The Long Nanny-Terns

Another visit to the Long Nanny this time via Newton which is a much shorter walk, the Warden team now well encamped , and the area roped off , the wardens where all young and very keen and enthusiastic I had a good talk with a young lady on her first assignment and what better place to start your career in conservation , I remarked that at some stage it would feel like she had been there for years but also at some stage it would all end and then seem like it had gone over  in a flash  but the memories would always be there. Apparently there where some 50 odd Little Terns and an unknown number of Arctic Terns at the time of my visit Terns where well spread on the beach  with some staking claim to sites in the Marram  Grass, amongst those on the beach where a couple of Little Gulls and a Sandwhich Tern , I had opted not to take the scope but it would have been worthwhile although there was a strong heathaze, not long after I had left a Great White Egret had dropped in and recently the report  of White Winged  Black Tern passing through , it really is a fantastic place and a stark contrast to my last visit , with another visit in the next week or so , it should be even better. The breeze off the sea was rather cold and also brought in a mist so I opted to go back through the dunes , only Wall Browns of note and a single Wheatear .

 Beadnell in the distance

 Arctic Tern just by the Wardens hut in the more flattened areas , they seem to have spread past the hut from what I remember from past visits

 I only had my SX50 camera with me and it's not very good with flight shots

 but I did manage to quickly get onto one of two Common Lizards that came onto to snap up an insect or three

 It made my day to see these and manage to get a photo

 I sat in the shelter of the dunes to have lunch with the company of a Reed Bunting singing close by

 A few Violets in the dunes I really must take a book and sort these out at some stage ,attractive nevertheless it's another world when you get right down on the ground

 Not seen these odd shaped Fungi before but have seen them since at Workworth ,another one to look up sometime

 Wall Browns a few around but flighty

 I like this wheatear especially amongst the flowers ,there is always a limit how close they will let you get

 Most of the day there was the sound of I can only describe as someone using a very clunky footpump in need of a good oiling , which turns out to be this which I could only partly see through the hedge near the carpark , which turns out to be a Guinea Fowl they also have Peacocks

 I presume this is a garden escape Cypress Spurge ?

And my last photo of the day as a Wall Brown settles

A bit more green birding 20-7-09

Monday 20-7-09 thought I would check the falling tide at St Mary's Island but cycle there via the fields to check out a few ponds only one Emperor flying and that was brief, and then a couple of Common Blue, I waited an hour, even when the sun came out and the temperature had risen sharply, nothing , not even Damselflies in the grass, they must be deep in cover or I wonder if stuff has had a real hammering from the wind & rain on Friday ( I was up the Coquet Valley looking at trees ,till it was decided to call it off, camera never even came out the car never mind the bag ) so I headed down to the coast its a very long way around doing it like this , plenty of people pouring onto the rocks as the tide receded, numbers of Golden Plover increasing, 3 sp Knot, about 30 Sandwich, a few Common & a couple of Arctic , Sanderling in the north bay but very flighty, so I just got a couple of shots.

Golden Plover coming in from the Island as the crowds descend

Following comments on http://dustybins.blogspot.com/ about Starlings on seaweed, these guys caught my eye not just a couple but loads where lying on the tarmac I assume absorbing the heat, now have I seen this before and took no notice or not seen it before just cant think ,should take more notes.

taking in the sun !!!!!

Rooting around on the beach, they do actually bring in other birds , a Rook was just a few feet away, but in the light

On The Buses 19-7-09

Another slightly of topic post, just to show there are other things than birding, well when its quiet anyway .
Sunday the bikes came out and it was off pedalling to Whitley Bay via the coast path , 8 Painted Ladies in one small stretch & 5 Whimbrel South, tide in at St Mary's so we went past straight to the car park where there was a Bus Rally loads of old buses beutifully turned out but these wernt just to look at you could get a free ride on just about the whole lot so we qued wanting to get an open top bus but alas we ended up on an old London Decker, straight upstair nostalgic memories coming flooding back as a kid you went for the front seats which actually had kids in already , so having got seated the bus pulled off with a start, throwing you back in the seat, it was OK at first but the lack of air and the sun bleaching in through the large glass it soon lost its appeal , and going around a sharp bend I thought it was going to tip over , actually thats what we used to do as kids all pile into one corner to try and make it tip a bit more , but not so good when your middle aged.
The tide dropping I peeled off to have a look at the rocks, Common, Sandwich & a few Arctic Terns with Golden Plover coming in many still in some summer dress, worth a look at over the next couple of weeks for Roseate Terns , or Juv Med Gull (tell me if you do ) got back home it was time for a bottle of red in the garden looking at how high the weeds are growing from the comfort of a lounger, canny day out in the end.
I forgot to get a photo of a new bus it had an advert on the back "get a weekly ticket for the price of a tank of petrol " am I missing something here !!!!!!!

