Gosforth Park NHSN Reserve

A recent visit to Gosforth Park reserve of  The Natural History Society of Northumbria you have to be a member of the Society to gain access to the reserve, as I have said before membership is well worth the expense with meetings/lectures at The Hancock Museum on various Natural History subjects also an excellent Library  to view, and access to the Reserve with a key entry feeding station and 2 key entry hides . Check out the website membership could be a very good Christmas present for someone !!!!!!!!!!

We started off at the feeding station  with the usual Blue Tits etc as you would expect good sightings of GSW and regular visits of Nuthatch and Treecreeper , it was decided to walk around the reserve as the rain was keeping off  so we set off  on a circular walk but calling into one of the hides that looks onto the lake oddly no wildfowl at all , and save for 2 Mute and a few Moorhen and Coot , that was it , sightings of Bittern are seemingly regular but you need something to look at in the meantime .

Walking further around a Jay overhead , and 2 Roe deer skipped off with another 2 further around till wee came upon one that we saw it before it saw us and I managed a couple of shots before it was off into the thick cover , very few birds on the walk most seem to hang around the feeders as there was plenty still there when we called in again but the light had gone and despite the birds dropping in fairly close photography was no good 

 Nuthatch frequent if brief visitor to the feeding station

 Roe Deer till it either got wind of or heard us

 Treecreeper another regular visitor to the feeding station

 GSW like to feed on the fat balls that are pushed into the holes as the one above

 The ever present Rats inevitable with all the falling seed etc:

Treecreeper again seem to like this Oak, brilliant little birds I have had them very close but never it seems when I have a camera ?

Hareshaw Linn

Another visit to Hareshaw Linn a month on hoping for more migrants ,weather wise it was much warmer a month ago the opposite of what you would expect at this time of year, some Toothwort still out but well past it's best, Goldilocks Buttercups just starting to flower . A Dipper feeding a single fledged young but too far down for me to get a photo a pair of Grey Wagtails fed around the waterfall and a nice male Redstart on the wood edge replaced by two Roe deer on the way back, only the one Wood Warbler briefly burst into song I think the dull cold day had subdued it.

 Toothwort

 Goldilocks Buttercup not sure how common they are can't say I have noted them elsewhere

 Herb Paris

Short video of a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers at their nest site .

Hareshaw Linn

We had a drive over to Bellingham  for a walk along the banks of Hareshaw Linn its an easy stroll only about 1 3/4 miles , a reasonably sunny day Chiffchaff the first bird heard , Nuthctch, Great , Blue, & Coal Tit in abundance. Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming , and the yaffle of   Green Woodpecker  despite it seeming so close we could locate it, a pair of Grey Wagtails on the actual waterfall and Dipper also seen .
Whilst checking out a Nuthatch a Red Squirell scampered up the tree but eventually settled on the end of a tree limb.

There are six bridges to cross before you get to the waterfall but all are good vantage points to check the stream

 Plenty of Wood Anemones coming through especially where the sun reached

 Also vantage points to look down onto the stream

Most of the bridges are just that , a means to cross over

 But the 6th one is a little differant and just shows what you can do with wood

 Near here is this sort of tree stump which people have hammered in coins it looks quite affective , I have seen  similar in Holywell Dene

Looking back onto the 6th and last bridge , a short walk up hill brings you onto a view of the falls.

 I was trying to capture the Rainbow which is about centre.

In the rock crevices are some great ferns , some I gather are rather rare, the sort that only have Latin names , so I will leave at that !

 Mr or perhaps Mrs Red Squirrel sits out on a limb to eat whatever it recovered from the hole in the branch end

Always see dippers along here from the village to the falls 

Four Roe deer up on the hillside  but soon out of sight on the steep slope 

And a few seconds of the small but enchanting waterfall at Hareshaw well worth a visit.

Hawfinch.................Roe Deer

!8th Tuesday decided to go up and look for the reported Hawfinch at Morpeth , I have been along this area a few times as part of a walk  from Morpeth to Mitford , the bird had been seen a couple of times that day but after about an hour no show decided to walk along to the weir , Jay on the bankside and a couple of Marsh Tits along the road  with Buzzard over , later the Hawfinch eventually sat atop some trees for us I took some digi photos which looked Ok but on the monitor a small twig in front of the bird was in focus but the bird not.

Called at West Hartford on the way home no owls but four Roe Deer , of the nearer two one sensed me or heard the shutter as it pricked its ears and began to strut in an arc coming towards me so I just took a couple of shots every few seconds I had intended to compile them into a slideshow but it does not seem to work ,it came closer and closer for some reason it could not see me ,but I thought as soon as it gets my scent it will be off , I could feel the slight breeze on my neck and sure enough as soon as it came in line with me and the breeze it was turned and off like a rocket.

Jay near the weir 

Marsh Tit along the road

Hawfinch sitting feeding  female ? also a bit of video

Strutting along, leg poised in the air as it tried to work out what was up

Just a step later it got my scent and was off !!

