Kibblesworth

Last week a visit to Kibblesworth Brick Pools apparently the site of a very large  Brickworks than used as a refuse tip now landscaped, the report of a Broad Bodied Chaser , a Dragonfly species that has evaded me so far  was all it took for me to head over , I arrived with expectations of getting some good photos of  my fist BBC but alas I circled the pond numerous times with no sign a couple of Large Red Damselflies  myriads of teneral Damsels floating off to the nearby tree cover  was all I  got , I even stupidly formatted my card losing the photos I had taken . Having not found any actual dragonflies I sat down for my sandwiches  when a  Cuckoo called and flew across just behind me as I watched it into the distance a red Kite came circling  overhead  and later three Buzzards in the air together. So with the target not around I looked for Butterflies plenty of Wall Brown and a few Small Heath but only one Dingy Skipper could be found , I find these a difficult species to locate more Moth like in flight it's hard to keep track of them watching till they land .

Kibblesworth Brick Pools there are actually several pools one is very overgrown one drys out and all suffer from severe disturbance , from Vehicles, rubbish, or people constantly throwing items in for dogs to retrieve 

 The main pool these two shots taken with my phone which actually takes a half decent photo, and the view across the reclaimed tip over to The Angel.

Red Kite pays a visit

 Two of three Buzzards overhead

 Small Heath

 Dingy Skipper

Swifts

The female seems to be settled in one corner of the nest site most of the time she just sits motionless  but as the season progresses the irritation from  parasites seems to increase and there is no respite. the nesting material is from a House Sparrow , I took some random snapshots this time as yet I can see no eggs other than the the one on the right in the last shot  which  is  from last year that was displaced.

River Blyth

A trip out on the bike the other day looking for Speckled wood I found non but came across this Shield Bug  it would make a nice subject for a macro lens , plenty of  Wall Brown  on the wing with the habit of landing on the path in front of me. The River Blyth has had of late a Curlew Sandpiper and several Black tailed Godwits have been around for a few days one of which is colour ringed , I have also came across several Fox including  some cubs but with no camera at the time , that's the curse of a camera take it and find it hard at times to get some good shots , leave it at home and something will pop up just in front of you  !!!

 The new track along the riverside of Blyth has this area fenced off with about six of these signs ,perhaps the new path is to be the wedding way !!!

 Meadow Pipits making use of any bit of height  within their  territory

 This one came back to the same spot several times

 A few new ponds formed after the heavy rains of April how long will they last with the hot weather as this one is evaporating rapidly ,this one near the old reservoir , which had not a single Dragonfly or Damselfly but actually plenty of fish coming to the surface in the warm weather.

Swift nest cam

9:30 on the 27th of May just had a quick look at the Swift nest cam two birds present doing a lot of mutual preening , still can't get the sound to record which is very disappointing I'm sure they are very vocal during this preening . 

Blyth Battery May 2012

Last weekend was another event at Blyth Battery  the WWI and WWII search light and gun emplacement , when I was a child this was a great place to play most of the units where used as beach chalets in an era when "vandalism " seemed unheard off , now if its not virtually "nuke" proof it gets destroyed . Anyway it's good to get a look at someone else's hobby , and this re-enactment can be a serious and very expensive hobby , the Tank below was apparently some sort of observation vehicle with a kit added to the top, it is motorised and had firing guns as did the 25pounder that was very loud during the re-enactment of the taking of the beach . All seems a bit over the top till you realise  at the time invasion was a very real threat , I know the access to beaches was very restricted if not completely banned , but it got me thinking what happened to the bird populations during all this did Little Terns and Arctic terns flourish with the beaches deserted, I remember reading the excellent book   A Naturalist on Lindisfarne  by Richard Perry , if memory serves he was based there as an observer during the war and I think the book was published on that thin war time economy paper , actually I remember a lot of natural history books seemed to published during the war, must try and get a copy and re-read.

Back to the day I have lived nearby most of my life and it was strange to go into a few buildings that I had never been in before , one chap I was talking too told me the searchlights only shone out to sea and not as I  thought up in the air as well, apparently it was common to fire on friendly ships mistaken them for the enemy such was the fear at the time . Blyth at the time was an important Submarine base which as it happens was indirectly how I came on the scene as my late father was a Submariner  based at Blyth where he met my Mother...

 An expensive hobby no doubt I'm sure this would be Several thousand pound

 What could have been two German soldiers patrol around the site.

 The business end !

 The detail is impressive most spent the weekend camped out ,but there is an excellent fish and chip shop nearby !!!

 All these guns are deactivated and cannot fire