A cacophony of sound greeted me as I opened the door this morning-Pink Footed Geese ,just over the garden wall settling in for a good feed on the adjacent pasture.Binocs,Scope,camera at the ready I crouched behind the wall to count them-between 1800 and 2000!Suddenly our farmer neighbour on his quad bike arrived to feed the sheep and in a moment they were gone again,protesting their way towards the Milfield Plain in search of a more peaceful location.
At almost the same time a pair of Grey Partridge exploded from behind the wall where they had been feeding out of my view.
Later,on the feeders,8 Long Tailed Tits were feasting on the fat,probably some of the 16 spotted earlier in our woodland.They were soon seen off by 3 Tree Sparrows ,hopefully their return signalling their intention of nesting in our boxes once again !
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Thursday, 7 February 2013
'Spring is just around the corner!'
7th February 2013
As the countryside paths were so wet under foot we decided to have a walk along Berwick Pier, the Little Beach & along the walls. The weather was fine, with very little wind, the sea state was very rough. As we set off along the pier we had good views of Redshanks, Turnstones & Oystercatchers frantically feeding on the tide line, a Goosander flew in to the estuary, several Eiders & Cormorants were feeding in the heavy seas, on reaching the end of the pier, a Shag could be seen showing its crest as it ‘Surfed the waves’ beside a Grey Seal. We did not stay long as the surf was beginning to crash over the pier.
Along the Little Beach, Sanderlings scurried along the tide line in their typical ‘clockwork motion’, 3 Purple Sandpipers were beside numerous Turnstones, Rock Pipits & Pied Wagtails on the seaweed. Strangely, no Ringed Plovers were present, what was surprising was the large numbers of Rock Pipits along the whole length of the Little Beach. We continued our walk along the Berwick Walls, several Black-headed Gulls in full breeding plumage were seen, the spring song of the Great Tit was heard from nearby bushes as well as a flock of Goldfinches. On the River Tweed were several ‘Rafts’ of Goldeneye, mostly males outnumbering the females by about 5 to 1! Several males were beginning to display by nodding their heads & flapping their wings. As we approached the road bridge, swimming with the Goldeneye were 3 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 females & a magnificent male. On the river bank on the Tweedmouth side beside the resident Mute Swans was a Canada Goose.
It was a pleasant leisurely walk, & we were pleasantly surprised with our bird list which is as follows:
Dunlin, Blue Tit, Turnstone, Shag, Sanderling, Cormorant, Rock Pipits,
Long-tailed Duck, Purple Sandpipers, Goldeneye, Redshank, Mallard Oystercatcher, Gooseander, Black-headed Gull, Kestrel, House Sparrow, Mute Swan, Great Tit. Feral Pigeon, Robin, Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, Canada Goose, Starling, Herring Gull, Goldfinch. Great-.black Backed Gull, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Grey Heron, & Pied Wagtail
Submitted by ‘Lowick Linnet’ & ‘Eyemouth Eagle’
As the countryside paths were so wet under foot we decided to have a walk along Berwick Pier, the Little Beach & along the walls. The weather was fine, with very little wind, the sea state was very rough. As we set off along the pier we had good views of Redshanks, Turnstones & Oystercatchers frantically feeding on the tide line, a Goosander flew in to the estuary, several Eiders & Cormorants were feeding in the heavy seas, on reaching the end of the pier, a Shag could be seen showing its crest as it ‘Surfed the waves’ beside a Grey Seal. We did not stay long as the surf was beginning to crash over the pier.
Along the Little Beach, Sanderlings scurried along the tide line in their typical ‘clockwork motion’, 3 Purple Sandpipers were beside numerous Turnstones, Rock Pipits & Pied Wagtails on the seaweed. Strangely, no Ringed Plovers were present, what was surprising was the large numbers of Rock Pipits along the whole length of the Little Beach. We continued our walk along the Berwick Walls, several Black-headed Gulls in full breeding plumage were seen, the spring song of the Great Tit was heard from nearby bushes as well as a flock of Goldfinches. On the River Tweed were several ‘Rafts’ of Goldeneye, mostly males outnumbering the females by about 5 to 1! Several males were beginning to display by nodding their heads & flapping their wings. As we approached the road bridge, swimming with the Goldeneye were 3 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 females & a magnificent male. On the river bank on the Tweedmouth side beside the resident Mute Swans was a Canada Goose.
