River Otter

One late afternoon walking along the River Blyth I could see some ripples along the river edge probably a couple of Mallard I thought but no the head of an Otter popped up briefly catching me by surprise, whipped the camera but the light fading fast I should have practised with the settings for just such a case , I rattled a few shots off but the poor light made it hard to focus ,so I just watched it as it searched along the bank coming within a few feet at one point but I could only see it 's back , it made my day the first time Iv'e seen one in a river setting apart from the glimpse of one in the harbour while kayaking.

 A walk for the sake of it in an area west of Morpeth turned up a couple of Marsh Tit , and in the same tree 2 Nuthatch which seemed determined to have the tree to themselves , a large flock of Fielfare was encountered a few times as we walked in a large circle, Tawny Owl called from a copse, with 3 Buzzards in the air, Bullfinch, Jay also encountered

 Distant Buzzard taken with the SX50 which was just able to make out with the bins

Someone has placed this barrel presumably for Barn Owls it was well off in the distance so unable to get any nearer

A run up the coast which ended back at  Cresswell  in the hope of the Barn Owl  which duly turned up it usually starts off on the east side near the small pond it was still reasonably bright but the setting sun put the area in shade so again I just took a couple of shots with my sx50 a watched as it cruised over the field . The Pond had 34 Whoopers that dropped in and several Snipe in front of the hide and the small pool had lots of Wigeon and Teal including a hybrid  Wigeon of some sort I thought it was an American/Eurasion Wigeon it realy stood out amongst the flock

 Hybrid Wigeon

 Not sure if this Cormorant caught this flatfish in the pool but it also seems unlikely that it flew in with it , in which case it shows the power of a tidal surge

 Whoopers drop in announcing their arrival with loud honking

 Barn Owl settles along the south edge of the reserve you never tire of seeing them

And again settles along the fence line of the road  good to see another one has survived perhaps the worst of the Winter

Little Owl- Barn Owl

A couple of ventures out in the search of Owls reaped reward in the form of Little Owl and Barn Owl, years ago I used to have no problem finding Little Owl  perhaps I was just out more I find them very intriguing  I used to keep a horse on a nearby farm which had Tawny Barn and Little Owl and the occasional Long Eared . The Little Owls used to breed in the apex of an old shed and could often been seen hunting from fenceposts and just dropping down onto prey I could never see what they had caught as it was always flown back to the nest . The Barn Owls where seen while on a mid evening walk the first just sitting on the fence the a second heading up a hedge line straight for me I got the camera ready but it just suddenly flicked over the hedge and I saw it perched on the other side with the first also still in view, later as I got the bus home a third bird was seen hunting the fields along the beach road

 I always just take a few quick shots and move on you can only get record shots so why flush the bird

 Bardsey Island seemed to have a good population of Little Owls and they could be easily seen sitting out in the open as there was not much cover

 Barn Owl has a glance at me I am some way off so is unconcerned ,it was still there some hour later when I went home

Another bird but this one out hunting, whats better than see them in flight as they float along and if you hav3e ever had one fly right overhead you will know how quiet they are

You've Guessed It !!

Yes you have probably guessed that this is another post of  a visit up the coast taking in Cresswell Pond , Druridge Pools , and East Chevington  this was a reasonable day with some sunny spells and I spent a long day looking for subjects to photograph , Cresswell  still had about 10 little Gulls and 3 Avocets, but little else of  note ,Tree Sparrows are nesting in the roof of the barns in the adjacent farm, I remember as a child when when most boys used to go bird nesting that Tree Sparrows where very hard to get they used to build a large untidy dried grass nest way up high in a Hawthorn  now they seem to either only use nest boxes or buildings.
Druridge Pools in the am held nothing out the ordinary so I checked for insects  etc
; Ringlet ,Meadow Brown , and Speckled Wood  on the wing .
East Chevington 2 Marsh Harriers on show  and by now it was warm and sunny and I had now swapped my rain hat for a sun hat and headed off in search of flowers, plenty of Common Spotted , and Northern Marsh Orchids , Birds Foot Trefoil very common , Rest Harrow, Milkwort, and carpets of Bloody Cranesbill , hundreds of Twayblade  a rather bland looking Orchid till you get a good look at it , also some very nice Marsh Helleborine  and I even found a new flower to me in the form of  Lesser Meadow Rue . Back at the car the Marsh harriers showing well  I videoed one sitting  on a small bush  a Barn Owl came over and quartered the site eventually flying off with prey.
Headed back to  Druridge and  encountered another Barn Owl , plus a M/F Marsh Harrier, the only sign of Long Eared Owl was one bird sitting on a fence post , the light failing I headed home but was surprised to find another Barn Owl hunting near Cresswell , turned out to be one fantastic day .

