Absolutely Mothing

Last night was second time out for my moth trap and nothing again, other than a few flies. Hopefully when the garden comes more into life there will be more habitat to bring them in. Lets hope so.

Bay Watch 18/03

Walked to St Mary's via the waggonway and then returned along the beach picking up 38 species. Temperature hit a tropical 16.3 deg C!

Along the waggonway there was a flock of c150 Greylag in the fields between the golf course and the Beehive pub.

Waggonway

At St Mary's the wader numbers are way down. No Bar-tailed Godwit, no Ringed Plover, no Dunlin and only a single Sanderling on Whitley Beach. Lots of OAPs throwing chips at the gulls. Oh, and there was a pair of Shelduck on the wetland.

'Punk' Grey Heron on St Mary's Wetland

Fresh landslides on Whitley beach

Lumpsucker on the beach

I got a new Blogger tick - Tyne to Tweed. He did better than me and picked up a Barwit and Purple Sandpipers.

High Speed Recon

I visited my BBS (Breeding Bird Survey) square, NZ2494, for the first time yesterday to see how I can best tackle it surveying wise. Despite being popular with flytippers and having the east coast mainline running through it, it has good potential for birds with a good habitat mix of woodland, hedgrows, fields and housing. I counted 18 species on my visit including a mixed flock of 100+ Fieldfare and Redwing.

View Larger Map

The village here is called Widdrington Station. Nothing stops here.

After my recon mission I headed south on the A1068 towards

 Ashington and came across 38 Whooper Swans.

Brace youself pet!

The milder weather has brought my pond to boiling point. No spawn yet but it's just a matter of time.

Other signs of spring included my first Bumblebee on Saturday and my garden thermometer reaching double figures for the first time this year.

PS. That's not a spelling mistake in the title - that's hoo wi spell up north.

Blame it on the moon

Up early today to board the Sarah JFK at Amble for another day surveying the North Sea with Martin Kitching for sea birds and cetaceans. It was a beautiful day with great visibility offering fantastic views of the Northumbeland Alps (Cheviot Hills).

The only complication was missing high tide to get back into Amble Harbour. 4 hours later we arrived in North Shields. Still, we got to see plenty more...............

Gannets with the snow covered Cheviot Hills

Guillemots

Razorbill

Puffin

Kittiwake

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.

Migrant Alert

A Northern Wheatear was reported from Portland Bill Bird Observatory today. Should be arriving here imminently. And with an estimated UK population of 540 thousand individuals there maybe a few.

Et Voila!

Just got home and decided to check the pond - four frogs! The first this year and by the look of them, all males. Let's hope the ice keeps off for them.

Bay Watch 04/03

A cold but sunny day with light winds made for good conditions to take a walk along the Waggonway to the Brierdene and down to St Mary's Island, then back home along the beach. While underfoot there was frozen ground, in the sun it was pleasantly warm. I picked up 45 species. Along the waggonway there were around 200 Greylag Geese in the fields west of the golf course.

Waggonway

There was a single Bar-Tailed Godwit at St Mary's, a few Sandling, Golden Plover, Curlew, Dunlin and Turnstone. On the sea were 2 Goldeneye and 20 Wigeon.

Spring Tide  - looking SE from south bay at St Mary's

St Mary's Lighthouse was adorned with Starlings enjoying the spring sunshine. I got this video:

A dead Lumpsucker on Whitley Beach kept was closely guarded by a Carrion Crow until my Golden Retriever did what is in his nature.........

Nest Box Day at Wildupnorth Ranch

It was a big day at the Wildupnorth ranch today as the newly delivered nest boxes were installed.

First to go up was a House Martin nest, followed by a House Sparrow Terrace and lastly a Double Chamber Swift Box.

House Martin Nest

Sparrow Terrace

Double Chamber Swift Box

At ground level there are still no frogs in the pond