Little Stint

Took the opportunity to get some shots of the Little Stints that frequented both the North pool and Sand bank at Cresswell Pond 

You would think over the years that using Blogger would get easier such as video uploads etc but I have tried several times to upload videos with no success so I have sent an upload to Youtube even this seemed to take forever so I cancelled it but it appears to have uploaded anyway the usual wind interference which  I normally take out ,there must be an easier way of adding video to a Blog !!!! ?  

Little Stint with Dunlin

This is afternoon light given the birds a ginger look

Little Stints move so fast even when this close they are not in the frame but a split second 

Not a view I have had before Little Stint takes a break from it's frantic search for food and lies tucked up !!

Just missed the tip of the tail which I caught in the next shot but it was slightly blurred

LITTLE STINT Video Link

Little Stint

Some digiscoped images of the Little Stint at Cresswell recently, you don't get the opportunity to close to them around these parts   

This bird spent most of the time down the north end but came onto the sand bank when the Dunlin came in ,here it takes the time to have a quick bathe

And ruffles and fluffs it feathers up

nice clean white underparts  above and showing the underwing below

Cresswell,Pond, Bonxie, Bittern, Stint

Cresswell Pond  stopped at the North end to check for waders about 10 or so Dunlin which flew off to the main pond  but I then noticed  a Bonxie on the spit presumed the same one that was in the area for a week or so but seemed to have left , went upto the hide only taking the camera as I did not have long , a little stint was pointed out to me right up at the  far end it did come nearer but not for my lens , the Bonxie also lifted causing chaos but did not make a kill, the Coots headed en mass to the safety of the outflow it was odd to see them all swim then all run across the sand bar as fast as they could . I was told I had just missed a Bittern but within minutes one lifted and flew around  2-3 mins  high up it looked as though it was heading off but circled and dropped near the outflow, not a bad half hour   !!!

 Bonxie settles back on the spit

 I caught the Little Stint as it left the sand bar to go back to the far end

 A Bittern flies high before dropping back into the reeds

That was the week that was !!!!!!!!!!!!

Just catching up on whats been happening or not in this case, spent last weekend camping at Wooler, but absolutely lousy weather Bank Holiday Monday at Glendale Show but not my cup of tea, an evening down at the bridge saw several Daubentons Bats but far fewer than I have seen in the past, there is a very large encased pipe that you could walk on across the river and the bats used to whip past you, but alas now its fenced off plenty of Tawny Owls calling for what seemed like most of the night........... one remark heard as a couple packed their gear away at the site which I thought was humorous (posh voice) " Darling where do we keep the Arxe !!!, your bag or mine ".
Called in at Blyth harbour on the way to St Mary's and the erection of more gates and fences, looks like it's turning into area 51, making Winter Gull watching very difficult if not impossible.
Several Roseates on the rocks but well out , a couple of Whimbrel over but rather quiet.
Had five Migrant Hawkers in a small group all hung up within about 10' of each other and 2 on the same branch but in thick cover so all distant shots also Peacocks a few Painted Ladies Red Admirals & Tortoiseshell and a very raggy Wall Brown, on to Cresswell the water level is up again as you probably already know and the strong wind didn't help either , 5 BlackTailed Godwits, 2 Bar tailed , Curlew Sandpiper, Greenshank & several Dunlin dropped onto the sandbank but all left very quickly, what looked like Little Stint up at the far end still on the main pond but right of that small mound with the channel behind, it stayed there even when everything else flushed .