Garden Cam

Had a play with my Go Pro camera in the garden feeding station today.

Hot Spot

Spotted Flycatcher

I found a hot spot for birds today, on the footpath heading North from Earsdon cemetery. Past the cemetery, at the end of the first field, is a small stream along which the trees and hawthorn hedge provided cover for a variety of tits, warblers and a rather pleasant surprise in the form of a Spotted Flycatcher.

Long-tailed Tit

Great Tit enjoying a wasp!

Blue Tit

Willow Warbler

And feeding on thistles was this Gold Spot moth..........

Gold Spot Plusia festucae

Christmas Day in and around Whitley Bay

A mid morning visit to St Mary's and the Skylarks and up to 8 Snow Bunting were still present, occasionally spooked by a Kestrel.

A flock of 17 knot were joined by a couple of Purple Sandpiper

Next stop was Marden Quarry to see what the feeding station has attracted:

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Chaffinch (male)

Chaffinch (female)

Plenty of Rats

Bay Watch 22/11

Waggonway today

Autumn is rapidly turning to winter with the temperatures forecast to plummet later this week. A walk round the patch today saw 32 bird species. Of note were two thousand plus lapwings passing over St Mary's.

Holywell Dene

In Holywell Dene large flocks of Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal Tits were interspersed with Goldcrests.

Heading home along Whitley Bay promenade was bracing to say the least.  A strong easterly wind brought hefty horizontal showers and waves breaking at high tide soaked me and Dill.

Dill

Bay Watch 04/06 - starring Black Redstart

Today I walked to Holywell Dene via the waggonway and then across to the coast and back along the beach, picking up 44 species. The highlight was a fabulous male Black Redstart by the Delaval Arms pub.

Throughout the dene the birds were busy feeding young, many of which have now fledged.

Long-tailed Tit

Great Tit

Flocks of young Starlings were feeding at St Mary's

Brown Trout in the dene

Foal at Brierdene Farm

Copter over St Mary's (a birder perhaps?)

A Sound Day

Sunday was perfect for trying out my new toy, an Edirol R-09HR Wave/MP3 Recorder. Perfect because there was no wind and the birds were singing. The results are further down this blog - best with head phones. The heavy breathing and slobbering is Dill my Golden Retreiver, not me.

I started my walk of the patch from the start of the waggonway in Monkseaton and headed north as far as the Brierdene where the fields to the north had 200 geese, mostly Greylag and 30 or so Pink-Foot.

The waggonway was alive with birds, Great Tit, Robin, Magpie, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Dunnock, Robin, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blackbird.

I took a turn east at the start of the Brierdene and headed across to St Mary's Wetland.

 

The Brierdene

 Greylag & Pink-Foot Geese

 

St Mary's Wetland

Here's a few recordings I took along the way.


Blackbird in my neighbours garden.


A flock of Long-tailed Tit pass along the waggonway.


A Magpie is nearby as a Greenfinch sings.


A Blue Tit sings.


A Robin in full song.


Great Tit sings as the Brierdene flows by.


The sound of St Mary's Wetland. See how many species you can pick out.