Sunday 3rd February

Northumbrian Birding
Sunday 3rd started off at Killingworth lake ,10 Goosanders on the two pools ,with 15 pochard in a group but they left without my noticing, Goldeneye and Tufted also present another place worth a call into always surprises me what turns up here amongst the shopping trolleys and other rubbish,nest stop Bothal ponds a bit windy here and the site is exposed held 160 Wigeon,30 Coot and and 6 redshank, Tree Sparrows along the hedge and a large flock of small birds over the east but they did not settle ,20 Goldfinch beside the farm,also stopped at Longhirst flash with the 2nd/3rd winter Glaucous in the field with a couple of hundred gulls,
LInton next seems to be my favourite place at the moment but alas it was rather quiet ,the tip must not operate on Sunday so with no new rubbish to go through the gulls just seem to loaf around , final stop Cresswell ,Smew showed to the right of the hide and two Scaup in with the Tufted, water level still very high if the hide wasn't on posts it would have floated away by now.I see there is a fancy notice board to replace the chalk board, but with no special pen to write on it there is never anything on it , why couldn't they have just left the board was there a health & safety risk from the toxic chalk dust !!!!!!
The star of my video
Goosanders on killingworth lake
No reason for this other than I like it !!!
LIchen, Reindeer Lichen ?

Shovelling Shoveller

This Shoveller spent a lot of time in this activity of swirling around in the same spot