Last Week - When I Managed To Get Out

Not a notable weeks as I had too much work on and never managed to get out apart from a couple of hours before heading for the college.  On Wednesday I headed to Tynemouth to get a better look at the Ring Ouzel which I had fleeting glimpses of on Saturday afternoon but failed although the bird was reported on Bird Guides an hour later.  It was quite a nice morning though

The nicest morning was Thursday with a walk over the Tyne Bridge and down the Quayside to see the Kittiwakes was a real tonic to prepare me for the day in the office.  An unusual sight of nearly 30 Mute Swans on the Tyne from the Bridge up to the Copthorne which seemed to be swimming around aimlessly held my attention for 5 minutes.

I then went onto the Tyne Bridge and just watched the Kittiwakes, they certainly are enchanting birds but with a slightly vicious streak as the amount of squabbles for no obvious reason are quite frequent.  The next 2 pictures are when 2 birds were just sitting on the side of the bridge and I had been watching them for a minute or so when a third just shot in and a "altercation" took place but the 2nd bird already on the bridge didn't even move a muscle.

I noticed at least 2 Kittiwakes with rings on and will take my scope next time to try and get the details.  This one just sat on its vantage point for ages 

Tried a bit of leaving the camera pointed at a spot and setting the timer, they seem to come out better than my carefully aimed and exposed shots !!!!!!!  I actually found a couple of options I didn't know existed when I was mucking around setting everything up to perfection, must read the manual one day.

Then for those photographers who just like pics of scenery a couple of great views of  The Toon for them to 

to be envious of laugh at.

Amazing looking chimney pots but note the amount of Kittiwakes in the background

Finally a video from the Tyne Bridge of the Kittiwakes just chilling out, note the noise of the traffic going across the bridge and this is at 6.30 in the morning.  Remember if you want to watch it do it through UTube and select the large option