No Wood Yet

Saturday morning 0500 and I decided to have a good walk round Lamesley including the Reed Beds, Meadows and Water Pastures.  It was a beautiful morning

but soon had to take a layer of clothing off (wow spring must be here).  Didnt bother with the hide just walked round the outskirts hoping to see behind all the hillocks and down the various dips for the Wood Sandpiper but for the fourth time I dipped again.  Plenty of birds around though including Lapwing, Redshank, Swallows and the inevitable Chiff Chaff two-toning away where ever I was:

A walk down to the Reed Beds meant lots of Reed Buntings

 singing either side of the path along with many other songs which I still cant match with their owners yet.  At the viewing points there were many birds on view including Grey Lag, Canada, Tufties, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard and Shelduck.

There was a lot of movement of Greylag Geese also but they seemed to be just taking off then doing a quick spin round the Lamesley area then returned to the 2 ponds.

Also noted there was quite a lot of single Swallows spread around the area on the various wires that run around the roads.

There was also quite a few Swifts flying overhead although they all seemed to be heading in a North Westerly direction.  Headed back towards the Water Meadows encountering several species on the way including Tree Pippits which at first I mistakenly identified (wheres a bloody birder when you need one)as Skylark as they were way up singing then parachuted down.  I checked my "Record Shots" which were too bad to keep even for me and confirmed it.  Then some good views of a couple of Whitethroats

 

Then went for a walk round the meadows area where I came across more Whitethroats and Meadow Pippits.  Had another wander round the Water Pastures but still no Wood.  Great morning, great weather (how long wil it last)

Early Morning Wander

I was woke up at 0315 by the police helicopter hovering over the Silverlink (how unusual) so after a cuppa went for a drive looking for wildlife.  Visited quite a few places and here is a few pics in no order at all:

The Swallows just sat and didn't move even when the workmen in the van below them started shouting and moving things around in the van.

 Nice little Reflection Shot of one of my favourite birds the Little Ringed Plover

Lot less Shelducks around than there was a couple of weeks ago

This one saw me coming and was up up and away although I still like the curvature of it.

Then I went for a spin round the College but nothing  around apart from 2 Mistle Thrushes having a hearty breakfast:

Bad Thumb Day

Sunday 0500 and John was waiting for me to pick him up and off we went to Langdom Common.  Now at that time of the morning there is not much to see as your driving along but we were going past Raby Castle and WOW, the sunrise made it look brilliant and all the deer was amazing.  I never knew they were there:

Lovely weather there if a tad on the cold side but when we arrived at Langdon Common it was Bloody Freezing and there was mist swirling round all over the place.  The Lekking was still going on when we arrived with 12 Male and 1 Female Black Grouse, the Female perched on top of a hide so the photographer couldn't get any pics:

The Lek went on for a good hour and when eventually it came to an end the female just flew away so I dont know if the photographers inside (could see at least 2 lenses poking through) got any pics of her.  We then went for a slow drive along the Common, the first birds we saw were 2 Woodcocks just wandering around and at one stage we could see 3 although they were a bit spread out. 

 

There was a definite pair though which came together on occassions but kept dissappearing in the mist and in the tall grass but unlike the ones I have seen in Northumberland, which normally composed of an "arse end" vanishing at a fast rate of knots, I did see a couple of them fly and then return to the same spot where they had taken off from.

 

Next was our first viewing of a Whimbrel, very distinctive with the white V on the back and the eye stripe.  Once again there were a pair together and then we saw a single on flying around on at least 3 occassions.  Unfortunately no pics due to the weather and the crap photographer.   There were plenty of other species to see including Lapwings (the most viewed bird of the day), lots of Meadow Pippits which seemed to pose for you at the drop of a hat:

 

Then there were the Skylarks, they were everywhere although a bit harder to photograph except when a pair decided to have a three-rounder right above us as they spiralled down from about 100ft:

 

This is when one of them hit the other and it went to ground then came screeming out like a banshee straight at the other one then a quick twirl around and up they went into the wild blue grey yonder.

Also saw quite a few Golden Plover but no matter what setting I adjusted on the camera the photos always turned out as though half the pixels are missing, the same happened last week also in completely different weather !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - never mind I will get very lucky my techniques and setting sorted soon:

We then started coming across individual Black Grouse which were a bit closer and looked a bit better as the sun rose (but the bloody cold didn't go away) but still no decent pics.  We then moved onto Cow Green where we found amongst others Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Mistle Thrush, Wheatear, Pied Wagtail etc and of course a few more Lapwings

We then headed to Derwent Reservoir where we spent an extremely pleasant couple of hours seeing amongst others, 3 pairs of Great Crested Grebes, Willow Tit, Wigeon, Goosander and GSWoodpecker.

