Friday morning and up a little bit earlier than usual so decided to have a walk round St Marys to blow the cobwebs away. Suprised to find myself the only person around when I arrived (well no cars around). Tide was just starting to recede so after a once round the reserve I took a couple of pics and was quite happy with the results. The lighthouse I believe has been lit to celebrate breast cancer day.
Not used to shooting in the dark I upped the ISO on this one.
Tried a bit of arty farty shooting as someone had left a bike here (only saw one other soul - who arrived by car, humped a camera out with filters and all bits of stuff set everything up and looked as though he only took one pic then left)
Finished work early in the afternoon and headed back to see if I could see the Richards Pipit. There was 3 or 4 people scanning the fields to the West of the Wetlands so presumed it could still be around. Then all of a sudden 2 individuals with scopes and cameras climbed over the barbed wire fence and started walking around the fields with the result that several birds took to the air heading West. They then headed West themselves and climbed over another fence which then put them in the field where the Curlews feed so up they went. They then turned round, climbed another fence and probably by this time if the Pipit had been there it wasn't now. The people watching eventually drifted along and several nice things were said about the 2 gentlemen who had kindly put the birds up for us. I could be doing them disservice, they might have been doing an authorised survey or might have even owned the land that we thought they were trespassing on, but .......................
ps. afterwards after spending an hour watching a spot where a YBW had just been seen and only getting glimpses of a Goldcrest, Robin, Blue Tits and a Chiff Chaff I decided to leave as the light was just about gone. I walked back to the car and on the bush by the first stile was a YBW which 2 of us got a good 20sec view (success)
2 comments:
I must have left to go through to Tynemouth just before you arrived.
4 gentlemen (2 of whom i know)did a sweep over the fields mid afternoon, which was probably the last sighting shown on birdguides, and flushed the bird. Spent some time thurs and fri gazing into St. Marys wetland bushes with only one dodgy view of YBW.
Well done!
This morning I sat for two hours just west of said stile and saw nothing apart from a GSW.
After a wander round the mounds, I returned to hear what I suspect was a YBW, but still saw nothing.
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