Gosforth Park 10-6-10

Thursday I ended up in Gosforth Park and walked around the long path, I encountered 4 Roe, one Fox just sitting on the path and a red Squirrel, numerous GSW, two where making such a racket I looked up to try and see them when a falcon flew over the tree tops at the west end of the lake ,it size and shape let me to think Hobby so I went around to the screen to look over the lake but no sign. I t was another dull overcast day and being in the woods made it even darker, I had taken my camera but it was useless,I tried to get the Fox as it sat on the path, it had not seen me but by the time I got focused on it in the gloom, it was gone .

I always think of Fungi as an Autumn thing, but coming across these I could not resist a few shots with my compact camera, I have no idea what they are, and don't really care as I struggle to remember plant names let alone getting into Mycology .

Gosforth Park as I have said before is a reserve of The Natural History Society of Northumberland ..................details here

Sunday 28th Gosforth Park...clocks go forward

Sunday 28th the clocks go forward giving us more daytime to go out and find them birds , I sort of went out but shopping as well as walking around Gosforth park, I took the camera with me as I now must take it everywhere in case I miss something , Long-tailed Tits by the car , Great and Blue Tits along the track singing Wrens , Chaffinch, a Great Spotted Woodpecker , 2 Lesser black Backs on a small pool, Woodcock flushed a couple of Nuthatch and 4 Roe Deer, Only two Little Grebes that I could see on one of the main pools , I need to get a key for the hides, a couple of Jays , but no Chiffs anywhere, lots of water lying , pleasant walk with only a couple of slight showers I think the blustery wind kept most of the rain at bay , also stopped at the garden centre for a few Oxygenating plants but at £9.50 I thought I would look elsewhere !!!!

Gosforth Park is a reserve of The Natural History Society Of Northumbria details of membership can be found here http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/ ,with lectures and outdoor meetings in all aspects of natural history , well worth the annual membership fee.



Interesting Woodpecker nest hole showing its construction, thats a lot of hammering

Whaffling Blogger, Whiffling Geese

Another round up of my week Sunday we had a run along to the south end of Hauxley via the Carrs road ,the place was lifting with people so I only went as far as the Ponteland hide, a Great Spotted Woodpecker along the track, but just the usual geese on the pool with the water level very high, I noticed this survey ship very close inshore . Stopped at East Chevington on the way back it was good to get two Short Eared Owls over the south pool , with two Bean Geese in with the Pinks.

Another walk locally with Barn Owl, lots of Pinkfeet over, another large covey of Grey Partridge , noticeably more birds singing now , not perhaps full song but definatley they are feeling Spring is in the air and it's good to see the days getting longer, flock of Redpoll still around though impossible to pin down, a couple of Bullfinch keeping ahead of me , a couple of TiT flocks but getiing smaller and smaller, I was actually going to head to St Mary's but it went from nice sunny day to heavy rain within ten minutes so I headed off home.

Heading up to Big Waters I picked out two Roe Deer in a field and caught sight of a Buzzard sitting on a grass hummock near the Holiday Inn roundabout so I pulled over and waited for it to lift getting a few shots in as it sat , it lifted facing the right way got one shot and .....battery flat ,they always go at the wrong time. Big Waters partly frozen still loads of Teal but most tucked away so it was impossible to check them all for the hoped for Green Winged why this is something I always look for is hard to say , but its better to check yourself than see it reported just after youve left !!!, Goldeneye and the ever present Mallard, but there is always plenty to watch at the feeding station , Siskin showing very well , the area drying out after flooding so more ground feeders showing up , not seen Otter here for sometime now ?.

Another sunny day so I headed for East Chevington with the intention of spending the day there

I have never walked around the path that encircles the North Pond so I headed off with all my gear I could see the Pinkfeet on the West side and thought I would get a better view from the north Track but as from most areas of this pond your looking into the light, actually they showed better from the road in and had I stopped in the car would have been able to look through most of them, but being on foot the y spooked as soon as I stopped to check them out, and off they went . For once it stopped nice and sunny so I checked the sea, could only pick out about 10 Red Throated Divers , 8 Red Breasted Mergansers, and only 4 Scoter, with numerous Auks, walked along to the South Pool had two Short Eared Owls and A Barn Owl, one SEO trying to pursue the Barn Owl but they went out of sight , a birder came along a said the Barn Caught a Vole and the SEO tried to mob it, three Redhaed Smew on the pool, presumed some of the ones from Druridge, I stayed till the sun set which made nice change , having been a good day out !!!!!

I forgot about the three Bar Tailed Godwits roosting in with Lapwing on the ice.

This Survey ship seemed very close in , must have a very shallow draft.
SEO over the South Pool from the top gate
This Redpoll dropped in to drink but gone in a flash.
At Least this Stonechat was willing to pose for me
Siskin BigWaters
Stock Dove
Could only get the Bullfinch on the feeders so I cropped it out.
SEO looks like its hung up on the fence but its dropping on something

Just as I was leaving picked out this one sitting on the fence but the sun setting rapidly now ,they are always great to see !!!
The same bird but just a little warmer light
And finally the setting sun , although its setting over a spoil heap , but I cant change that around here !!