More from the boots !!!!

Just a few more from yesterdays session cracking few hours birding after such a quiet period , even the tramp around Newbiggin in the expectation or hope of seeing Olive Backed Pipit was worth it , you don't realise just how large an area this is till you walk it.
Still good numbers of Butterflies around Sunday seemed to be Red Admiral day, but yesterday I saw more Painted Ladies, and lots of Common Darter
The Common Crane in Durham could be worth looking out for in the next few days .............
Marsh Harrier Druridge Pools

Glossy Ibis taking snail, which seems to be it's main diet ,although diet seems to be variable , it must cast several pellets per day, or more probable a large one .......looking on the net for images of these came up with nothing

I like to keep my hand in with the digiscoping, these two came out OK despite problems with the gear, I think my camera is on its last legs ,still its given me years of good service and some great shots.

Buff Breasted Sandpiper Cresswell Pond

Fill Your Boots Birding !!!!!!!!!!

A fine bright day so I thought to try and get some decent shots of the Ibis , passing Cresswell I just pulled over to have a look at the top pond , looking through the back window a wader on the grass caught my eye and two birders looking at it , Ruff I thought but still and opportunity to at least get some shots , thrilled to find it was a Buff Breasted Sandpiper and very confiding , it flew off for 15 or so minutes but returned and dropped in just yards away , cracking little bird , the only bird present which was in our favour or it would have perhaps joined with others and kept its distance , a small crowd rapidly gathered , so I thought I would go up and try my luck at Druridge , EVERYONE in Northumberland must have seen this bird by now ( there are still a couple of exceptions ) . A few people in the hide and the bird though showing well was some way off, till a Heron took a dislike to it and walked after it pushing it down to in front of the hide, well fill your boots , the cameras went off as hundreds if not thousands of images where sent to rapidly filling cards, till the bird flew back to where it had been previous, but again it was flushed by a Heron and flew past the hide a couple of times , it seems to have worked the Heron will not come down that far, so apart from the noise of several shutters set on machine gun mode , it was left on it's own, Marsh Harrier over was a nice touch.
The news of a ,I think possible Olive Backed Pipit at Newbiggin saw a few of us go down there and walk much of the area but no sign, apparently a Honey Buzzard had crossed over Cresswell when I had left , but you can't get everything, or your boots would runneth over .

A high up flight shot but it does show the dark crescent !!!

It had just dropped in near to the fence

I had assumed the bill would be level underneath , but its concave

I have taken loads and loads of this bird , but I thought this one looked just a little different