 |
| Willow Warbler |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Black-headed Gull |
 |
| Bar-tailed Godwit |
 |
| Oystercatcher |
Showing posts with label Bar-tailed Godwit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bar-tailed Godwit. Show all posts
Wednesday, 10 April 2019
Common stuff...
A few photos of common birds from the patch recently...
Thursday, 12 April 2018
Holy Island...
Yesterday we headed to Holy Island for our first day of migrant-hunting this year. After easterly wind and drizzle overnight, we hoped there would be a few early migrants such as Ring Ouzels, but it turned out to be a bit quiet, only picking up in the afternoon when 2 Black Redstarts were below the Vicar's Garden and a smart Great Grey Shrike was on the Snook - my first in spring. 3 Slavonian Grebes were also showing well offshore, with two starting their moult into summer plumage. Sadly, despite much searching, we were unable to locate the Black Scoter...
1 Great Grey Shrike
2 Black Redstarts
3 Slavonian Grebe
5 Great Northern Diver
1 Short-eared Owl
1 Merlin
1 Woodcock
10 Robin
13 Blackbird
6 Song Thrush
14 Redwing
1 Fieldfare
4 Chiffchaff
1 Goldcrest
1 Blackcap
1 Wheatear
2 Brambling
350+ Bar-tailed Godwit
5 Black-tailed Godwit
28 Sandwich Tern
1 Great Grey Shrike
2 Black Redstarts
3 Slavonian Grebe
5 Great Northern Diver
1 Short-eared Owl
1 Merlin
1 Woodcock
10 Robin
13 Blackbird
6 Song Thrush
14 Redwing
1 Fieldfare
4 Chiffchaff
1 Goldcrest
1 Blackcap
1 Wheatear
2 Brambling
350+ Bar-tailed Godwit
5 Black-tailed Godwit
28 Sandwich Tern
 |
| Great Grey Shrike |
 |
| Slavonian Grebe |
Sunday, 28 January 2018
Sticking to the patch...
We were once again at the patch this morning, with a juvenile Glaucous Gull at Chevington being new for the year. Other additions were Kingfisher, Bar-tailed Godwit and Skylark.
Druridge Pools was busy with ducks again, and the recent hybrid wigeon was showing well. A smart bird. There were also quite a few waders today including 12 Black-tailed Godwits and 30+ Dunlin.
On the way back we stopped at Woodhorn where 7 Eurasian White-fronted Geese with the Greylags included the bird with the black neck ring '1V9'. I've attached its history below from geese.org...
 |
| Eurasian White-fronted Geese - including its ringing history |
 |
| Glaucous Gull |
 |
| Eurasian x American Wigeon hybrid |
Sunday, 4 June 2017
Recent photos...
 |
| Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits at Cresswell. |
Wood Warbler
 |
| Female Blue-headed Wagtail |
 |
| Little Gull |
 |
| Spoonbill |
 |
| Little Owl |
 |
| Garganey |
 |
| Male Ruff |
 |
| Broad-bodied Chaser |
Thursday, 1 September 2016
Great White hat-trick
The highlight of this morning's birding was a Great White Egret at Druridge Pools which was our third of the year. Other birds here included a Little Stint, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, a Greenshank and Bar-tailed Godwit as well as 3 Little Egrets.
A further 14 Little Egrets were at Cresswell along with 3 at Amble and 6 at Castle Island. Other birds at Cresswell Pond included 4 Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and 2 Black-tailed Godwits. 5 more Black-tailed Godwits came in off the sea here and continued west. While Castle Island held 3 Ruff and 20 Black-tailed Godwits.
A flock of 12 Ruff were stood ankle deep in water at the south end of the north pool at Chevington so hopefully some mud may appear there soon. 4 Pintail were also here.
The water level at Bothal Pond is starting to look good and it had attracted a juvenile Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Green Sandpiper as well as 5 Dunlin and 5 Black-tailed Godwits when we visited today.
A further 14 Little Egrets were at Cresswell along with 3 at Amble and 6 at Castle Island. Other birds at Cresswell Pond included 4 Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and 2 Black-tailed Godwits. 5 more Black-tailed Godwits came in off the sea here and continued west. While Castle Island held 3 Ruff and 20 Black-tailed Godwits.
A flock of 12 Ruff were stood ankle deep in water at the south end of the north pool at Chevington so hopefully some mud may appear there soon. 4 Pintail were also here.
The water level at Bothal Pond is starting to look good and it had attracted a juvenile Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Green Sandpiper as well as 5 Dunlin and 5 Black-tailed Godwits when we visited today.