Then off home but not before we called into Wittle Dene but on the way there I spotted something fluttering on a fence by a farm, on closer inspection we saw it was a mole caught on some barbed wire.  Extremely puzzled we started off again discussing this phenomenon and about 20m further on there was a barbed wire fence with about 40 moles in various forms of decay displayed like a badge of courage.  Now I know that Moles can cause a bit of damage but so do foxes, deer, birds, elephants but you dont kill them en masse then display them or am I being stupid and there is something I dont know why this is done (though personally I doubt it).   Anyway got to Whittle Dene then the accident happened.  Watching the Common Terns wheeling around I got out of the car with camera in one hand still watching the Terns and shut the door with my free hand.  Somehow I had forgotten to take my hand out of the door and my thumbs ability to cover a certain amount of area suddenly doubled (held onto the camera though).  Being extremely hard not a word passed my lips as I checked the camera and opened the car door a well known wimp I uttered a few obscenities and felt the tears well into my eyes.  John rushed to my assistance saying I knew something serious had happened by the screams!!.  Eventually sorted myself out (ps. its still throbbing now and is very difficult to touch type).  Never mind heres a couple more pics for you all to laugh at/ignore.

Well at the end of the day we had accumulated a total of 52 Species with at least 2 Lifers for both of us. 

PS.  Forgot to mention that at Derwent Reservoir we both heard on separate occasions a Cuckoo call

What A Windy Day

0625 arrived at Arcot and was suprised to find a Shelduck fly up as I walked towards the pond, first time I recollect seeing one there.  Not much on the pond apart from a couple of Mute Swan, 1 male Shoveller a handful of Mallard and a couple of Canada Geese.  Walking round managed to see a couple of Sedge Warblers, Willow Warblers, Chiff Chaff, Reed Bunting and a Whitethroat.  I only heard one Grasshopper Warbler but didnt manage to see it.  A couple of Reed Buntings decided to do their own minature version of  "Rumble in the Jungle":

After about 30secs of mayhem they called it a day and flew off in opposite directions.   I also observed this Meadow Pipit several times during my visit carrying nesting material back and forth, landing on the same bush then flying off quite a distance and dissappearing only to return to the bush a few minutes later with some more material:

Then went up to Big Waters for a quick visit to Big Waters arriving at 0755 and immediately saw a flock of gulls mobbing something, closer exmination showed an Otter trying to eat a fish on the surface.  After about 5 mins the Otter vanished into the reeds up near the hide and the Gulls dispersed.  Also on the lake were a few Common Terns just resting down the South end whilst the wind was whistling across from the North:

With the wind howling across the lake it tended to slow the odd bird up that took to the air which enable me to get a couple of sharper pictures than normal as the birds attempted to fly overhead:

Nipped over to Prestwick Carrs where I bumped into Segedunum Warbler, unfortunately neither of us bumped into the Tawny Owl although as there was a lot of shooting in the range behind its roosting area it might have put it off for the day.  Saw various Warblers and watched a Kestrel hunting over the fens and caught a glimpse of a Yellow Wagtail in the Horse Field just before the Sentry Box.  On my way out I spotted the Ring Necked Parakeet sitting it its window which everyone else seemed to have seen (except me) it flew off before I could get the obligatory window shot but when I followed it I came across an area which was filled with Swifts, Swallows and Sand Martens (so another 30 mins were spent just watching them fly around or taking a break on the fences):

After that a quick zip down the A1 to see if I could catch the Wood Sandpiper in Lamesley but failed miserable although I did spent a couple of hours in the hide (out of the wind) and saw quite a few birds including Lapwing, Redshank, a couple of stunning Mistle Thrush, a few Linnet, a solitary Pinkfoot with a bunch of Greylags, Sand and House Marten with quite a few Swallows, several Meadow Mippit, Redshank, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, a couple of Snipe that were out in the open and a lovely Curlew.

Great afternoon there especially with the 4 or 5 others, who were also looking for the Wood Sandpiper, and the chatter that we had.

By God It Was Cold Up There

John picked me up at 0430 and off we went to Allen Banks, we arrived at 0530 and just at the entrance to the Car Park our first tick of the day, a Tawny Owl alit on the brance right next to the entrance, a quick grope on the back seat for the camera and John saying where is it, where is it, then by the time I scrabbled round got the camera  was trying to get focus on the bird only 15ft away our "furtive" movements and the rocking car was probably the cause of it flying off, never mind it was a good omen for the day (BTW John said he still didnt catch a glimpse of it).  Plenty of song in the Car Park (we were the only ones there) and whilst getting ready a nice Mistle Thrush which was pecking away on the ground flew up high and gave us a good song rendition for 10mins.  Off we went and a couple of hundred yards in the first bird of interest was a Grey Wagtail which was on the other side of the river, a few minutes later a Kestrel soared overhead.  Onto the first bend in the river and a couple of Goosander were up and away as we rounded it followed a few seconds later by a Grey Heron.  The path then heads up so you are about 15m above the river bank and then when we got to the top the most suprising sound of the day was hear, a Bittern booming, no obvious reeds in site but then again that low sound can apparently travel for quite a distance.  We carried on towards the Wooden Bridge and just before we got there a Tawny Owl came silently out of the trees and flew past us, I shouted and turned expecting John to be following its flight noticed that he was looking the opposite way again (yet again he missed it).  Scampeted up a little climb to the top of the gorge to find out what this bird was calling and when we eventually got to the top it was a bloody great tit a lovely looking Great Tit singing in one of its differing calls.  On the way down I spotted the following plastic box tied to a branch and we couldnt figure out what it was used for, any ideas?

