starting to get their green streaks on their heads, Teals are one of my favourite ducks and I really wanted to see one today so Yipee.

Curlew's and Cormorants were on the far bank along with some Mallards. A lone Heron was spotted and a Canada Goose was seen swimming along the far bank. A large flock of Geese popped down in the field but was too far way to identify someone said they were Pink Footed Geese as they were in the area.

We headed down to Druridge and was really lucky to see the Ibis, at first in the distance then it flew right infront of the hide and showed really well. Luckily we had the camera and got a cracking shot. The hide was full of scopes and cameras and we had an unobstructed view of this magnificent bird which was a real treat and such a thrill.

There was a few Cormorants dotted here and there fishing and I spotted some Gadwall in the distance. I saw a couple of female Tufted ducks and a family of Mute swans with a cygnet. To my delight a couple of Greenshanks paid us a visit and pecked right in front of the hide. The hide today was buzzing with excitement and when a bird I hadn't seen before landed right infront of me I was ecstatic. After asking a fellow birder what it was I am pleased to announce it was a Grey Plover. I didn't even have a clue as to what it was and was delighted I had my camera and bird book to get a good look at it. What a fabulous afternoon with 2 ticks (Glossy Ibis and Grey Plover) what more could I have asked for on my birthday although my new scarf was desperately needed I am pleased to announce the winter hat and gloves can be saved for a much colder day, maybe winter is a few weeks away yet....

Flying Nightmare

We decided to visit Dunstanburgh Castle today and try and get a glimpse of some interesting birds along the way. We walked along the beach from Embleton and spotted what I think is a female Wheatear, also the second photo shows what I think is a young Stonechat. Mike seems to think it is also a Wheatear, if anyone can clear this up then please leave a comment. I don't mind being wrong as I often am.

Other interesting things along the way included Cormorant fishing off the shore, Turnstones on the exposed rocks and a couple of Oystercachers. As we headed further towards the castle it became apparent Kittiwakes were still resident. I really like these birds and I decided to try and get a shot of one flying.......what a nightmare. On the cliffs I was poised with camera in hand as they flew past quite close and I must of shot over 30 or so of them hoping to get a decent one to post. The best one is below along with a Fulmar family which were perched a bit higher up the cliff.

I was wondering why Mike wasn't taking any of his 'Faffy shots' he kept saying the lights not right. As I don't know alot about camera lighting and stuff I just shrugged and took some more shots of the Kittiwakes I soon found out what he was on about when I got back and downloaded my photo's, the white birds and a bright sunny day do not mix. A lot of the photo's were' burnt out' another technical term for 'too bright'. Anyway a good day out and some cracking birds.