Scandinavian Visitors

                 After many days of continuous rain, it was good to wake at last to a brighter morning. I was delighted to come across a mixed flock of c.150-200 finches close to home, flying from an overgrown hedgerow in and out of a  field of winter kale, reduced to stumps by the sheep. (NT997257) The flock consisted of Chaffinches and Bramblings, with a few Tree Sparrows thrown in for good measure. Some beautiful brightly coloured Male Bramblings lit up the hedge while they were 'resting', and observation of the flock in flight  suggested 30-40% of the birds had white rumps; once they landed of course they virtually disappeared as they 'melted' into the muddy field.
                 A few hundred metres away towards Middleton Hall, another mixed flock graced the tops of the trees bordering the field- this time of Scandinavian thrushes, c50 Redwings and Fieldfares. Meanwhile in the tree above my head, three Mistle Thrushes were involved in a noisy squabble...maybe rival suitors?...... they are early-season breeders after all. 

Berwick Pier

Feeling in desperate need of some fresh air,and noticing a lull in the rain we decided to have a quick look at the mountainous seas from Berwick Pier.
Over the Pier wall there was a good view of Little Beach as it is now called. (historically known to long-term Berwick residents as Sandy Beach!). The tide was still high with little sand showing but Sanderling, Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher could be seen making the most of a rare opportunity-a dog and human -free deserted beach!
With the strength of the wind, Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails  sporadically shot precariously overhead whilst Herring Gulls made the whole  process of flight look effortless.There were several Cormorants fishing by the pier and flying over whilst a tightly formed group of Eiders bobbed on the big waves near the bar. A small fast flying duck, possibly Teal, cannoned past heading up the river, probably in search of calm.
At the first bend of the Pier the wind strengthened  and with large waves breaking regularly by the lighthouse we decided to turn back.On the edge of the pier as we turned landwards once more, 3 small and very hesitant waders clung anxiously to the edge, clearly reluctant to launch into the storm.On closer inspection,they were seen to be Purple Sandpipers which I have never seen there before!
Over the pier wall all the waders had disappeared, their place taken by barking dogs and their owner!

The Hawk Owl!

Prior to Christmas,I answered the phone to an excited golfing friend of my husband whose house overlooks the Pier Field at Berwick  telling me that he was looking at a Hawk Owl from his window!After some persuasion and much denial on his part,including referral to the distribution map in his Collins Bird Book, he reluctantly agreed with me that said owl was more probably a Short Eared Owl.!
In fact it appears that these are now regular sights on the  Magdalene Fields and having received two stunning photos of two  of the Owls taken there on Christmas Day by two of our NNBC members, (see above) I headed off with another member on Tuesday  to investigate.On opening the car door one of the Owls was seen immediately disappearing over the cliff edge and during our short circuit of the Golf Course the Owl was seen throughout,
Definitely worth a visit there at the moment ,combined with a walk along Berwick pier and the Little Beach!

Getting to the Point-

After a desperately miserable ,wet ,housebound Boxing Day,there was no option but to head out on the Sunday which promised to be fine!
So by 10 am I was headed to Ross and  Gyle Point,being gloriously the only person on the beach-something to be treasured!
Little was obvious on the shore of the receding tide,or out to sea ,and indeed I saw very little apart from a chevron of 5 Shelduck flying overhead shortly followed by a similar formation of 5 Cormorant .On reaching Gyle Point  I disturbed a small flock of Brents, which flew North while numerous Curlew,Eider  and Oyster Catchers were also evident. The highlight however was 5 pairs of Red Breasted Merganser in extremely flirtacious  mood and whose antics kept me entertained for some time!Pairs of Great Black Backed Gulls were also cosying up to each other!
Heading round the point ,I wished I had brought along my scope as there was a lot of activity to the North .
With my target species of the day (Snow Bunting,Short Eared Owl and Hen Harrier) being elusive,I headed back to Ross by which time it was extremely warm ,and correspondingly had brought out large crowds making the most of a glorious day.

A quiet Christmas

A quiet Christmas

with no sign of the white stuff it has been very quiet for winter birds, however the locals seem to be pairing up already, Dippers are chasing one another up and down the river,the Song Thrushes are singing and the Great Tit's are beginning to have a few tentative "teacher,teacher" calls. The ponds have been very high for the last week and are tricky to get right around, but the numbers of Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Teal seem to be building. As a post Christmas cobweb blower we took the dog to Holy Island today but it was very quiet, our only sighting of note being 3 Snow Buntings on the north shore, so here's wishing everyone a happy and wildlife filled New Year.

Long-eared Owls

A bonus of going to this year's NNBC Christmas Dinner was a superb sighting en route of a Long-eared Owl sitting in the roadside hedgerow between Yearle and Wooler. There it sat, about a metre away from the car, orange eyes glowing and 'ears' pricked up.( really just tufts of feathers- nowt to do wi' hearing!) What a beautiful bird, what a treat!
           The first LEO I ever saw in the County, indeed the first 'close' view I ever had of one was in 2004....... driving home along the very same little country road in early January, likewise sitting in the hedgerow. I thought that sighting was a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity............ but again in December 2011, in the same place, lo and behold, there were TWO Long-eared Owls in the hedge! I suspect that there may be a daytime winter roost tucked away somewhere in the vicinity, though all four birds seen alongside this stretch of road in the hours of darkness have of course been wide awake.

Great White

Great White

No Branton Ponds hasn't been taken over by some large fish with big teeth set to the theme tune from "Jaws", but something much smaller and less fearsome, unless you are a small fish. A walk around the ponds this morning produced a good variety of birds including Siskins, Lesser Redpolls and Bullfinches all feeding on the seed of the Alders. As I reached the east pond I noticed what I thought was a Heron with the sun shining off it's back, on examination with the bins I realised it was an Egret, but due to it's size and orangey/yellow bill not a Little Egret but a Great White Egret. The bird flew briefly then settled back down in some trees where with the aid off a scope it's finer features were picked out including it's dark legs, pale eye with dark iris and almost a hint of green to the base of the bill, a stunning bird in non breeding plumage. The bird finally took off and headed in a north westerly direction, at this point a bright turquoise streak flashed past and the day was complete.