It was a pleasant leisurely walk, & we were pleasantly surprised with our bird list which is as follows:
Dunlin, Blue Tit, Turnstone, Shag, Sanderling, Cormorant, Rock Pipits,
Long-tailed Duck, Purple Sandpipers, Goldeneye, Redshank, Mallard Oystercatcher, Gooseander, Black-headed Gull, Kestrel, House Sparrow, Mute Swan, Great Tit. Feral Pigeon, Robin, Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, Canada Goose, Starling, Herring Gull, Goldfinch. Great-.black Backed Gull, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Grey Heron, & Pied Wagtail
Submitted by ‘Lowick Linnet’ & ‘Eyemouth Eagle’
A record for our garden!
Today: attracted by Niger seed - spilt on ground from feeder - 7 Bramblings, increased from 3. Also, 2 Redpolls, 17 Goldfinches & 8 Siskins joined them. On fat block were 3 Tree Sparrows. All male birds showing resplendent breeding plumage!
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Branton Ponds 6th February
Even though the wind was strong and cold ,Branton Ponds held a good number of birds today,the most numerous were Wigeon but there were also smaller numbers of Teal and Mallard.
On the East Pond 3 male Goldeneye displayed to any female willing to watch and a small mixed group of 12 Goosander floated by watched from the island by a group of 3 Cormorants one
of them showing the distinctive white head pattern of the continental race "sinensis".
Ian and Keith
On the East Pond 3 male Goldeneye displayed to any female willing to watch and a small mixed group of 12 Goosander floated by watched from the island by a group of 3 Cormorants one
of them showing the distinctive white head pattern of the continental race "sinensis".
Ian and Keith
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Holy Island and environs
Today, with visiting Teesmouth Bird Club (26 pairs of eyes & ears), we marvelled at a hunting Barn Owl devouring prey; 2 far off Short-eared Owls quartering the northern dunes; c150 Teal dabbling in & around the Rocket Pool; 80-100 Curlew enjoying feeding in nearby very wet ground; small parties of Brent Geese moved over the same puddled pastures at whim. 3 Long-tailed duck flew out of sight over the sea whilst yesterday's drake remained in the causeway channel. Other waders included Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Lapwing, & Redshank. Moving on, we sighted c200 Barnacle Geese grazing in a far off field from Harpers Heugh. At Budle Bay c1.500 Pinkfeet were seen flying over the north shore, c200 Knot were present on the mud flats in addition to a variety of usual duck, gulls and usual other waders. At Stag (Harkess) Rocks, it is worth reporting there were no Purple Sandpipers - their usual stronghold! However, from there small groups of Common Scoter, numbering 16 in total, could be seen. Also 2 Harbour Porpoises were ID'd.
Saturday, 2 February 2013
A visit to Holy Island
On our way to Holy Island, Alison and I passed by the field near
Doddington where thirteen Whooper Swans (including
two immature birds) have taken up residence. A walk along the
cycle path on the far side of Doddington Bridge took us past some little flocks
of buntings, predominantly Reed Buntings
and Yellowhammers, towards the
unmistakable sound of the Pink-footed
Geese. What a spectacle, what a sound, as more and more whiffle down from
the sky to join the others, massed in their thousands at their traditional
wintering grounds in Glendale.
Holy Island, with its promise of an ‘elusive’ Cattle Egret,
lived up to that promise- i.e. it eluded us
on arrival and departure, having also managed to elude several other hopeful birders
we met on our visit. There are plenty of hiding places in the ditch and other
‘blind’ areas for this unmistakable beauty to disappear around its temporary
home along the Crooked Lonnen. Luckily
there were plenty other birds to lighten up our day, including four Slavonian Grebes, a couple of Red-throated Divers, and a Short-eared Owl hunting along the sheltered
southern side of the Heugh, trying like us to avoid the bitter northerly wind.
Twenty-one Pale-bellied Brent Geese
were gathered together in a tidal pool east of the Castle, and Lapwings, Curlews and Teal were showing to advantage in the Rocket
Pool, catching the winter sunshine. Two more Short-eared Owls were encountered
on our drive back from the village, and a close view of a Long-tailed Duck in the Causeway Channel was a final bonus.
Friday, 1 February 2013
Birds in Our Garden
Don't all rush to see them but today we had 21 Siskins, 5 Bramblings, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 15 Goldfinches all around our Niger Seed feeder in addition to other more general garden birds. Is more cold weather coming?!
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