15-11-08 Linton

Adult Glaucous Linton Pond

Just went to Linton today for a look through the gulls and see what else would turn up, an adult Glaucous on the ice although I did not see it come in ,perhaps the one I had at Cresswell last week, set up the digiscope gear, disaster my trusted old Nikon 4500 would not zoom in the buttons knackered it will zoom out but not in which makes it useless for digiscoping , I had to put the remote on which is temperamental but at least in zoomed in , the bird sat around for sometime going into the water for a bathe then back on the ice for a preen , while on the ice a Juvenile Herring Gull actually landed on its back and tried to settle ? talk about a bad landing , the Glaucous just gave out a cry and shrugged it off & resettled to preen, later it had a go at another bird for no reason at all chasing it off, funny things gulls. A couple of thousand Pinkfeet lifted to the North but no Snow Goose in with them. The geese still on the field beside the round about,with a couple hundred Pinkfeet there on the way back it might pull in some Whoopers .

Now should I poke around in my camera or just get another , trouble is they don't make swivel screens anymore ????

Heavy vignette on the edge as I could not get the camera to work, the bird really stood out

Got the zoom to work and the light was not to bad, tail is in heavy moult

Time to go and for once I was ready .

At least the birds on the ice give good views

Took off and went West

Sat/ Sun 13th & 14th December

Saturday & Sunday when most birders are out and about I had a lazy weekend and did nowt, tried some drawing from some of my photos , & looked on youtube for some tips there is loads of stuff on the net , I was surprised to get a pager message on Saturday " Thursday, Bean Goose, & 5 White Fronts, with 100 Greylag " taken from my blog , things must be slow , but at least it shows someone is reading it.

I did get news of the Whooper Swan with coloured ring DU6 at Big Waters, it was ringed as a Female in Iceland on 17-08- 2007, and ended up at Caerlaverock 11-11-07, and 2008 at Big Waters

11-12-08 Woodhorn, QE11, Linton, then shopping

Thursday I checked out Woodhorn Flash but it is flooded on the walk down so I could not get too near and ended up looking into the light , no sign of the Green -winged Teal, only a small party of Long Tailed Tits ,is it me or are they commoner this year I had about 15 just up the street from me, as yet not seen them in the garden but they do seem to be everywhere, another party at Linton in the woods.
Had a look at QE11 , most birds at the far end, but not in the mood for a walk around, some other day perhaps, on the way to Linton I pulled in beside the field just west of the roundabout, here where a couple of thousand Gulls, this is the field I last saw a Bewicks Swan some time ago , in with the gulls where about 100 Greylag the 5 White-fronts, and the Bean Goose , checked through with the scope , gulls are using the large pool to bathe in .
At Linton still easily over a thousand gulls most of the pond open water, checked through the lot time after time no I/G, and even I got bored looking at so many Herring Gulls , the Bean Goose was here also although I did not see it come in , on the East pond this is where the Teal had moved to, over in the fields and the lane they where flailing the hedges which where heavy in Hawthorn berries, you would think they could leave them till the turn of the year at least, left before dark with 8 Fieldfare on the road out, not seen many this winter so far.
Time for some shopping.................................................
Long Tailed -Tit at Woodhorn Pond

large pools of water in the fields bringing in the gulls , also here about 100 Greylag, 5 White Fronts, and a Bean Goose,

Geese in with the rest

Linton Pond just the far end frozen

Took some flight shots, this bird just looked interesting with it's heavy feet hanging,

Fieldfare just up the lane

9-12-08 Bells & Cresswell

A shot of the Moon as I got home taken from the front door

Tuesday another run to Cresswell , but passing the car park there was a least five cars and there not being as many seats as the old hide I headed on past and went to look for the Twite, the flock was soon picked up , but in the field opposite a large flock of Pinkfeet and the Snow Goose, they all lifted circled and resettled, the Twite and Linnet s where also very mobile keeping there distance, it was bitter cold in the wind, so I headed back to the hide at cresswell .

The Bittern showed after ten or so minutes sitting up in the reeds on the edge of the pool and began preening, it's legs and feet looking a bright light green in the strong light but unable to capture the colour with the digi, it sat there for some time till it just melted into the reeds.Water Rail on the edge near the fish box which was favoured by the kingfisher, but it looks dry there now.

The Merlin came over just after I had said it was about due , it turned and came back over the pond and sat on a log, in the distance the Geese flock lifted and you could easily see the Snow Goose, later the Otter came from the outfall actually walking through the shallow water , missed it by a whisker ,popped up again left of the hide, a white winged gull flew over just got onto it to late to get the bill as it flew north thought Iceland at the time but the photos aren't good enough to put a name to it , it does look more towards an adult in age though.

Another good day at Cresswell

Twite & Linnet flock worth a look through might pull in a Shore Lark or two

Snow Goose dropping in with the Pinkfeet

Bittern with one of the Mergansers going past

Merlin sits and ponders.

digiscoped shot of above

White Wing gull high over the pond,looks grey with white in the wings

more like glaucous in this shot. it's a pity I would have liked a much better view, there where no gulls to pull it down to the pond

8-12-08 Return to Iceland

Monday afternoon and I did not have much time so I went back to Blyth harbour for gulls and perhaps some Snow Buntings,the 1st year Iceland is still around I hope it stays the winter to try and get some photos later on, not much else around a few Eiders, Turnstones and two Pied Wagtail, so I found the Iceland in with the Great Black-backs it flew around a few times but always resettled, with the light so dull it was not worth going anywhere else.
Iceland Gull

Iceland with Great Black-backed, a big difference in size