8th April Holywell Pond

Thursday I cycled via the tracks to Holywell pond three Barnacle and 12 Pinkfeet in with the local Greylags also about 30 Curlew the flash in the field with plenty of water in should last through the summer, my first Cowslips of the year ,female Goosander at the east end Swallows over , 3 Reed Buntings at the feeders ,I had missed the best part of the day it was now overcast with a very cool feel.

March 13th ............a day of numbers

Well its Saturday , where to go, where to go , I was later getting out again the cars can probably find its own way up the coast just lately ,but for a change I thought I would go via Linton Pond not been for awhile , passing Woodhorn I got my eye on some Geese so pulled over a bit of away off so I scope them, Greylag, Canada, and about 25 Pinkfeet, with a single Barnacle and the 4 Whitefronts still with them , I sometimes call in to QE11 lake I have had Glaucous & Iceland here before , but today I just passed by, going over to the Linton road a flock of 40 Whooper in a small pool by the road , so I got a couple of shots just from the car so as not to spook them.

The track down to the hide at Linton is a sun trap and it was very warm here the pond held c80 Wigeon, c40 Teal, 35 Tufted, a couple of Shoveller & Gadwall and a male Goosander, only about 40 Black-headed Gulls ,with Bullfinch in the small wood.

Cresswell just behind what used to be the cafe about 350-400 Pinkfeet not to far off so I scoped them again in the hope of Taiga Bean but no !, I passed the carpark of Cresswell as it was to nice a day to sit in the hide and decided to check the sea ,just taking the scope 2 Reed Buntings landed not 6 feet away on the fence then dropped onto the ground and back onto the fence , its the curse of having a camera ,lug it around all day and get nothing leave it in the car and you miss something, as it was there was nothing on the sea , but just to tease me a little more, now just feet away 2 Stonechat, a Meadow Pipit and a Reed Bunting in a little group on the gate posts beside the car.

West Chevington called along here before going to the pools at East Chevington , pulled over and scanned picked up a couple of Buzzards in the distance so got the scope out, to find a total of 8 birds , the most I have seen in one group , 2 Fieldfare & the first Stonecrop in flower along the ditch an unusual plant in that the flower comes before the leaves

East Chevington just hung around the obs platforms and was rewarded with a total of 4 Short Eared Owls & a Sparrowhawk to end the day .

40 Whoopers along the Linton road

Stonecrop, Sorry that should be Coltsfoot (which is what I meant)
This bird sat just along the road from the platform , but the light fading fast now.

I seem to have put the wrong image here !!!

Round up of the week

Just a round up of the past week ,with visits to ,Holywell pond, St Mary's Island, Druridge pools ,Cresswell Pond, Big Waters, Dinnington area,

This Herring Gull sat like this for 1/2 hour or more till it eventually lay on the ice, a session at Holywell ,large area of the pond frozen, still plenty activity at the feeders, with a male Brambling dropping in briefly
Greenland Whitefronts at Woodhorn, also two Med Gulls (ad/2nd w)
Cresswell also the water levels very high with the area in front of the hide flooded, Goldeneyes displaying nearby ,but the afternoon dull, about a dozen Yellowhammers on the track with Reed Buntings the buntings feeding from the sheep troughs,
This day was bright and sunny so I went straight to Druridge for the Smew, which where located on the far side good to say four together ,plenty of Tufted also present , and it has not taken long for birds to use the new island ,with Redshanks roosting on it , some heavy showers kept me in the hide for awhile, but I went into the Oddie hide for my coffee, plenty or Curlews around at least 100 spread over the extensively flooded fields , un fortunatly your looking into the light but it was just good to have some sun on you, I checked the bay from the dunes ,but the bitter cold wind meant I did not stay long, several Red-throated Divers was all I saw.

Checked the geese flock on the way back all I got in with them was four Barnacle Geese.

Rainbow after a heavy shower Druridge
Redshanks on the new Island at Druridge
A (short) visit to St Mary's Island, another bright sunny day so I headed for St Mary's Island to catch up with the Water Pipit again, but I soon realised just how cold it was with a bitter wind coming in from the sea, no sign of the Water Pipit, the wetland still had numerous Teal and a few Gadwall , as I headed around the prom a trip bus pulled up and loads of people headed onto the rocks , so I thought better to cut the day short ,and I headed to Holywell , walking the hedge down to the hide it was like a summers day compared with the coast , but alas not much around today .

Mink at Big Waters a fairly large animal this one , unfortunately this was the best I got

Big Waters , as I had not been for some time I thought it time for a visit ,most of the pond frozen but there was a large number of Teal around ,I estimated about 250, could have easily been more as lots where on the edge and some just in from the edge , Goldeneye & Mallard. A large croup of Siskin along the boardwalk with a male singing and a few coming to the feeders, at least there is always something to see here plenty of Reed Buntings giving great views I only wish I could draw them properly, the call of "Mink" just outside and below from the hide , its a long time since I have seen one , it must have crossed the ice and flotsam as it was dense furry black and looked stunning in the second or two I saw it before it got into the thick branches, I got a couple of photos but they turned out rubbish, but they do reveal it now looks brownish in the shade !!.

Drove home via Dinnington had a Short -eared Owl, a couple of Buzzards, several Fielfare & a few Redwings , Long-tailed Tits seem to pairing off as I saw three separate groups of just two birds.