 About ten Little Gulls at Cresswell

 Speckled Wood at Druridge

 Twayblade

 Birds Foot Trefoil gets it's name from the seed case  which resembles you've guessed it a Bird's Foot

 Marsh Helleborine this one with a small beetle.

 Common Blue

 Lesser Meadow Rue  the flowers look more like bananas

 Long Eared Owl  not the quality of some more recent photos of these birds , but I'm pleased with it as it was right over the other side of the field !

Tree Sparrow at Cresswell

 Barn at East Chevington

 Druridge

and Cresswell by now it's getting dark and the end of a fantastic day !!!!
Marsh Harrier

Blyth Valley

Blyth valley firstly I'm not really sure why it's called a valley as it is not quite like say the Hartehope  Valley , but as a birding area it is a fairly large patch incorporating such as the Beehive Flash , Holywell Pond and the Dene and also Seaton Sluice watch tower which I think is actually just out of the area must check my map on that,  Seghill area but not quiet Backworth ,then on the other side  the  River Blyth  including West Hartford  up to about the A1. So it is a fair size to cover now I'm not really a patch watcher but I do like to see what is on the doorstep so this year I'm trying to cover it just a little more thoroughly. 

Avocet on the Beehive Flash apparently the flash in in Blyth valley but the road is in  North Tyneside thus providing sightings to two areas   !!!!

Now Canada Geese  are popular with the general public a pair with 6 Goslings providing many OOO's and RRRRR's at Holywell pond, they are very good parents this brood still intact after more than a week , and there lies a problem the numbers seem to be increasing  yearly they can be encountered breeding at most wetland sites.

Distant view of a Little owl, in the Blyth Valley area a few years ago they seemed much commoner and could be seen regularly but not now .

Tree Sparrows however seem to be on the increase I always thought them rather sedentary but small groups are seen much more widely now.

This is a Blackcap singing his heart out I think it's a pleasant song ,I marvel at just how loud they can be at times

Blyth valley is not a butterfly hotspot apart from the dramatic increase in Speckled Woods in the past year or two.

Barn Owl looking rather pensive and it settles before an evenings hunting

Four Barn Owls, Red Necked Grebe, and Shags 9-11th

Sunday the 9th a run to Amble to have a look in the harbour but no Long Tailed Duck nor could I find a Med Gull , a quick look at Hauxley on the way back with little to see, but leaving the site a Barn Owl over the car stopping and checking the field was pleased to find it and another hunting over the area till they went out of sight. On to Cresswell the light fading fast  another Barn Owl near the car park and yet another further along 4 Barn Owls in the space of 20 minutes ,it's good to see they have survived the hash winter so far 

 2 Barn Owls Hauxley 9th January

The sun sets at Cresswell with another 2 Barn Owls , but too late for photos.

11th January back down to the harbour I could see the Red Necked Grebe just offshore near the pier so I walked along the pier it popped up right on the edge of the beach on the west side of the pier and incredibly as I was beside the Harbour Masters office I could see the RNG  come around the pier into the river and it swam all the way back into the harbour where I got a few more shots, also got some more colour ringed Shags and c50 Pinkfeet over. a pleasant couple of hours given there was not much around.

 Red Necked Grebe feeding in the surf by the pier
                                                                           and again as it swam back into the harbour (took it sometime)

TXD digiscoped  had no word back as yet  I will await some response before I get anymore  !!!

The End of Feb..................

Not been much happening for me since the Waxwings I did visit Linton Pond which was partly frozen only one Herring Gull and a small party of Black Headed & Common Gulls , Tufted and Teal common with a few Shoveller , white winged gulls seem to be very thin to say the least I have been to Blyth Harbour but no sign of even the Iceland ,its a bit of a lull and can't seem to get the enthusiasm to get out and about and when I do there is not much around.

In one of the brighter spells I did have a Barn Owl over and my fist full song Skylark with a couple of others just being half hearted about it .
A few moments before the adults had been chasing the young then another bird turns up landing on the ice and the family decide to give chase , the male climbing onto the ice and waddling across to chase it off
This Fox had obviously seen me before I saw it and sat wondering what to do !!
Run is always the result >>>>>>
Good to see Barn Owl out and about, it did catch prey , swallowed it so quickly and off again