Bay Watch 14/03

Waggonway Today

Thought it might be an idea to make the most of the calm sunny weather especially with easterly winds and low cloud and rain forecast for the rest of the week. So I unhackled myself from my laptop, put on the walking boots and set forth up the waggonway as far as Brierdene Farm, across the fields to Whitley Cemetery and along the beach to Whitley Bay and home.

Along the waggonway it was very busy with bikes, dog walkers, runners and the pupils from the local school 'doing PE' which involved some running, most walking, talking and throwing mud at each other.

Birds seen included Wren, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Skylark, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Crow, Robin, Magpie, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit. No Wheatears yet but they won't be long now. Further south migrants are arriving in numbers with Chiffchaffs, Sand Martins and Wheatears the expected early arrivers. More exotic birds have been seen too with an early Hoopoe at Portland Bill a couple of days ago. The easterly winds forecast could  bring a few surprises if people are prepared to suffer the cold to check their patch. I'll lend you my hat on John :)

Frogs in the pond in Whitley Cemetery in the 'throws of spring'

Blackbird in Whitley Cemetery

 

Sanderling on Whitley Beach

At the beach a solitary Grey Seal moved along the surf line followed by a flock of Common Gull looking for the remains of any fish suppers. A Red-throated Diver was further out along with a small number of Eider Duck.

 

Whitley Beach - just needs a deck chair or two?

Boxing Day Sunrise

If you've had enough of snow pics...........

........here's a video instead :)

Blizzard in Whitley Bay  .. and it's still raging!

Whitley Panoramic

Another snow storm approaches. Quite a charged storm which had my wife's hair standing on end, literally.

House for sale

Well, I did say that if the mothing didn't improve we would up sticks. So if anyone is looking for a lovely new home in Whitley Bay here it is: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-16909056.html

In fact the mothing has been very good with 199 species so far this year and we had no intention of moving until, that is, my dream house came on the market - a farm house complete with nesting barn owls and just 5 mins from where we currently live.

Bay Watch 04/08 - a murder mystery

Along the waggonway the hawthorn is laden with reddening berries and the grass has turned brown. Autumn is just around the corner. The bird song has gone but there's still plenty to see.............

A ripening Waggonway

Along the Waggonway Wood Pigeon feathers shows
some thing enjoyed a good meal. But what exactly?

This photo shows a two Wood Pigeon feathers, one from the above feast (left)
and one found elsewhere (right). The tip on the one on the left shows that it has been bitten through or snapped off - this is typical of a feather that has been removed by a bird of prey with a sharp beak. If it had been bitten through by a weasel then there would be very little quill left. A fox would pluck out the feathers in clumps and the tips would be broken rather than clean cut through. This was most likely a Sparrowhawk kill.

Everything seems to be getting eaten.

My walk took me to Holywell Dene where the dene is little more than a trickle.

Bracket fungi in the dene - dead wood is good wood

A huge privet in flower had well over a thousand bees
collecting pollen from it's flowers.

Here's one of them

An open area in the dene has an excellent profusion
of wild flowers, including loads of..............

Wild Geraniums

Also, Hazel nuts a plenty

Leaving Holywell Dene it was onwards to St Mary's where it was a butterfly fest.......

Wall

Small Copper

Common Blue - male

Common Blue - female

Peacock

Small Tortoiseshell

Small White - male

St Mary's wetland is crammed with thistles attracting 

butterflies and many other nectar feeding insects

View from St Mary's towards Whitley Bay

Verging on the ridiculous. The council at it again, destroying wild flowers 

on the seafront verges at St Mary's. This is an SSSI!

Bay Watch 31/03 starring Phoenicurus ochruros

The patch walk today started along the Waggonway past Churchill playing fields and on to the Brierdene. Then over the fields to the cemetery and along the sea front home. The star finds were two Black Redstarts in Whitley Bay cemetery, a male and a female, gerrin! Other birds of note included a Chiffchaff and er, not much else.

The route was interesting thanks to the heavy rain yesterday.............

.......the footpath is under there somewhere.

Many of the Elders have this on them. Wonder what it might be?

Whitley Sea Front

I passed the fair being erected on the links and a painting on one of the rides caught my eye.........

You can't tell me that wouldn't hurt!

Also picked up a Blogger tick - Birding Sometimes

Bay Watch 09/03

A walk along the beach to St Mary's and back didn't give me the Wheatear I was hoping for but I did get a year tick with a single Lesser Black-backed Gull on the beach (pics below) with Herring and Black-headed Gull, by the mouth of the Brierdene. The Med Gull was still at the Brierdene car park blagging chips.

At St Mary's there was a single Bar-tailed Godwit (pic below) with small numbers of Sanderling, Dunlin, Turnstone and Redshank.

A Grey Heron at St Mary's Wetland

Plantains, Dandelions and other verge plants are now starting to push up a few green shoots.

Bay Watch 27/02

The highlight of today's walk from Whitley Bay to St Mary's Island was an adult Med Gull by the causeway, with its black hood well developed. This looks like a different bird to the one that has been seen nearby throughout the winter.