St Mary's Island and beyond from the cliffs

Whitley Bay and beyond from the prom

cute or what !!!! you can just imagine a group of birders pilling out of here on Holy Island , all kitted out with the latest optics, surplus from ww11 probably

Bus logo or is it livery ?

I have know idea what these are, much like my posts in general, but you can still enjoy them .

It's not easy trying to get a shot without someone in it

They used to run a n old bus on Scillies , remember getting it back to town one day.

Aidensfield ...... Not sure if this is from the TV or not !!

Everyone wanted to get on this old bus.

A few days up the coast 8/10-7-09

8/10/-7-09 Spent a few days up the coast near Beadnel tried a couple of seawatches from Dunstanburgh Castle,the first evening I just took the scope its a bit of a trek but certainly a dramatic setting ,350 Kittiwakes & 165 Gannets + 4 Little Gulls North in 1 1/2 hours a lot of birds came past fairly close only 11 Manx but giving good views , as did the single Velvet Scoter & single Bonxie followed by another then 3 one coming right overhead, the usual phrase went through my mind "wish I had brought the camera", I did on the second night but not much moving then.
9-7-09 A walk along through Embleton to Newton Pool those steps up to the hide always give the sense of the un -expected you just never know what your going to open the shutters onto, alas today not much on show , so after awhile it was back along the coast via the beach, later I walked back to Dunstanburgh (30 min walk) with scope tripod and camera for an evening watch but only a single Bonxie, Gannets 200 hr, 4 manx, 3 Bar Tailed Godwits, but I still enjoyed it , by early evening not a sole around, I went around to the Rumbling Churn the cove at the base of the castle and just took in the scene the waves crashing on the rocks and the constant noise of Seabirds ,with mostly Razorbills coming at time overhead I slept well that night especially after a bottle of wine , I set the bat detector up outside but it missed a Pip as it came overhead, battery dead was the answer !!!
10-7-09 A day at the Long Nanny was fantastic it was glorious weather I spent a couple of hours at the watch point , the warden was busy so I could not get any info as to numbers of Little Tern & Arctic Tern I could only pick out half a dozen or so Littles although the heat haze did not help, Pyramidal orchids out in mass, as where Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Small Heath & Wall Brown, hundreds of Burnett Moths, a small colony of Sand Martins it was along walk back to Beadnell after the heat of the day, which I ended with a short spell seawatching from a point on the edge of the village again birds coming close to shore at times with Auks in the hundreds more Manx this evening with 100 in 30 mins.
It just goes to show you do not have to go far for something different, the walk from Beadnell to the Long Nanny there along the beach and back via the dunes was the first time I have done this, get out there and enjoy it for yourself.............. The Rumbling Churn

Razorbill and Guillemot

Vole on the path

Common Blues out in very good numbers

and as Usual loads of Burnett's

I took this not just for the sign but the plant at the base

Just coming into flower I presume

The view from the Wardens hut

The Posing Perch !!!!!!

They fight constantly but only very briefly climbing all the time till they just drift off

Frustrating Weather 29-6-09

Lead Belle Or July belle

This weather is rather frustrating for me ,warm it may be ,but so changeable went up the coast the other day stopped near the power station for a walk it was a sunny spell and I counted about 20 Common Blue nearly all males with just a few females , also Red Admirals, Ringlets, & Meadow Browns , various amounts of damselflies at most suitable locations, Willow Warblers & Chiffchaffs still singing family of Whitethroats, stopped beside the travellers camp and looked up the stream very overgrown as is the pool nearby could be anything in there, the flash dried up now, a quick look in at Cresswell the Goosander on the sand beside the hide in heavy moult, Common Sandpiper here also. Druridge pools from the screen had little on show, the track to the hides was good for Butterflies as the sun as out again walked right to the end getting a few shots , went into the hide to find a mist over most of the pond , I ended up in the car for a coffee to see what would happen as I wanted to go to East Chevington to check the north pool , I thought it had cleared enough to be able to see the terns so off to east Chev, Greenshank & 3 redshank , a couple of Arctic Terns & 3 1st summers in with the 10 Little Gulls and numerous Common & Sandwich terns.

A couple of Juvenile Herons outside the hide Druridge Pools Mutes with Young also

Latticed Heath ?

And another paler version

Plenty of Common Blue out today

Common Toadflax starting to flower

A couple of Red Admirals ,this on Viper's Bugloss

Common Blue female

More Ringlets out every day