Skip to main content

Northumberland- Coast and Castles

I almost couldn't believe the Bonapartes Gull on the Wansbest Estuary was still present come the start of summer, and ever since June I have been crossing my fingers that this bird would stick so I could get a look on the way up to our holiday cottage in Northumberland. I surely deserved some luc, having left East Anglia just as a first for Britain shows up. And so it was , on Saturday July 30th Debs and I descended the concrete bank of a fly-over (cue various remarks about the places we end up) to view the Wansbeck Estuary near Ashington. It did not take long to pick up the Bonapartes, a smaller Gull than the Black-headed species with which it was associating. Paler, and with an all-black bill, this was a learning curve for 2 Gull amateurs and a great start to the break. Also on the mud here were Whimbrel, Dunlin and a few Sandwich Tern more distantly.

We stayed near Bamburgh, and the rolling countryside around our cottage was home to plenty of House Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Hare and best of all a few Tree Sparrow. We were a short drive from Seahouses, the gateway to The Farne Islands and although we had been across before, our visit this year was timed a little earlier and we were treated to fantastic views of breeding Puffin, Razorbill, Shag, Kittiwake and the 3 'Common' Tern species. Many of these were viewed from the boat, and whilst docking at Inner Farne an Arctic Skua caused havoc amongst the Tern colony on Brownsman Island. This piratical bird was chased off by a swell of Terns, and will have to wait until they disperse before considering another attack. Fulmar and Gannet were regular over our boat, and a few Knot grazed amongst the Grey Seals and Seaweed.

Other than The Farnes, the trip was light on real birding. Some new contacts on Twitter had kindly given me details of both Golden-ringed Dragonfly and Black Darter sites, but the 2 days we headed into the uplands were windy and punctuated by showers, so we spent more time exploring ruined castles which was great fun! Budle Bay must get a mention though, right on our doorstep and a couple of trips here when the tide was right yielded close views of Curlew, Whimbrel, Red-breasted Merganser and young, Greenshank and Oystercatcher. Similar tidal habitat on Holy Island added Bar-tailed Godwit to the holiday list. We decided against a Heleborine search when once again rain stopped play.

So, another lovely visit to this county which for me says two things- Seabirds and Castles!

Bonapartes Gull, Wansbeck estuary with larger Black-headed for comparison
King of the cliff
 Edlingham Castle. Middle of nowhere, proper wild ruin. 
Dunstanburgh Castle. A fair walk, well worth it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grey Phalarope- a new patch bird

The 7th of April was another bitterly cold Spring day, hats and gloves in prime position on pegs and in bags ready to be deployed. A few brave Garganey have been reported north of the river, but it was a bird from the north itself that had me rushing for the thermals and the telescope late in the day.  I was thankful for the local Whatsapp group who were quick to report that a Grey Phalarope had been seen on Rockland Broad. This tiny Wader would have come in on the northerlies over the last few days, although to grace one of the broads is a real surprise, since most stick pretty close to the coast before moving on. Indeed, my experience of the birds has usually been on a sea watch in the Autumn, waves crashing and foam flying, my eyes straining to pick them out as they fly low just above the surf. They are fantastic birds, and now one was here on the patch. I had a brief panic when I realised my scope was in my car at the garage (thankfully I do have a much older spare) but once the ho
Post a Comment
Read more

A change is as good as a rest

Casting my mind back to February 14th, survival rather than love was in the air for the birds of the Yare Valley. Tramping across the Surlingham corner of the patch, I recorded 8 Woodcock within 2 hours. These Cryptic Waders had been forced out of hiding, and even amongst the woodland floor they were easier than usual to spot against a backdrop of snow. The small pine wood opposite the church and adjacent to the parking area held at least 2 birds, creeping around and huddled up low to the ground. A further investigation of likely habitat around Church Marsh and I was presented with 6 more, a record count for me in a single day. I hope they made it through the trial sent from the north in the form of ice and snow. A Great Egret exploring a dyke at Postwick must've been thinking twice about the whole range expansion thing. However, a small Squadron of Bewick's Swan and a single Goosander over Claxton fitted the mise en scene nicely during this period.  That image and that day fee
Post a Comment
Read more

Claxton-on-sea!

 Although it was not quite the Christmas we wanted here in the valley, the rain has bought its own gift. A grim vision of the future, perhaps. But right now, the patch is peaking and is alive with birds, and for that I am thankful. On Christmas eve, it was a job to navigate away from the village due to standing water that had left abandoned cars and undelivered presents in its wake. The rain had been persistent and unforgiving, the ground, saturated. Over on the marsh, where there had once been a muddy puddle amongst the pasture, a city had sprung from the leak, with a plethora of new occupants noisily laying claim to a patch of sodden marsh. Wigeon and Black-headed Gulls in their thousands now wheeled and whistled over and amongst the newly formed pools, accompanied by smaller numbers of Teal and Shoveler. A flock of two hundred-strong Lapwing enjoyed feeding on the less damp spots where green grass was still exposed, and thrown in for good measure have been a couple of Ruff, the firs
4 comments
Read more