Out on the BIke

A trip over to Thornley woods area with the bikes with the intention of cycling along the Derwent Way which takes you over the Nine Arches Viaduct and beyond never been any further than Far Pastures so it should be interesting. Bikes offloaded at Winlaton Mill we headed South you have to cross the river first then uphill to get onto the old railway track, and very soon over the Viaduct , a detour at Far Pastures so we went into the rather large hide there you need a key which can be obtained from the visitor centre which will also fit Shibdon, Clara Vale , Thornley Feeding Station , but as it happens the door was open and to my surprise about 8-9 Photographers all staring into space hoping for the Kingfisher to appear ,it probably would not stay long once 9 cameras set at machine gun mode all went off together personally although I have spent many an hour in a hide ,I couldn't see the point sitting there on a glorious day when there was nothing to see never mind photograph. Well we continued along the track which eventually petered out and we had to cross the road to rejoin it at a sign which said Shotley Bridge and Consett (route 14)its a very pleasant cycle with only  what seemed a slight gradient and eventually we arrived at the edge of Shotley Bridge  where lunch was finished off . There are many paths off to the sides which would be worth exploring with more information ,but we decided to head back and spend some time at the Arches looking for Red Kites, I was surprised at how fast we headed back seeming to go mostly down hill freewheeling a lot of the time ,till I got clever and tried to video with one hand and brake with the other  I left it to late and came off  having just switched off the video as I might have got £250 from YBF. We watched from the Arches for awhile you can if lucky see Purple Hairstreaks in the tops of the Oaks , only 3 Red Kites visible but two Juveniles in the trees was a nice surprise 

There must have been numerous bridges etc built to span the many gaps, this one just beside Gibside

 Giving views over the surrounding countryside far better than my phone camera can capture

 Not sure why this was so wide looks even wider than a double track

 Numerous bridges cross over the track giving the opportunity to go off and explore further

 A small station or halt platforms still visible with steps up to the road crossing over

 That's and impressive span such is the width of the well wooded steep sided valley not sure if theres a stream at the bottom

 Always amazes me at the finish on the stonework , it's built not just to last but look good to

 An old Loco shed which I had not seen on the way along as it's so overgrown

Juvenile Red Kite camera to the bins job

Red Kite Roost

Last week I went over to Thornley Woods area  via Shibdon Pond and Far Pastures, I checked out the old Stone bridge near the roundabout just along from Shibdon  I usually have Dipper ,Kingfisher and Grey wagtail  here but today nothing and heading to the pond I could see it was mainly frozen with a small area at the south end open but I went into the hide and gave it about 45mins in the hope of a Water Rail perhaps below the hide , checking out the gulls near the open water for perhaps a white winger or especially a Yellow legged Gull as the odd one has been reported here but only the  common varieties of Great Black backed, Herring ,Black headed and Common Gulls . A single Redwing on the grass area as it fed below the trees. From here I headed to Far Pastures the track down had 2 Goldcrests and 3-4 Coal Tit  just at the carpark a Nuthatch got my attention as it worked its way along branches coming tantalisingly nearer and nearer before flitting off before I could focus on it . A willow Tit did the same flitting towards me but always with branches in the way , then it would sit in a nice pose and just as I got on it off it went , so for the sake of my sanity I went in the hide for my coffee etc:. Surprised to see about half was free water with about 15 teal , a pair of Bullfinch in the background and Fieldfares on the tree tops no Water Rail back outside I saw my first Red Kite of the day  it was way off and already the light fading ,no chance of flight shots today , I started to slowly walk towards the viaduct more Bullfinches and a Treecreeper before I was out onto the viaduct with 3-4 kites coming in they started to settle on the trees rather quickly there was to be no flying overhead today I must have had about 15 in total but by this time I was frozen stiff  so started to make the climb back up to the road I saw a couple of birds through the trees before it became to thick , it was still a good end to the day , I will return about mid Feb  perhaps they will be more active and in better light.

 The ever gorgeous Nuthatch , when I first started birding  the place to go was that huge tree in the carpark at Wallington where your first sighting could virtually be guaranteed from the comfort of the car !!!!

 Redwing feeding amongst the leave litter

 Very Confiding Dunnock complete with bling as where all the birds at far pastures carpark

 Willow Tit

 Red Kite over the valley

Snow covered Lichen

The best I could get of the red Kites , but even so they are a fantastic spectacle as the gather before dropping down to roost , apparently they sometimes have a pre roost , so will all settle before heading off to roost , you have to check it out if youv'e not been , it's a birding must   !!!!!

Shibdon , Red Kites

Another visit over the water to first Shibdon , plenty of Teal around and Snipe along the reed edge, I watched a pair of  Teal as they picked some what looked like Moss and dipped it in water I thought they where wetting it to eat but it seemed they where sifting it using the water as it was all visible through the scope ,quite comical to see them back and forth with small pieces of vegetation . No sign of  the Ruff that have been hanging around Shibdons like anywhere else the birds come and go as now they have been reported just in front of the hide,  Lesser Black Backed dropped in looking smart.

On the way to Thornley I looked at the river from the old stone bridge two Dippers feeding in the fast water, Thornley feeding station is a shadow of what it used to be the finance cuts have reduced feeding to only two days per week and I think these are voluntary contributions , Yellowhammers, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, a Marsh/Willow Tit dropped in very briefly, a Heron in the small pool hunting frogs.

I next headed to Far Pastures to have a look for the Firecrest, 3-4 Bullfinch, long Tailed Tits, Cole Tits etc: but no sign of Firecrest , apparently it was to be seen further along the path but as it was marked no entry I did not venture further. Red Kites started to form overhead and I headed towards the arches some Northumberland birders already there and we observed some 19-20 birds in the air when they all left for the pub  I saw that one had landed on a pylon I ended up opposite it but by now it's very gloomy it just sat there calling a couple of times it was so  gloomy I never saw the large stick not sure if the bird had landed with it but can't see how else it got there it eventually flew off  soon lost in the dark another good visit. 

 Lesser Black-backed with a Black-headed Gull behind

 Teal with what looks like Moss which they seemed to filter out for whatever they could find.

 Seems a good year for Yellowhammers

 Heron is rewarded with it's patience with a Frog !!

 Kites start to gather over Far Pastures

 A Red Kite lands on this Pylon not sure if it had the stick or it was already there.

 In this shot the bird does have what looks like a hold of the stick  actually a small branch with part hanging over the right , and its tag clearly seen.