Maiden Hall Lake and the Coast (again)

Had a run up the coast to Cresswell  but only checked the pool to the north because I wanted to get to Maiden Hall Lake area parked along the West Chevington road and had a short walk no signs of any raptors only 2 red Legged Partridge , further along the 2 Bewick's Swan (adult & Juvenile) in a field near the roadside I pulled over and there was such a crunch, getting out to investigate a manhole cover was missing and I had gone over the corner lucky I didn't go over the middle or that would have been the end of the day and my car . The Geese where as far over as it was possible to be along the east shore and beyond, I scanned through them still many White-fronts mostly keeping to themselves , Greylag and Pinkfeet but I could see no bean Geese , Two Pinkfeet  with neck collars oddly right next to each other way to far to read , a passing RAF jet put them on edge and every one dropped onto the lake for a bathe so I took some awful video just to give an idea of numbers . East Chevington was the next stop got there slowly as I checked every likely tree in the hope of Little Owl, rather blowy at Chevington picked out the Slavonian Grebe plenty of wildfowl but I wasn't in the mood to count them looking over the south Pool a Merlin came over and sat atop a small hawthorn before disappearing, another flock of Pinkfeet about a thousand just west of the south pool but no sign of any  SEO today nor any sign of the Whoopers at Ellington as I stopped there on the way home.

 A couple of very distant digi shots with the two Pinkfeet sporting neck collars

 These Bewick's  have been here for a week or so it seems an odd location hope they are both OK

A bit of dodgy video just to show the number of Geese around

Shorelark,Avocets and Merlin 6-4-11

Wednesday the 6th I was going up to the Cresswell area anyway but the note of some Avocets around was a bonus , I was told the Shorelark was still showing at Druridge and a guy even offered me a lift despite having just come from there , so thanks for that,the bird was indeed showing well so rather than push it off I sat down and hoped it would work its way nearer, but other birders arrived and it kept its distance. Plenty of Skylarks and Meadow pipits around ,Wheatears also on the move I had 12 on the way back to Cresswell, Yellow Wagtail in the cattle field just north of the pond, 5 Pieds and 2 White Wagtails, I had seen no sign of the Avocets but there calling as they flew in allowed me to get a couple of shots they dropped on the pool but left , heading back to the village a Male Merlin shot along the dunes nice end to the day and some good birds for my Birder on the Bus list, even though I had missed two buses  back home !!!!

 While hoping for the bird to come nearer took a couple of digishots

 I have overexposed this one pity as it is not a bad shot

This was a smart bird I got a couple of others with the camera which I will use as a header

 Yellow Wagtail Cresswell

 One of  12 Wheatears along the coast from Druridge to Cresswell

Two of the Avocets I think 8 reported at one point

More Sewatching..........14-8-10

Another session at St Mary's on Saturday morning produced

08:00-10:30

Manx...................80

Sooty....................5

Teal........................55

Scoter........................16

Bonxie.......................9

Arctic Skua...............7

RTD..............................1

Grey Plover .................2

Returned later in the afternoon but the sea had dropped considerably over 2 hundred Kittiwakes sitting on the sea & rocks Roseate Tern & my first Juvenile of the year also a colour ringed juvenile Sandwich tern as far as I can find out it was ringed at "Griend" Dutch Wadden Sea with no further or contact details, sea passage was by now sparse and I left by 18:15.

The Naked Birder......................

No not that sort of naked, just going out without bins around your neck sort of nakedness !!!!!

Monday18-01-10

A nice bright sunny day so I had a drive towards Linton Pond for the Smew, which this year has chosen to spend some time on these ponds, on the way along stopped to look at the Swans in the field(north of QE11 lake) that the Cranes visited some while ago, got out the car went to raise the bins which is more just a reflex.............but crap left them at home , I have only done it a couple of times but it's very annoying , I had the scope and thought it not worth the drive back so I just scoped everything all day or used the camera to get a better look at stuff, but reality is you need bins.

Anyway scoped the two flocks of Swans first to the east mainly Mute with 2 Whoopers but the other flack much further along the road were all Whoopers 60 (15 Juv) ,no sign of any Bewick's , but I did pick out a Peregrine on the ground with prey , after it finished it waddled around, not sure what was going on it looked rather ungainly but it eventually took off looking rather laboured after its heavy meal and just landed on a nearby pylon , scanning for more Whoopers(as some just over the brow) I also picked up a small raptor on one of those square fence sections they have in the field ( no idea what they are for).the bird was facing me and I thought Merlin,but it was a long way off it just looked like a Merlin , I kept checking it to see if I could make anything positive on it ,but it had gone , only to the next fence block this time sitting side on a fem/juv Merlin, there seemed a few Skylarks around ,the field looked like it would attract flocks of small birds.

Linton picked up the redhead Smew just out from the hide working the edge of ice in the free water always good to see , would be nice for a male, one of the things I noticed immediately "NO GULLS" this was one of my favourite winter haunts checking through the gulls for white wingers,but it seems the closure of the tip has sent them elsewhere ( was talk of a new tip at Darras Hall area :) ?) so checked what was there ate my sarnie and left for cresswel.

Cresswell water level very high it was good to see the Pinkfeet back ,in with the Canadas 9 Brent geese which ended up feeding on the grass, my plan was to go for a walk trying for some Shorelarks etc: but without bins a none starter so I drove along to Bells for the Twite set the scope up just in time for them to drop on the fence, just as well because I could not pick them out on the ground .

Just happened to look along the road to see a herd of cattle and me stopped in the gateway ,luckily they where heading further along but I put the scope away just in case, ( carbon fibres strong but not that strong ) accompanied by a very large Bull,they where heading for the Twite field and from then I did not see them again other than flying around , so I headed home , just as a huge flock of Pinks filled the air , a great afternoons birding !!!!!

A covey of Grey's in the open near Bells
Smew Linton

Goldeneye Cresswell

Twite Bells farm dunes

A few hours at St Marys and the cem........

Friday saw me drive to St Mary' s Island , I picked one of the worst days of the week most days had been at Least sunny but today it was dull with a sort of freezing fog hanging around , I went along the beach to try and see the Water pipit for the year, but no sign, I came across this dead fish it was actually quite large , I know nothing of fish but thought is was a John Dory Golden Plover along the shoreline, plenty of Sanderling but the colour ringed birds seemed to have moved on , I know they move to Sandhaven beach at times, lots of Golden Plover feeding in amongst the rocks and also Skylarks dropping in .

Woodccks around with 3-4 flighting around , a Merlin over the screen with prey later I found the remains of a Skylark down on the prom by a seat, and the remains of a Snipe along the track, a small area of open water on the wetland had numerous Teal and a single Pintail male, with Wigeon and Shoveller also 4 of these in a small rock pool, Snipe all over the place but no Woodcock in the open , Song Thrush seem to be finding plenty of snails to eat , I remember the one that used a bottle to break the shells on ,it took me ages to work out what the sound was till I saw it Bashing away on one of those flat Alcohol bottles, by 2 the light was poor and it was bitter cold time to head home.
I thought it was a John Dory but a search on the net shows not ??Thanks to the Boulmer Birder for the I.D. as a Lumpsucker






Plenty of Golden Plover in amongst the rocks and along the shore