Great Crested Grebes-Killingworth

Could not resist the temptation to go to Killingworth Lake to have a look at the Great Crested Grebes , a lot closer than I expected being just by the road most I have seen in the past have been at least 100yds away  especially with young ,so it was a pleasant hour or so just watching their antics , despite being so close two photographers one sitting actually down on the shore line with what looked like  a 500mm lens  so he must have been only getting head shots but he still rattled off the shots like a machine gun , but the real interest was just being able to watch these stunning birds go about their daily lives by far the best views of GCG I have ever had . Interesting to see the Colour ringed Coot is still around and has  been for a few years now . A few Tufted also on the water  

 First bird encountered had the west end was this Goosander again it had come reasonably close to the shore but all the photos revealed possibly why as it was dozing in the sun had had it's eye closed the whole time . The Lake is a good place to see Goosanders in the winter

 Great Crested Grebes are a stunning bird  to see ,this juvenile enjoying the ride

No wonder they are growing fast if that's the fish diet

Big Waters

A couple of hours at Big waters the other day,good numbers of wildfowl around including a nice male Pintail which spent 99.9% of the time up ending amongst the numerous Wigeon , I only took a few digi shots of whatever would come within range which included this smart Great Crested Grebe .

 Goldeneye are not uncommon in Northumberland but it's difficult to get anywhere near them

 Only the females would come near the hide but these are also nice looking birds !!

Just caught this GC Grebe as was wing stretching ,using digi scope

Pintail in with the Wigeon, there seems to be a few around , but well spread

River Blyth

Another cycle ride along the River Blyth without the camera this time as I had the scope , so it was digi or nothing went straight along to look for the Little Egrets ,but the council is working on the new path  ( I think it's to make it easier for people to dump rubbish , or faster for the numerous unlicensed and uninsured motorbikes that seem to use this as a rat run so beware) any way found three of the Egrets but looking into the light so I had to go around and look back down but now they where some way off . Further down a Wheatear caught my attention so I spent some time trying to get some shots in a brief sunny spell , at least 200 Great Black Backs roosting  on the old pit workings , 2 Goosanders fed along the north edge later 3 Mergansers by the old power sattion. Later I went down to Ridley Park via any trees or bushes I could find, there was a very good site that was last used as an old wood yard with a tangle of bushes,Brambles etc; giving loads of cover but now the site is cleared and it's just grass. Ridley Park at this time most of the birds concentrated behind the Tennis Courts the cover is thick with little access, I could hear a Yellow Browed calling  but failed to find it all I got was  Chiffchaff, the Great Crested  Grebe was still around but the light no better making it look dull.

Click on an image to display and enlarge all images ..

 I presume the Yellowish tone to the legs of these two birds is an indication of Juveniles ?

I am sure Dulux could come up with some fancy name for those yellow feet

 This Wheatear proved very difficult to digiscope  with a fence blocking not my view but the scope as in was set , I persevered as its all good practice for that one day "biggy" , Wheatears are fantastic looking birds even this Autumn male looking smart

Typical of trying to photograph birds the sun barely breaks through the clouds then went dull, only to later come out with full force, but by now the bird has gone !!!

Killingworth Lake-Whooper !

Called at Killingworth Lake  on Tuesday 29-3-11 only the one male Goosander present about 60 Tufted Duck ,2 Great Crested grebe, a few Pochard my first lesser Black-backs of the year and still around was the Whooper Swan,I had scanned for it on arrival but thought it had gone walking the roadside path there it was just near the edge ,it seems to have a hint of juvenile plumage on its  back  I wonder if it is a youngster that strayed from the rest and just settled here ,it does have a ring on which I managed to get a photo of unfortunately just the section with the BTO address if anyone has further details I would be interested, no sign of any Goldeneye today usually a good spot for them . (Apparently the Whooper Swan was ringed at Killingworth  in January this year, thanks to Ian fisher for the information)  

Slow start to the year .......8th

Slow start to the year for me decided to go back to basics of birding , trying to find my own stuff  the birding year did not start till about the 4th I was heading for the estuary but the report of Slavonian and Red Necked Grebe on the river by the quay was too tempting so much for finding my own stuff, anyway no sign of Slav a Great Crested Grebe present and what looked  to me like a RNG well up river , but stopping a couple of places further along no sign.   

