Goldy 'O'

Sunny, warm with a light SE breeze, some hazy spells...

On my way to work this morning the pager blurts out 'Golden Oriole at Cambois'. Now this is on my way to work but all my gear is packed ready to go on holiday ( would you believe it, typical ) so I thought it would probably be gone before my arrival so I put it to the back of my mind. Until ADMc rang me to say that he was watching it and it was showing well. Optics, thinks I, and indicated off the duel carriageway...

At first, the bird was only seen as it flew through the bushes but after half an hour it appeared in some rose twigs up a baffle bank and sat out in the open like a shrike! What a cracker. A female but it was a bright luminous green complete with red bill. A great bonus for the spring.

Golden Orioles are sometimes seen in Northumberland mainly in May but they are typically elusive one day migrants. I've dipped one or two, so I'm over the moon to claw this one back to my county list.

Better than the Stork anyway and deservedly number 316 on the list...

Later this evening at Boulmer, 1 House Martin, 2 Teal, 4 Whimbrel and a Wheatear.

102. House Martin.
103. Teal.

Northumberland County 316. Golden Oriole.

Tonight a Common Sandpiper was on the shore down from the seawatch seat...

101. Common Sandpiper.

Rothbury, looking well, hiding the hellish bank holiday traffic...




Remember the Song Thrush nest in our outhouse? Well it has young now and the adults are feeding strongly. This shot was taken on the new camera alone, at a range of about 40 feet. The Robin is also back and forward with food for its newly hatched young too.

Today was a lovely warm spring day. At Boulmer this morning I finally caught up with Yellow Wagtail on the patch with a male feeding on the washed up seaweed along the shore. The day was spent at Rothbury visiting the food fair then back home to plant up the pots and hanging baskets in the garden.

One unusual sighting not seen by many south of here was a Fulmar road casualty dead next to Longhoughton Quarry. This is about 2 miles inland! I think it has probably tried to land on the wet road last night during the rain and met its fate. They try to nest in the quarry each year. Can't be a regular cause of death for these birds....

100. Yellow Wagtail.

Alnmouth...

Above- Wren, Robin and Linnet unthinkable with the digi-scope...all at Alnmouth common.



Above - While taking the top pics, I thought this Willow Warbler was becoming agitated. I was almost standing on its nest! I carefully replaced the vegetation and moved away immediately...



Above - This Pheasant gave me a strange glance while leaving the Willow Warbler.

Hundreds of hirundines feeding above the waterworks carousels at Alnmouth...



Above - The bottom right hand Swallow was very different, with a russet belly. A well marked male. All the others were ordinary ...




Above - Digiscoped for a closer look. A good mix of Swallows, Sand Martins and the odd House Martin ( in the more distant shot further up).


Thanks to Roger Forster for the tips...

Some practice shots...

Some of our daily visitors. Results ok considering they were taken through double glazed windows that really need cleaned...

At Seaton Point this morning a good count of 18 Whimbrel were in the field across from the car park, 1+ Lesser Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler were in the golf course bushes, a Sedge Warbler could be heard singing nearby, 2 Grey Partridges were on the runways and Linnets were everywhere with some flocks still around of up to 30 birds.

As is typical of a Bank Holiday weekend, a whole surfing and kite flying crew have decended onto Boulmer haven. I can't understand why because the beach is covered in boulders and the sea is as flat as a mill pond in the haven...I think they should go back to Druridge to see Ipin....

I forgot to say what it was...its the Panasonic Lumix FZ18. Not for me the joy's of the SLR. A bit too expensive for someone who just dabbles. I was impressed by Ipin's photo's on his blog, so I thought I would give it a go. It might give me a chance with some of those flitting passerines such as the Chiffy below...

Still a few Whimbrel dotted around Boulmer, another 4 in different places tonight.

New camera...

same old photographer!

Thanks to Ian Fisher for this pic showing the ring in more detail. All its missing is the ball and chain!

Ian Fisher calls me up this afternoon to tell me that someone has reported a White Stork on the airstrip at Bockenfield near Felton, just off the A1. As it's en route home I gave it a look. Within a few minutes, there it was, the Stork, paddling about in some waterlogged lawns beside the runways guzzling large lobworms.

Now, I've had 2 White Storks in the county but both turned out to be ringed birds so I made myself a rule that I wouldn't tick one unless I could see it on the deck well enough to check for rings. There are too many free flying captive bred birds in the country to overlook this detail for me ( I do like a clean list).

First things first, check those legs. Bird showing well, striding around and not a sign of leg iron. Get in! Number 387 on the Brit List and 316 for Northumberland, time to celebrate, first British lifer since the White tailed Plover last June and one more step towards the big 4-0-0...blah blah blah...

Until...a text from ADMc then a call from Ian Fisher and Iain Robson to say the bird, No 387, is in fact a Budgie, complete with a tiny closed ring on its left ankle...desperation kicks in. Remember the Cranes at the QEII? Those were ringed too according to the crack ( but not according to John Malloy's brilliantly sharp images in Birdwatch magazine)...It must be a trick of the light, a wet leg scale or something, PLEASE.


My own photo's are enough to tell the true story. Cue deflation and de-ticking in that order. One day I'll get a good 'un.

Sorry for the lack of illustration today, the weather was too dull and damp.

Today was calm and humid with drizzle then heavy rain. Early on was quite dry but overcast, but it didn't last long. By 10am I was rained off home for breakfast.

