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Friday 4 May 2012

Wallington



A recent trip to Wallington Hall a National Trust property , the forecast was not to good so we decided to go down to the feeding station first besides it would be quieter, not even a glimpse of Red Squirell  they used to be easy to see here , Chaffinch the dominant presence , but Goldfinch, Siskin, Great, long tailed and Blue Tit, and very briefly a Marsh/willow Tit , Great Spotted giving very good views , from here it was the river walk but surprisingly very few flowers out , no Dippers or wags on the river, there is to me what seems like a very good population of Nuthatch here with numerous birds calling and being very showy.
Lunch time picnic just got sat at the outdoor table when it started to rain , so it was decided to visit the house along its seems with everyone else, the house is very impressive far more than Belsay hall , there is room after room to visit  with striking  views of the grounds, a cabinet of Taxidermy caught my eye but its a challenge to ID some of them, two glass domes contained a large amount of exotic birds including some tiny Hummers fascinating yet hideous at the sheer quantity. 
Finally a walk over to the walled garden not looking its best on a dull day but the greenhouse/hothouse always has some nice plants , back at the house a falconer had set up and was flying a Harris hawk and letting it land on the arms of children , I finally got my turn rightly so as I had hung around long enough, surprised at how heavy the bird was and impressive only inches away from your face.
It was a good day out and well worth a visit 
 Wallington Hall
GSW



Wood Mouse at the feeders



 Stock Dove
I was trying to get an arty shot of the tree from low down , but not bad for a phone !
 Some very nice flowers as always in the greenhouse but what a greenhouse  !!

 No Idea what they are apart from the Geraniums

 A huge cabinet contained two opposing lead armies this is Napolean

 Snaps with my phone of the small fish pool and river
 The famous Gargoyles (which if I remember was actually ships ballast)
Just a clip of the Harris hawk in action ,it was good to see the kids get involved even though it meant I had to wait till they al had a go !! I forget the guy's name that was running the Falconry but he was very good .

3 comments:

kirstallcreatures said...

I enjoyed a recent trip to Wallington where we were lucky enough to see a Goldcrest in the walled garden.A lovely spot for a visit.

Unknown said...

Hi,

I'm glad you enjoyed Wallington. When we visited we didn't see any red squirrels either, but plenty of birds at the hide. You are right in thinking the Gargoyles are a ships ballast, though I was corrected by a member of staff from Wallington about calling them Gargoyles, they are apparently dragons!

Anyway, if you are interested, I blogged about Wallington too with photographs etc. The link ishttp://www.northumberlog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/wallington-hall-and-gardens-in-april.html.

Northumbrian Birding said...

Thanks for the comments,Kirstallcreatures, I think the walled garden is amazing, it must be a pleasure to work there.
Christie thanks for the link I will check it out.
The large tree in the car park used to be "THE" place to see Nuthatch in the County.
Brian