Springtime at Branton

What a superb few days weather, a real feeling of spring in the air and at the ponds the birds are answering the call, this morning we heard the distinctive call of Chiffchaff and discovered not one but two of these harbingers of spring. On the water the Coots were fighting for supremacy as were a noisy group of Shelduck, a quieter note was struck by Teal and Wigeon, not yet ready to depart. On the island Black Headed Gulls are staking their claims to territories along with Oystercatchers and the first Redshank of the year for the site, however as if to remind us that we are not totally out of winter's clutches 19 Whooper Swans overnighted on the west pond last Friday on their way back north,lets hope they have a safe journey, a successful breeding season and honour us with their presence next winter.

A Riverside Wander

Today's bright sunshine found us at Paxton House for a change of habitat.Having parked ,a quick visit to the hide in the woods gave us a hurried visit from a Greater Spotted Woodpecker,a Goldfinch and a plethora of Blue,Coal and Great Tits.No Red Squirrels unfortunately,which haven't been seen there for some time.The loud, clear calls of Nuthatch  were a reminder that Spring is indeed on the way.
Down to the Tweed  next,which was flowing a little more calmly than of late,and where 2 pairs of  Goldeneye were feeding as were several pairs of Gooseanders .Oystercatchers were noisily announcing their presence downstream.
Once across the Chain Bridge,we headed for West Ord, passing 6 Moorhen on a small island.A little further we spotted a single Snipe,Jay,Yellowhammer, Goldcrest and heard a Tawny Owl calling from across the river.Three Mute Swans feeding in an adjacent field were accompanied by a Grey Heron.About to turn back at West Ord, we spotted a very white bird flying upstream,then landing on the Scottish side-a Little Egret!
Back to the Paxton woods we added Greenfinch ,Bullfinch and Long Tailed Tit to our final total of 33 sightings.

Ducking and Diving

Ducking and Diving

An early start saw us at Long Nanny, there was very little in terms of small birds except 6 Snow Buntings on the beach, meanwhile offshore lingered 300+ Wigeon and a single Red Throated Diver, whilst scanning the Gull flock on the beach we picked out a single adult Mediterranean Gull.
Our next port of call was Stag Rocks, yet again this winter we were not disappointed, Birds offshore included a single Red Necked Grebe giving great views, also 11 Red Throated Divers, 4 Slavonian Grebes, 4 Long Tailed Ducks, 6 Red Breasted Mergansers and at least 500 Common Scoter.  

Spring is icumen in...

The young lambs may be in the field in front of the house, wearing their plastic 'raincoats' to guard against the rain and cold winds, and the winter thrushes are still feeding on the rough pasture, but the waders are surely responding to the lengthening days, impatient to get back to the hills and the river valleys. A few days ago, thirty six Oystercatchers were gathered by the flood-waters at Yearle Mill, and today a flock of sixteen Lapwings were winging over the sheep field.

The Snook, Holy Island

Seen today at approximately 1 pm, a handsome Male Hen Harrier on the Snook at NU 093 438.
Also seen-18 Snow Buntings in the same area but on the high tide line.

Signs of spring ?

Signs of spring ?

There was a real springlike feel to the air today as I walked around Branton Ponds, this was reinforced by my very first sighting of the day, a very pale looking Adder stretched out on a south facing bank sunning itself, not the earliest I have seen one( about 15 years ago on the 14th) but still surely a sign of things to come. Another interesting sight was a single Lesser Black Backed Gull in amongst a large flock of Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls, again quite early for the site. There were also plenty of other things about including a single Willow Tit with a small noisy flock of Long Tailed Tits, several Yellowhammers and suddenly lots of paired up Reed Buntings. Another sign of better days is the increased numbers of Song Thrushes singing in the trees, birds which seem to have been totally absent for the past few months, all we need now is a few lambs in the fields and the transformation will be complete.

Fenham Flats 16th February

Apart from a stiff breeze the conditions were perfect for my monthly WeBS count. As I set off from Elwick Hide I could see large numbers of birds on the mud flats including a rather large Peregrine which everything was giving a wide berth. As I headed towards Guile Point the numbers started to add up-650 Pale Bellied Brent Geese, 360 Curlew, 150 Oystercatcher, 409 Bar Tailed Godwit, 46 Grey Plover, 15 Sanderling, 950 Knot, 220 Dunlin and 88 Shelduck. On reaching the point I noted a single Red-throated Diver and 5 Long Tailed Ducks; as I headed back around the point a 1st winter Merlin flew up clutching what looked like a Rock Pipit. It landed about 30 yards away and proceeded to pluck its prey eventually moving off into the dunes. On reaching the area known as the Wideopens I noticed a Snow Bunting on the track only 5 yards in front of me; once I had started to scan it I noticed there were 2 others which then suddenly turned into a flock of 25 which I watched for some time. The day was rounded off with a very clean looking Slavonian Grebe in front of the Hide at Elwick.