Day off today so had intended to head up North but stopped of for an hour or so at St Marys, not a soul around for the first 30mins and by this time I had seen at least 8 Goldcrest, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, lots of Song Thrushes, Reed Buntings and 3 Meadow Pipits that landed on the path and never even moved when I walked past them. It was now about 7.15 when the other birders started arriving and this was fatal as I started chatting to a few of them and before I realised it was a few minutes to 9 so I went to the Car Park and stuck 2hrs in the Cash Gobbler. One of the reasons I decided to stay was that a lot of places including bits of Cresswell and Druridge were flooded and I didn't fancy wasting time trying to get to places. Some of the Birders/Bloggers I did bump into included Peter F, Brian and Tom (apologies to them for not recognising them all bundled up), Tim S (great to see you again Tim) and Brian (you know who you are).
I actually stayed till 12 and added Yellow-browed Warbler, Garden Warbler, countless Redstarts, a couple of pairs of Blackcaps and on the causeway 2 Wheatears and a Brambling. I then headed home picked up Carole and headed for a restaurant in a not too distant galaxy and was extremely satisfied with the Grilled Sea Bass whilst Carole' Steak Strips in Garlic and Chilli was very good also but because it was just a tad too spicy I then went out miles out of my way and headed to a certain Ice Cream shop then sat for 30 mins gently cooling our throats with it whilst watching lots of Model Aeroplanes, Sea Birds, several ducks and to top it all a Red-throated Diver was entertaining us through the bins (Isn't life just great).
We then headed back to St Marys for a final look and didn't even get out of the car as we were now needing a rest from the exertion of the marvelous repast so we just watched the Golden Plover putting on a stunning flying display. Then along to Tynemouth to the car park overlooking the mouth of the Tyne where the main entertainment was the Rats attempting to climb into the rubbish bins and some stunningly beautiful Starlings sitting on the bollards next to the car.
Great day off work, great birds, great company (for half of the day at least) and cracking grub
(Life can't get much better)
Now the bad news, here is a few pics from today
1 comment:
I won't be getting any prizes for my recognition skills either John. It takes a while for the penny to drop sometimes.:-) Great morning.
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