A Bloody Awful Windy Sunday

Sunday and a drop into Arcot where Mr Liverbirder was watching an empty pond where only the presence of Swifts, Swallows and Martins were the only thing visible then a gadwall dropped in (WOWish).  A 10 minute whinge about dipping on the Bluethroat then Gordon left for Breakfast (or did I drive him off).  I hung around listening to the 2 Sedge Warblers which were having a "Whos Got The Scratchiest Call Competition" and watched them moving around in the open looking for the best position to outcall each other.  This enabled me to get a couple of pics.

On the way out I heard a Whitethroat and managed to get a snatched shot as it flitted around

Off to Big Waters for the Sunday Walk and the wind was really getting up now.  Alan J, Ian D, Keith  and myself set off and literally did our fastest walk ever as not a great lot was spotted.  A few Linnet, a Kestrel, several Whitethroat heard but not seen, a pair of Partridge in the same place we have seen them the last 3 times we looked and the Lapwings then Alan J spotted a couple of young Lapwings moving around in the long grass then another 2 were discovered.   Back to the 1st Hide where on opening the shutters not a great lot to be seen apart from water, water everywhere although Ian insisted it had gone down from yesterday.  The only thing visible were a couple of Common Terns, 10 Mute Swans, 1 Mallard, a Grey Heron and I think that was it.  There were a couple of other things in the form of 2 abandoned Swan nests both with eggs in which have been like that for nearly 2 weeks now.

The island is nearly covered although the 2 Terns are seem to be there for the Duration.

Finally, just as were about to leave a Sedge Warbler which had been scratching away was finally spotted so as I positioned myself for a pic of a year patch tick Alan J picked up my camera pointed it in the general direction (it was a good 40m away) and pressed the button, I then took a carefully prepared shot (by this time though the light had gone) and when I got home to check I must admit Alans snatched shot was a lot better than mine even after severly cropping them both and "Sharpening Them Up A Bit".  Basically Alans pic was pants and mine "enuff said".

Apologies for another Sedgie pic, but its a patch tick, which outranks the Arcot ones.

Visit to Teeside

Saturday morning and off to Hartlepool to search for the little blue spot but after 90mins I gave up the ghost and headed to North Gare.  At North Gare the first thing I saw was 4 Whimbrel taking off as I pulled in.

They eventually returned and I sat watching them from the car for quite a while

Also on show was a male Whinchat which was well away from the road, a pair of Yellow Wagtails and a female Wheatear.  Several Skylarks were calling from high and a few Meadow Pipits popped up.

Moving on to Cowpen Bewley, spending nearly 3hrs there watching and listening to the Nightingale and wandering around.  Also spotted a Lesser Whitethroat and several Whitethroats.  The pics of the Nightingale were extremely had to get as it stayed deep in the several bushes, but I eventually got a couple (sort of)

Finally at Cowpen Bewley my first Large Red Damselfly of the year

Dropped into the Phil Stead Hide at Saltholme where there was Drake Gargeny, 2 Avocets, Little Egret and a Fox boldly walking across the reserve with a dead bird in its mouth

Kittiwakes

Wednesday morning went for a wander at another of my favourite places, the Tyne Bridge.  The sun was breaking through at times giving the opportunity to try and capture a few pics of the Kittiwakes.

Foxes at Big Waters

A trip to Big Waters on Tuesday Morning didn't produce anything new apart from 2 Little Grebes which were quite mobile around the pond.  A 90min stint at the area where the Lesser Whitethroat had been seen failed to produce a patch tick but it was pleasantly interrupted off and on by 3 Deer in the far distance which obviously hadn't seen me or more than likely had but decided the only harm that I would pose would be to the next bloody dog/dog owner that wandered up and decided to lick/push/jump up/run at me/bark in a ferocious manner.  Fortunately none of these happened today but that was only because I only encountered one owner/dog, unlike the day before when I had 3 little set tos with mans best friend (shouldn't blame them, its the idiot owners)

On "Alans' Scrape" although a bit flooded and the reeds are reappearing various wild life is being seen.  The Grey Herons seem to have adopted it as a resting place, the odd deer wandering in, Mute Swans attempting to nest but the rise in the water level put an end to that, the Mallards tend to use it also.  Today though there were couple of new visitors although they didn't stop they did have a little look round.