Great White Egret
Sunday, 31 July 2016
Local birding...
Spent the morning on the patch where there is signs of autumn migration getting underway...
The vegetation at Druridge Pools is starting to get quite tall and it was difficult to determine just how many Greenshank were present. Eventually we confirmed five different birds. These were new for the patch year list, as was a flyover Common Sandpiper.Other waders here included 2 Ruff (adult and juvenile) and a Black-tailed Godwit. 2 Little Egrets were also on the Budge Fields and 2 Goosanders were on the north pool, it seems to have been a good year for these on the patch. An adult Mediterranean Gull was with the Black-headed Gulls in the field to the west.
East Chevington was quieter with a singing Grasshopper Warbler and an Arctic Skua offshore along with 4 Little Terns.
The water levels at Cresswell Pond were looking great today and were proving very attractive to waders: 12 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Ruff, 1 Knot, 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Avocets (including a colour-ringed immature) and lots of Dunlin and Curlew. 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls were sat on the west spit along with 3 Little Egrets and 2 Yellow Wagtail were near the causeway.
PWC 2016
Species: 148
Points: 193
The vegetation at Druridge Pools is starting to get quite tall and it was difficult to determine just how many Greenshank were present. Eventually we confirmed five different birds. These were new for the patch year list, as was a flyover Common Sandpiper.Other waders here included 2 Ruff (adult and juvenile) and a Black-tailed Godwit. 2 Little Egrets were also on the Budge Fields and 2 Goosanders were on the north pool, it seems to have been a good year for these on the patch. An adult Mediterranean Gull was with the Black-headed Gulls in the field to the west.
East Chevington was quieter with a singing Grasshopper Warbler and an Arctic Skua offshore along with 4 Little Terns.
The water levels at Cresswell Pond were looking great today and were proving very attractive to waders: 12 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Ruff, 1 Knot, 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Avocets (including a colour-ringed immature) and lots of Dunlin and Curlew. 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls were sat on the west spit along with 3 Little Egrets and 2 Yellow Wagtail were near the causeway.
PWC 2016
Species: 148
Points: 193
Sunday, 3 July 2016
Druridge Seawatching
On the way to the patch this morning we stopped on the River Wansbeck to have another look at the long-staying first-summer Bonaparte's Gull which was once again showing well.
Once we reached Druridge Pools the Budge Fields were once again quiet with 10 Black-tailed Godwits the only birds of note. We then headed to the dunes to do some seawatching. Roseate Tern was soon added to the year list and we picked up a pod of at least 8 Bottlenose Dolphins moving north quite a long way offshore. 5 Manx Shearwater flew north including two of the closest birds we've ever seen. 6 Golden Plover also flew south and 2 more Black-tailed Godwits came 'in off', perhaps a sign that the wader passage is starting to pick up..?
Chevington was also quiet apart from the burn mouth where I picked up 2 unexpected Great Northern Divers on the sea. They were in a winter type plumage so we guess they were non-breeding first-summers. A lone Bar-tailed Godwit flew north over the beach and my dad picked up a pod of 3 Harbour Porpoise off the beach.
We suspect there may be large numbers of fish in the bay with large numbers of terns and gannets seen today especially a long way out and there were more cetaceans than normal!
PWC 2016
Species: 144
Points: 190
Once we reached Druridge Pools the Budge Fields were once again quiet with 10 Black-tailed Godwits the only birds of note. We then headed to the dunes to do some seawatching. Roseate Tern was soon added to the year list and we picked up a pod of at least 8 Bottlenose Dolphins moving north quite a long way offshore. 5 Manx Shearwater flew north including two of the closest birds we've ever seen. 6 Golden Plover also flew south and 2 more Black-tailed Godwits came 'in off', perhaps a sign that the wader passage is starting to pick up..?
Chevington was also quiet apart from the burn mouth where I picked up 2 unexpected Great Northern Divers on the sea. They were in a winter type plumage so we guess they were non-breeding first-summers. A lone Bar-tailed Godwit flew north over the beach and my dad picked up a pod of 3 Harbour Porpoise off the beach.
We suspect there may be large numbers of fish in the bay with large numbers of terns and gannets seen today especially a long way out and there were more cetaceans than normal!
PWC 2016
Species: 144
Points: 190
Bonaparte's Gull
Saturday, 23 January 2016
More White-fronts...
Had another good trip to the bay today, with the highlight being even more White-fronted Geese...
