Gosforth Park - Friends round for dinner

I'd hoped for a view of the Bittern yesterday, but horizontal rain coming in through the hide led to a hasty retreat to the comfort of the feeding station, for a pleasant hour 'shooting' the visitors and putting the world to rights with Paul and Morgan.

Nine for Hell

In Druridge Pools blog yesterday the issue of Magpie control was raised which led me to unearth a couple of videos showing how nature's own pest controllers, Sparrowhawks, deal with Magpies.

Not for the faint hearted!





Yesterday I had a Sparrowhawk in my garden. Today I have Magpies nest building. I see trouble ahead!

Further Reading

Why are magpies so often hated?

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.