Grasshoppers at Arcot

A Couple of hours at Arcot had my beloved livid but left me feeling great but tired.  The mud is coming along great but there is also plenty of water and when I got home finally she wouldn't let me in the house so had to change in the outhouse and degunge my wellies (then myself in a hot bath).   The problem is that I have arrived home like that for the past four days.  But got to say it is great fun.  Anyway lets get on to the birds, well one in particular which I watched yesterday for ages.  After getting a quick glimpse of the Lesser Whitethroat I headed down to see the Grasshopper Warblers.  Finding them is easy, seeing them is another thing but today I was lucky as there are 3 calling in a small area and I believe because they can hear each other they keep darting to the extent of their territory to let the others know they are there.  At least 2 kept doing this although the 3rd never moved from its spot.  Twice I could actually see 2 at the same time.  So here's a couple of pics, not as good as last year or the year before but as they say "You had to be there".

The first 2 are of the 1st bird that always stayed low but did move around a bit.

These 3 are of the 2nd Bird which was very mobile and preferred to sing at a higher level

Couldn't get any pics of the 3rd Bird as it only showed once.

Here is a few more pics from Arcot

Early starter - chicks look at least 2 weeks old

Reed Buntings always seem to enjoy tearing the flock off

Kestrel charging around as it was constantly being chased by a Crow

Landed so close couldn't get him all in 

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday morning and a quick visit to Little Waters only produced a few Goldfinch, 2 Mute Swan, a couple of singing Willow Warblers but unexpectedly a couple of Fieldfares.  

Little Waters

Onto Big Waters and a couple of overflying Redshank was a new patch tick for me.  There was very little on the pond although the island was now showing as the water dropped.  Didn't bother with a wander round but headed up to Prestwick Carrs to see if anything else new had dropped in.  A solitary Whimbrel in the first field and then Brian B arrived and as we chatted another 3 Wimbrel headed down to join the one previously seen.  A good scan of the Horse field produced a Whinchat and at least 3 Wheatear.  I then headed home to take Carole out for a meal and a wander along the path between Holywell and Seaton Sluice and watched the couple of Kittiwakes and 3 Fulmars that were soaring around.  Finished the day off with a visit to the Ice Cream Parlour in Seaton Deleval.

Sunday up early and a couple of great hours at Arcot which gave me my first Lesser Whitethroat and Whitethroat, which were seen and heard by a couple of other birders also.  Several Willow Warblers were singing in different locations and then in the area where the Highland Cattle are at least 3 or possibly 4 reeling Groppers were heard but only managed a glimpse of one.  A Skylark was displaying off and on for over an hour.  There were also a couple of Common Terns flying around and feeding and several Swallows feeding on the pond and resting on wires next to the road.

On to Big Waters and met up with Ian D for the Short Walk round.  No Wheatears, Artic Terns or Garganey which had all been seen during the week.  Once again there was plenty of Willow Warblers singing, also a Blackcap calling and for the 2nd week running the Nordic Jackdaw was in the Horse field.  On the pond there were 8 Common Tern hopefully taking advantage of the island surface which had been loosened by its submergence over the past few days and 4 Oystercatchers flew over.  In the area near the underpass on the A1 the resident Mute Swan (TBX) is the only one sitting.  All other nests have been abandoned due to the excess of water and the status quo has been maintained.  2 pairs of Partridges were flushed on our walk.  We also spotted 4 Peacock, 2 Green Veined and the first Orange Tip of the year.   On departing a Curlew was observed in the field near the entrance to the reserve but when it went up it was reidentified immediately by Ian as a Whimbrel, a patch first for me.

This time last week the island could not be seen at all, even the post on the right was completely submerged and I still reckon there is another 18ins before it is at its normal depth 

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