First at Chevington, three flocks of Pink-footed Geese flew over, with the third also holding 11 adult White-fronted Geese. Unfortunately after we first picked them up flying straight towards us, they headed off south east over the sea so we were unable to say whether there were any first-winters in the flock.
The Slavonian Grebe, Marsh Harrier and pair of Red-breasted Mergansers were still around Chevington.
The Budge Fields held a single drake Pintail and 3 more White-fronted Geese were in the field just to the west with 5 Barnacle Geese and c. 150 Pink-feet. We were able to identify these White-fronts as Europeans before the flock flew south. 6 Red-breasted Mergansers were on the north pool here.
At Cresswell Pond the first-winter Long-billed Dowitcher was once again on the west shore, with the pond also playing host to 4 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Turnstones and another Red-breasted Merganser.
2 more European White-fronted Geese with c. 500 Pink-feet south-west of the Drift Cafe at Cresswell brought the day's total to 16.
First at Chevington, three flocks of Pink-footed Geese flew over, with the third also holding 11 adult White-fronted Geese. Unfortunately after we first picked them up flying straight towards us, they headed off south east over the sea so we were unable to say whether there were any first-winters in the flock.
The Slavonian Grebe, Marsh Harrier and pair of Red-breasted Mergansers were still around Chevington.
The Budge Fields held a single drake Pintail and 3 more White-fronted Geese were in the field just to the west with 5 Barnacle Geese and c. 150 Pink-feet. We were able to identify these White-fronts as Europeans before the flock flew south. 6 Red-breasted Mergansers were on the north pool here.
At Cresswell Pond the first-winter Long-billed Dowitcher was once again on the west shore, with the pond also playing host to 4 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Turnstones and another Red-breasted Merganser.
2 more European White-fronted Geese with c. 500 Pink-feet south-west of the Drift Cafe at Cresswell brought the day's total to 16.
 |
| One of the Druridge Pools European White-fronted Geese. |
Sunday, 10 January 2016
A productive patch...
Yet another windy day at Druridge yielded some good birds in the end starting at Druridge Pools...
The Budge Fields held lots of common birds but not much else, so we decided to have a look at the sea from the top of the big dune. Two Great Northern Divers which flew south quite close in shore were the highlight with a few other common birds added to the patch year list. Perhaps the most unusual record of the day was 10 Dark-bellied Brent Geese which I spotted in the flooded field just north of the turning circle. The first time I've seen Brent Geese on the ground in Druridge Bay! We could also see the female Marsh Harrier over East Chevington from here.
At Druridge Bay Country Park there was a steady stream of gulls dropping onto the lake in front of the boat ramp. The first interesting bird was an adult Little Gull, which was followed shortly after by the first-winter (?) Iceland Gull. An adult Mediterranean Gull circled the lake before flying off. 3 drake and a female Red-breasted Merganser were also at DBCP.
A smart drake Common Scoter was on the north pool at East Chevington along with 3 Scaup, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers and the Slavonian Grebe still.
A look at Hemscott Hill was very productive with an adult Mediterranean Gull and lots of waders...
The Budge Fields held lots of common birds but not much else, so we decided to have a look at the sea from the top of the big dune. Two Great Northern Divers which flew south quite close in shore were the highlight with a few other common birds added to the patch year list. Perhaps the most unusual record of the day was 10 Dark-bellied Brent Geese which I spotted in the flooded field just north of the turning circle. The first time I've seen Brent Geese on the ground in Druridge Bay! We could also see the female Marsh Harrier over East Chevington from here.
At Druridge Bay Country Park there was a steady stream of gulls dropping onto the lake in front of the boat ramp. The first interesting bird was an adult Little Gull, which was followed shortly after by the first-winter (?) Iceland Gull. An adult Mediterranean Gull circled the lake before flying off. 3 drake and a female Red-breasted Merganser were also at DBCP.
A smart drake Common Scoter was on the north pool at East Chevington along with 3 Scaup, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers and the Slavonian Grebe still.
A look at Hemscott Hill was very productive with an adult Mediterranean Gull and lots of waders...
1 Long-billed Dowitcher - very pleased to get it on the PWC 2016 list!
1 Ruff
2 Black-tailed Godwit
5 Bar-tailed Godwit
1 Knot
Redshank
Golden Plover
Dublin
Lapwing
Curlew
PWC 2016
Species: 89
Points: 106
 |
| Iceland Gull |
 |
| Hemscott Hill |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)