Arrived at Boulmer at 7.30am and gave the patch a decent flogging until the weather closed in. Most areas were covered, from Seaton Point as far north as the Howdiemont footbridge and a few species were added to the year list. Birds of note today -

Sparrowhawk 1 female hunting the golf course corner.
Puffin 1
Guillemot 1
Gannet a few in the mist
Sandwich Tern 5+
Common Tern 4
Arctic Tern 3 around Longhoughton Steel
Little Tern 1 N
Dunlin 6 in full breeding plumage
Whimbrel 3 at Seaton Point still and 2 at Longhoughton Steel
Swallow a steady movement S (?), plus 7+ in the village
Sand Martin 20+ S ( must be disorientated in the fog)
Wheatear 3 males and 1 female scattered around, looked to be Greenlands.
Sedge Warbler 1 in song at Seaton Point
Whitethroat 1 male singing at the golf course bushes
Lesser Whitethroat 1 male singing in the golf course bushes
Chiffchaff 2 singing males
Willow Warbler 3+ singing males
Tree Sparrow 4+
Yellowhammer 6+


93. Chiffchaff.
94. Lesser Whitethroat.
95. Whitethroat.
96. Sedge Warbler.
97. Common Tern.
98. Arctic Tern,
99. Little Tern.

Warm today up here 16 degrees. Overcast, with a moderate SW4.

We were shopping at Alnwick this afternoon when the pager alerted me to a Red Kite half a mile north of Alnmouth at 2pm. Half a mile north of Alnmouth and you are almost at Boulmer, so off we went, shopping postponed for a while, hoping for a great patch tick. As usual with these things, not a sniff was had, but it was worth a look to keep piece of mind. I wonder if it went over my patch?

Back at home later we took Bunty for her walk around the Seaton Point. As we got out of the car a Whimbrel was walking around only 50 yards away in the field opposite, quite unconcerned. As we watched, my first Sand Martin of the year from the patch flew over head, very late indeed. They usually breed on the sandy cliffs here but all of their nest holes have been eroded away this winter so they may not stop this time.

Along the shore another 2 Whimbrels were feeding out on the rocks. A Buzzard soard over the village very high up ( pity it wasn't the kite)...

92. Sand Martin.

A nice spring day today, mild and fair with some cloud and a light W3.

I took a flexi day off today and got up to a text message from Dave Elliott telling me that he'd had a Great White Egret at Cresswel first thing then it flew off south. A great bird finder is Davey. I put it down to tenacity. He always seems upbeat and on the hunt never grumbling when there's 'nowt about'. He goes out there and finds it. We should all take a leaf out of his book and maybe there would be more to see.

Anyway, I had to go down to Ashington this morning so I did the rounds looking for the Egret.

Castle Island - Been one here before, but not today. The 2 Barnacle Geese were the highlight.

Bothal - I've seen GWE here before, but not today. Little ringed Plover was the best on offer.

Longhirst Flash - Again, I've had GWE here too, but the pond only had a scattering of the commoner wildfowl and gulls. A nice male Whitethroat was singing from the top of the hedge along the road, my first this year.

Linton - I think there's been a GWE here too ( you can see a pattern forming can't you ) but no sign now. But the small copse and the hide track were absolutely lifting with warblers. Spring has sprung. There were 4+ Blackcaps, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 3+ Willow Warblers and 4+ Chiffchaffs. Granted, its not Portland but on a small, inland, Northumberland old mine site its great.

Contact with ST showed that he had done Castle Island, Cresswell, Druridge and Warkworth Lane without luck. By now the egret is probably at Teesside...

A change in the wind has brought an immediate change in the birds. After a swing from NNE to SSE I finally managed to get my first Boulmer Swallow this evening, maybe a fortnight late. Also while out with Bunty, a sound I always anticipate at this time, the 'seven whistles' of a Whimbrel as it steadily flew north overhead. These birds always seem to be calling, you think they would get hoarse...

A single male Wheatear was on the beach ( probable Greenland ) with a small scattering of Turnstones, Knot and Dunlin, 2 Red breasted Mergansers were just offshore and 4 Herons waited for the tide to recede so they could take advantage of what was left stranded in the rock pools.

90. Swallow.
91. Whimbrel.

Above - Top, Alkanet and bottom, Spring Beauty Montia perfoliata. The latter is an unusual small primitive plant like a chickweed. Apparently an introduced species in 1749, and now quite widespread, though scarce up here. These were growing along the roadside near Alnmouth Golfcourse Pond.







Above - A pair of Buzzards were showing well near Foxton Bends, Alnmouth. The darker male was watched closely as he soared above the pale breasted female. Click any for bigger image.

Today was bright and sunny with a cool NE4.

I started off at Boulmer doing my first spring atlas survey. I did the square covering the farmland from the runways west to Drive Cottage, Longhoughton taking in Ord's Farm. The most noteworthy thing was a negative. Still next to no summer visitors. Two hours wandering fields and hedgerows and not one Willow Warbler counted ( though I did see one later at the golfcourse corner) and the only hirundine seen was a lone Swallow at the farm ( none on the Boulmer patch yet).

Also of note, 4 Northern Golden Plovers, 2 pairs of Tree Sparrows nest building, 1 pair of Stock Doves and good numbers of singing Skylarks, Linnets and Yellowhammers with one or two pairs of Grey Partridge for good measure. Mammals seen were 3 Brown Hares and 2 Roe Deer.

I then checked out the Alnmouth and Foxton areas, seeing 3 Buzzards, 3 Goosanders, 2 Red breasted Mergansers, 2 Goldeneye, 6 Wigeon, 14 Teal 5+ Chiffchaffs including one nest building. A Peacock Butterfly was on the wing despite the cold breeze.

This evening Bunty's walk around Seaton Point at high tide was quite good. A flock of roosting waders on the beach held 28 Grey Plovers, 2 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Knot and 42+ Turnstones - all reasonable counts at this late date.

Back at home the 'northern' influence continued when a female Brambling joined the Chaffinches and House Sparrows at our bird feeders.

89. Willow Warbler.