There are still two Bar-tailed Godwit present, roosting on the rocks on the south bay at St Marys along with a flock of around 30 Knot and a single Purple Sandpiper.

Waxers

While sorting 'my room' this morning I found a DV tape. On it I found some video of Waxwings in my street last March (09), filmed from the attic 'hide'.



Wonder what else I'll find?

Ugliness

It appears that the people of Whitley Bay and indeed most of Western Europe now accept a level of ugliness in their daily lives which is almost without precedent in history. Our rivers, lakes, trees, hedgerows, road side verges, and streets have become swamped with rubbish; plastics of every kind. Noise is everywhere, almost unavoidable — but it does not uplift, nor even tranquillise - it claws at the ears. The night sky which for millennia inspired philosophers and scientists is now hidden by light pollution.

When shown the ideas and proven technologies that can solve these problems, most people retreat into implacable passivity. Have we become not only ugly, but impotent?

The ugliness of 'the patch'

(Where the Brierdene meets Whitley Beach was

 last cleaned 3 years ago according to a council employee)

It's time to act.....and here are a couple of web sites that have helped me take some positive actions:

Litter Heroes
Needless Light Pollution

Bay Watch 11/02

I picked up two patch ticks today; a Kingfisher at the mouth of the Brierdene and a Med Gull in the adjacent car park. The latter has evaded my gaze for the last 3 months and I was starting to think it was an elaborate wind-up.





The tide was high so the last leg to St Mary's was along the cliff top. Not the safest of routes as it is retreating at an alarming rate.

My patch is shrinking by the minute!

The south beach at St Marys had 3 Purple Sandpiper, a number of Knot and 2 Bar-tailed Godwit.







The wetland had 3 snipe showing well, a pair of Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Gadwall and a Fox.



The fields to the west by Feathers Caravan Park were populated by over 200 Golden Plover, a good number of Curlew and a solitary Grey Heron.

The tide had started to recede on the way back so I took the route along the bottom of the cliffs. This wasn't too safe either with a couple of landslides witnessed. It can only be a matter of time before the council extend the sea defences as the loss of the pitch and putt could be the final nail in the coffin for Whitley tourism :)

Bay Watch 06/02

A Friday night fixture for the Toon, and the resulting 5-1 drubbing of Cardiff, meant a rather late start to Saturday. I vaguely recall some bright spark getting a round of Sailor Jerry in. Thanks Dave!

Anyhow, the light was fading fast when I eventually headed for St Marys from Whitley but managed to pick up a couple of Goldeneye at the north end of the beach and 4 Bar-tailed Godwit. A couple more Rays Bream on the beach.

Bay Watch 21/01/10

Large number of Common Gull on the sea off Whitley Bay and a large movement of Black-headed Gull going south. At the north end of the beach there were another four Rays Bream washed up (see last post). At St Marys, waders included Curlew, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin and two Bar-Tailed Godwit.

Would you like chips with that?

Found the remains of this fish on Whitley Bay beach last Tuesday. Anyone know what it is?

Thanks to Davy T it's now been identified as a Rays Bream (Brama Brama).It is a common bream in southern European waters, less common in northern seas. An open sea fish which migrates northward according to water temperature (really?).

Is this your Knot?

This colour ringed Knot was in the Brierdene Car Park on Whitley Bay sea front. Does anyone know what these rings might tell us about this bird?

Bay Watch 13/01

A run up to St Marys gave me 13 Pale-bellied Brent Geese on the rocks north side of the causeway. As you can see and hear, it was rough out there. See if you can spot the immature Eider passing behind. If you can ID the waders that zoom past then you're cooking on gas!

Whitley Today

A Great Tit singing in our street this morning put spring in my mind, that was until I went outside, brrrrrrr.

The gale force Siberian winds made any prolonged birding painful - streaming eyes and numb face and fingers in 60 secs. I started at North Shields fish quay and worked my way up to St Mary's (in a warm vehicle). Not much to report other than 3 Common Scoter in the bay at the north end of Whitley beach. There were other ducks at sea worth a check but the wind made the use of a scope impossible.

It was good to see Redshank, Turnstone and Oystercatchers back on the links, able to get there beaks into the ground at last.

The Barnacle Goose is still at Tynemouth boating lake.

Whitley Report

600 + Skylarks heading south on Whitley beach during a 40 minute walk. A single kestrel and a grey heron being mobbed by a herring gull over the sea. Might go look for the Iceland Gull at Holywell in the morning.

Ducking Christmas

I managed to 'duck' the stress of Christmas and impending kitchen disasters with an early(ish) walk along Whitley beach. There was a lone Gadwall flying in from the south and landing in the surf at the north end of the beach. It swam along the shore, calling all the while, and then every 5 minutes or so it would take to the air for a lap of the beach only to return.



On the wetland was a beautiful pair of Wigeon along with a large number of teal.

The Water Pipit is still present at the north end of the beach.

Along the links were a sprinkling of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Redshank, Oystercatchers, Golden Plover, Pied Wagtail and a single Grey Wagtail. Also, a single Purple Sandpiper on the exposed rocks off the beach.

Seasons Greetings