American Visitors

News of two visitors to the scrape at Low Newton tempted me down to the coast this afternoon; when I arrived the fierce gusty westerlies and the strong sunlight from the same westerly direction reflecting off the water made viewing difficult. No sign of them- no sign of any waders!
                       But after ten minutes or so an elegant wader picked its way along the nearside edge of the scrape- the Lesser Yellowlegs. Following closely behind was a smaller darker wader with an abruptly marked cut-off point between its streaked breast and white belly- the attractive Pectoral Sandpiper. Both breed in North America but winter in South America; they are quite regularly carried across the Atlantic to our shores when wind conditions disrupt their migration. 

Far from the Madding Crowd-

Being a fine  Bank Holiday Monday,the Harthope Valley was never going to be peaceful but leaving the car on the roadside I headed up  Cockshaw Sike,and within minutes the crowds in the Valley were invisible!First sound was my first Cuckoo of 2015 ,calling from the woods above Langleeford Farm and next, a male Whinchat showing well.
Further up the hill,a male Stonechat  and the usual multiplicity of Meadow Pipits whilst above a Skylark was singing.
Heading onwards, I stopped as usual to pan the large extent of moorland over to Broadstruther and beyond and towards the twin Iron Age Settlements on top of Yeavering Bell,thinking ,as always, how good it would be to spot a pair of Hen Harriers quartering the ground-one day hopefully!
Eventually a peaceful lunch stop at the top of the Hawsen Burn still,alone apart from flitting Whinchat and Meadow Pipits.
Another stop to listen for Ring Ouzel, soon heard and also spotted, sitting in one of the trees!Further down the path ,two more Singing males ,also in trees!A Buzzard flew over lazily and shortly afterwards a Kestrel appeared briefly over the hill before disappearing again.
Again in the Valley,the Cuckoo was still calling but it was time to head back through the picnickers,walkers and traffic,just proving that a just short way off the beaten track one can soon have the hills to oneself!

Warblers

Recent days around Branton Ponds have seen an influx of warblers, first we had the Chiffchaffs which were then overtaken  by the Willow Warblers, now Blackcaps are here in large numbers, there seems to be a bird on territory almost every 50 yards. This evening we came across the first Garden Warbler of the year, sounding a bit like Blackcap but a bit more monotonous, on Monday we had a first for the ponds in the form of a Wood Warbler with both it's very distinctive shape and song which sounds like a spinning coin gradually coming to rest on a table, it was still there this morning. Another warbler which just arrived yesterday is the Common Whitethroat with one bird calling from the gorse, this evening there were a further two birds, so all we need now are Lesser Whitethroat and Grasshopper Warbler then the set will be complete.

Upper Teesdale in spring

Upper Teesdale in spring

A fairly early start saw us at Langdon Beck at the sensible hour of  7.00 am, some may say that is too late but a showing of 24 Blackcock and 6 Greyhens proved that the early bird doesn't always catch the worm. The noise was incredible on a very still, crisp and sunny morning, not only were there Black Grouse but also Curlew with their beautiful "bubbling" call, Redshank and even a Woodcock which looked totally out of place. We then headed to Cowgreen Reservoir where more Black Grouse were to be found ( the total for the day was 43 Blackcock and 11 Greyhen), overhead Common Snipe were "drumming"as the air vibrated against their outer tail feathers, the Wheatears were almost too numerous to count as they "chacked " away on the hillside. The next to appear on the stage was a Short Eared Owl, silently quartering the moor, setting up nervous Red Grouse and all to the constant, plaintive whistling of Golden Plover. The day ended as it had began with a Black Grouse, this time a very impressive male standing on a picnic table near the reservoir, a great end to a stunning morning.

Hirundines

Hirundines

Well spring must have finally sprung, a walk around Branton Ponds  this morning in less than ideal conditions (cold and windy) revealed a number of spring migrants, the best being more than half a dozen Swallows feeding over the water with at least 100 Sand Martins. Also of note were a small number of Meadow Pipits heading for the hills, a singing Blackcap and numerous Chiffchaffs doing what it says on the tin, meanwhile on the water Little Grebes were calling and a pair of Great-crested Grebe were doing their courtship display.

Ring Ouzel

Our first opportunity to check out the Harthope Valley for returning migrants didn't look too hopeful; the Meadow Pipits were back in good numbers indulging in their characteristic parachute displays, and Red Grouse exploded from the heather hillside with their 'Go-back, go-back' calls, but there were no signs as yet of Wheatears or the elusive Mountain Blackbird. Having walked up a side valley for half a mile or so, we stopped for five minutes to bask in the warm sunshine. Suddenly the faint but clear liquid calls of our target floated across from the far side of the valley. In a small bush we tracked down a "blackbird" in the scope, facing away from us, but it obligingly turned round to reveal its beautiful white crescent for a moment or two before flying across to the opposite side and soon disappeared from sight.

Sounds of Spring

After the warmth of Morocco, where the swallows, martins, bee-eaters and yellow wagtails were moving inexorably towards Europe, this morning's walk to Wooler in bright sunshine may only have been 5 degrees Centigrade, but the Peewits were calling as they displayed over the ploughed fields and the Yellowhammer sang from the Hawthorn hedge. In another field, twenty Oystercatchers were gathered together, no doubt debating when they should head up the Harthope Valley to their nesting territories. Today? Tomorrow? Certainly Spring is in the air