4th January Great Crested Grebe (self found  :) )

5th January fully tooled up with scope ,camera, digi camera ,flask ,sarnie and a clean hanky headed for Holywell gull numbers here usually increase at this time of year so it is as good a place as any for white wingers  legged it down to the hide to find the door jammed again you have to grab at the base and work it open , opened the shutter to find the pond frozen solid and not a thing around and with little of interest coming to the feeders I headed off, passing the Beehive road stopped to scope two flocks of geese totalling some c350 Pinkfeet no collared birds or colour rings I could see,  c150 Greylag  so I decided to got  down to the harbour ,you have park near the caravan storage area and  walk in as no public car access.

Passing the yacht club area 7 Snow Buntings dropped onto the old yacht club jetty but did not hang around and where not seen again, not many gulls around , looking over to the pier I could see a couple of colour ringed Shag . Then I got my eye on a Red Necked Grebe coming up river .

5th Jan 6 of 7 Snow Buntings 

5th Jan RNG swims past

5th Jan

Took me a good couple of hours to get some shots of the Grebe

8th January headed back down to the harbour to digiscope the colour ringed Shags just cant read the letters with the scope alone, Red Necked Grebe still around took a few more snaps even tried digiscoping it but got nothing useful , no sign of Snow Buntings  a single Kittiwake and 2 Coot in the harbour.

8th Jan

One of the colour ringed Shags  (3 Blue 1 Red )

Big Waters.......

Had a run to Big Waters the other day and came across this "GROWTH" what do you think it is ?. Great Crested Grebe with at least Two young , Common Terns still present not sure of their success as yet, Emperor present on the open water and Four Spot Chaser, very little on the small pool again the wind not helping in the search for Dragonflies, I should have perhaps went up to the hide !!!What do you make of this growth ???
Common Tern
Meadow Browns coupled.......
Only a few Damsels on the small pool and laying just too far away
Emerald in the tall grass
The hoof (or 1/2 )of I presume a Cow what an earth it was doing just lying on the grass, the Victorians would have made something of this , like a snuff box , could make a mobile phone stand nice surprise for the missus !!!!!!!! , although it would probably hurt when she bounced it off your head !!!

20th April Jack Snipe & more Wags

The message of a Jack snipe showing at Cresswell saw me arrive at the hide with all my gear including the flask ready for a long session, I have seen many jack Snipe but never had a really good look at one , to my surprise it was showing although at first very hard to pick out it did come more into the open very briefly, what a cracking little bird as it worked the ground bobbing along like a clockwork toy .

The Black headed Wagtail was reported as being at the north end again , long with the Blue-Headed /Yellow Wagtail hybrid, they both showed well although to distant for my lens, at least 8 Yellows along with White & Pied also 2 Common Sandpiper ,it was another windy day and very cold exposed on the causeway ,the strong wind caught my tripod and the lot tipped into the pond , I grabbed it quick the water gushing from the sun shade and open case, what a disaster !!! tried to get the case off but you have to take the eyepiece out so I dried it best I could hanging it on the fence to let the wind help,I used it again later and it seems OK .Thankfully Kowas are a well made scope.

Went on to Druridge to have a look at the 90 Black tailed Godwits quite a sight in the afternoon sun more dropped in and I got to 115 before some left again , later 20 dropped into Cresswell , where apparently the Black headed had again went out of sight, a bit frustrating for those that had yet to see it.

White Fronted Geese along with a few Pinkfeet still in the Woodhorn area as I drove up.

Cryptic with a capital "C" that's Jack Snipe for you
crop of the above
a few seconds in the open then back to feeding in cover , a bobbing dazzler !
I dont shoot in RAW but wonder if I could have improved these if I had
A tiny bird still some way off so another very heavy crop
Just another quick shot as it dropped on the path
part of the Black Tailed Godwit as they wheeled around 115 in total
Taken through my scope not long after being fully immersed in Cresswell Pond !!!!

Sat 27th March Newbiggin -Druridge

Saturday another run up the coast first I called in to Newbiggin for a walk along the coast then through the golf course, no gulls in the bay and just a handfull along the coast , a couple of Wheatears on the golf course and a group of Meadow Pipits , Cresswell I just gave the top end a look over the field but nothing for me , Druridge again about 40 Tufted , and lots of Teal on the wetlands a raucous few hundred Black-headeds with 2 Adult Med gulls dropping in , the Black Redstart still behind the plantaion though very mobile , 3 Wheatears also here and about a dozen meadow Pipits.