We have been away over half term. Visited one of my favourite spots - Stag Rock on the north Northumberland coast. We got there for high tide for the wader roost. Lovely day with low autumnal sunshine, but quite heavy clouds with occasional bursts of rain. It turned out a Bonaparte's Gull had been seen (and photographed) earlier that morning so there were lots of birders about busy examining the flocks of Black-headed Gulls.
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| Bamburgh Castle from Stag Rock |
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| Flock of Black-headed Gulls takes off in front of a breaking wave |
We didn't find the Bonaparte's (it later transpired that it was seen on
the sea between Seahouses and Inner Farne in the early afternoon), but
lots of stuff around including many Purple Sandpipers.
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| Purple Sandpiper |
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An unusual feature was Rook feeding on the beach, along the tide line. This is not a bird I associate with the beach!
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| Rook feeding on the beach |
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On Sunday we had a rather wet walk around old haunts in the Derwent Valley (Gateshead). A very welcome sight was a Willow Tit visiting the feeders at Thornley Woodlands Centre. Here they have lost the Marsh Tit, but Willows are still present - the opposite situation to the Peterborough area where Willow Tits are now very rare. This is the first one I have seen in years. Unfortunately, they have lots of problems with Grey Squirrels, so the food is put out for the birds under wire cages - and that is not ideal for photography!
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| Willow Tit at feeders |
When I was based in Newcastle (1975-85) it was Red Squirrels in the Derwent Valley (and the Lower Tyne Valley) and there were no Greys. The Greys invaded around 2000 and, despite an enormous effort to try and stop the invaders, there are now no Reds left in the area. Now, you have to go much further north to see Red Squirrels.