Up onto the bridge and from the top of it I could see several piles of rocks precariously placed around the river bed, it must be some sort of recent thing that people do or maybe Im just out of touch with the current "trends".  Once again anyone any ideas ??

Across the bridge and as usual John was the first to spot a Dipper which shot down the river and came down in the river bed a hundred or so yards away.   Into an open area for about 600m with a couple of buildings where there was quite a lot of flight activity (Swallows mainly) but our attention was drawn to a bird flying like a dart which landed on the edge of the woods and it turned out to be Johns first Grey Partridge of the year.  Also got a couple of shots of the Swallows flying around or having a NAAFI break on the barbed wire or nearby roof:

This was the first time I had really used the camera for birds as I had only taken a few scenery shots so far.  We could have stayed in this area for ages having spotted Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch and other LBBs, possible Grouse but we were not positive as only John could see some things from up in the clouds whereas I was only parallel with some of the tops of the undulations so the shouts of over there, cant you see it, r u blind did not assist by visual observation skills at all.  We had been going for over 2and half hours so decided to turn round as the parking meters came into force at 10 and I had forgotten my National Trust Badges and John had forgotten his Disability Sticker (yes you can get them for low IQs).  Started back and immediately we were delayed for 15mins watching a Dipper at work:

After this I am sure I spotted a female Pied Flycatcher and although we both saw it briefly we were not 100% positive so it didnt go down onto the Day List (for the first time ever I had been writing down everything in my brand new £2, genuine imitation leather bound notebook).  Heading back we also heard loads of Chiff Chaffs, Willow Warblers but once again not listed as even together our acoustic skills are not exactly reknowned and by the time we get to the level of ISD I will be at least 104, we did however claim 1 bird for the day on sound only and that was the Bittern as who could ever miss that.  Towards the end of our trek back we did eventually see another Female Pied Flycatcher, this time definitely as after the last one I had consulted my IPOD, checked the pics and listened several times to the song (a good year tick, actually a lifer).   Back to the car and off we went for a drive to Alston stopping at several places along the road where the bird we saw most of was the Lapwing, they were all over the place. (Lots of Crows and Jackdaws as well obviously).  Arriving at Alston we stopped for a break and watched Thomas the Tank Engine doing its thing with the Fat Lithe Young Controller directing it:

We also spotted several Golden Plover as we drove from Alston in the direction of Whittle Dene and also a couple of Skylark, lots of Gulls and the scenery was absolutely magnificent even if there were a couple of horrendous hailstorms and a bit of snow still, which added to the scenic value, on the hills.  Eventually we got to Wittle Dene where we picked up a couple of Common Terns and a Grey Heron competing with the local fishing match:

No guessing on who would be the winner in this competition.   In the hide it was blowing a gale so the windows (dirty bits of plastic) were kept shut, when we arrived there were a couple of bikers in there sheltering from the weather who told us they had seen a bird that looked like a canary but we had just missed it.  We watched a few Swift on the reservoir along with a couple of Great Crested Grebe and all of a sudden in front of us was the "Canary", John spotted it first so I took a quick pic through the dirty bits of plastic then it flew off before John could get a pic, so the following is the only pic of the Yellow Wagtail Canary we got:

We then shot off to our last port of call, Prestwick Carrs, where I saw our 3rd Tawny Owl of the Day (unbelievable that 3 weeks ago I had never seen one knowingly).  Also on show was a Willow Warbler which was about the only thing around, it was deathly quiet there apart from the chatter of the congregating Birders (6 at one stage). 

Well that was the end of the day and having the book and listing the birds did add something to the day and made us a bit competitive which added that "edge".  It also highlighted a couple of things
1.  We saw 55 species (Biitern we heard only)
2.  Never saw a Coot or a Moorhen all day (unbelievable)
3.  Didnt see a Tree Sparrow or a Yellowhammer until we got to Prestwick Carrs.
4.  John manages to spot all the Dippers first
5.  I spot all Thrushes first
Thanks also to John for another Fun Filled Day (even though he calls me "visually impaired" because I am "vertically challenged")