Red Grouse, Sabine's Gull and Red Kite - Minsteracres, Northumberland 10-17/8/19

I went with people from my church for the church's annual retreat week to Minsteracres Retreat Centre in Northumberland. It is a beautiful place with lovely grounds and the retreat includes free time so I was able to do a little bird watching each day. It was lovely in the early morning to hear geese flying over. They were mainly Canada Geese with smaller numbers of Greylag Geese. They started to go over just after dawn and on average I would see about 200 Canada and 60 Greylag Geese each morning. Nuthatches could be heard calling and Tawney Owls were vocal. Lots of Coal Tits were busy in the woods, as were Treecreepers, and it was nice to hear plentiful Willow Warbler song. Several Tree Pipits could be seen as well.

Canada Geese

I was kindly given a lift to Blanchland on Monday afternoon to see if I could see a Dipper from the bridge there as it is usually a good place to see them and it was close to where we were staying. Unfortunately the river was very high as there had been a lot of rain and all the perching stones had been covered over so we did not have any luck but did see a couple of Grey Wagtail. However on the way back we drove up into the heather covered hills and saw plenty of Wheatear and then, best of all, Red Grouse. We were very lucky and ended up seeing quite a few and getting some very nice views indeed and they certainly made my day.

Red Grouse

Red Grouse

Red Grouse

Grey Wagtail

On the Tuesday I had an early morning walk down the road that overlooks the reservoir. It was a grey and overcast morning but luckily soon became brighter with blue sky and sunshine. I hoped to catch up with Tree Sparrow as there is a farm a little way down the road where Tree Sparrows are fairly plentiful. While looking for them it was a bonus to have a couple of Spotted Flycatchers busily fly catching from the telegraph wires. I got some nice views of a some Tree Sparrows and a male obligingly paused long enough for a photo. They are lovely little birds.

View from the road

Spotted Flycatcher

Tree Sparrow

In the afternoon I took a walk down to the small lake on the grounds. It was very windy and raining fairly steadily but luckily stopped after a while. A couple of young Buzzards were calling away and as I turned from watching them I caught sight of a Roe Deer at the same moment that it saw me. I felt so lucky as it did not bound off as soon as it saw me but, though wary, it watched me for a minute or so from behind the grass before moving back into cover. It was a beautiful animal. Nearer the water I found some Emerald Damselflies and 3 Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillars - two were green of different shades and one was dark brown. They really are very striking caterpillars.

Roe Deer

Emerald Damselfly

Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar

Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar

On Wednesday I saw another couple of Roe Deer but further away this time. A Red Kite showed briefly before disappearing behind the trees. I came across a family of Wren with 4 very young birds who appeared to be newly fledged.

Roe Deer

newly fledged Wren

We had a free day on the Thursday so I took a slow wander down to the reservoir. The day started nicely with 4 Spotted Flycatchers in the grounds and a female Bullfinch feeding a youngster.

Spotted Flycatcher

female Bullfinch and youngster

female Bullfinch and youngster

It was nice to see several Wall Butterflies on the walk down. Once I reached the reservoir I could see 120 Canada Geese and 40 Greylag Geese.

Wall Butterfly

Canada Geese

Without a doubt, though, the highlight of the day was walking beside the reservoir and idly looking towards the water only to see the breath taking sight of an adult Sabine's Gull flying below and alongside me. Now that I did not expect. I literally could not believe it. It gained height and the light through its wings looked fantastic. What a stunningly beautiful bird. I tried for some photos and luckily some came out not too badly. It had been very windy yesterday and I wonder if that had brought it in. The reservoir is a fair way from the sea though.

Sabine's Gull

Sabine's Gull

Sabine's Gull

Sabine's Gull

Sabine's Gull

Sabine's Gull

I finished a very enjoyable day with some good views of a Red Kite. A perfect end to a great day out.

Red Kite

With very little time available for bird watching on Friday I enjoyed some lovely views of a Chaffinch.

Chaffinch

It was a good week away. The retreat was enjoyable and interesting, the people in the group were great company, and I had a great time away. I was very pleased that I had also had time to do some birdwatching. It is a beautiful part of the country and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what I could see. It would be a lovely area to do some birdwatching in.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth and juvenile Cuckoo - Reculver to Shuart 08/08/19

I headed back to Reculver on a beautifully fine morning. It appeared to be very quiet overall on arrival. Some of the group of Starlings, up by the towers, were having a wash and brush up and then settling up on the ruins to preen. The youngsters were well on with their moult into adult plumage.

Starlings

A Little Egret flew past and a few Sand Martins were hawking for insects. I got a surprise when a couple of large groups of Mallard flew up at the same time over the far fields totalling 84 altogether. Their numbers have certainly built up. I couldn't see what had put them up though. A little further on several Redshank were calling noisily from the oyster farm and I could see a Common Sandpiper on there while 30 Sand Martins were hawking for insects over it. Further along 7 young Mallard were keeping together down one of the dykes.

young Mallard

3 Yellow Wagtail were on the sea wall and a couple of Wheatear were on the beach side and continually moving along as they looked for insects. A Meadow Pipit was tucked in out of the wind.

Meadow Pipit

A group of 23 Common Tern flew west and I had 3 Sandwich Tern east. I had another Wheatear in a completely different area and I think that it was a third bird. Good numbers of Ringed Plover were along the shore as well as good numbers of Turnstone. I saw one Dunlin amongst a mixed group of roosting Ringed Plover and Turnstone. A Mediterranean Gull flew west. I came across small numbers of Pied Wagtail throughout my visit. As I neared Coldharbour I saw a Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding from the Teasels on the shore side of the sea wall. They are beautiful insects to watch and the control they have over hovering and their proboscis is breathtaking.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

A couple of Common Sandpipers were on one of the groynes and a Meadow Pipit was searching for insects on another groyne. It appeared to be quite successful.

Common Sandpipers

Meadow Pipit

Some walkers flushed a juvenile cuckoo from the reeds alongside the dyke at Coldharbour.

juvenile Cuckoo

On the walk up to Plumpudding I was treated to some good views of Sandwich Terns and enjoyed trying for some flight photos.

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

I came across another 3 Yellow Wagtail and some Sandwich Terns and Common Terns continued to move west. Plumpudding Island was very quiet with the only bird being a single Little Egret.

Little Egret

Good numbers of House Sparrow were around the stables area and some Common Blue Butterflies were active along the embankment. A Common Buzzard was circling and calling high above me.

female Common Blue Butterfly

Common Blue 

As I walked down the track at Shuart I kept my eyes open for Hawkers but I could only see Migrant Hawkers today. Wren were singing away and I saw most of the usual jobs on the walk through. There were a lot of mating joined Migrant Hawkers on the wing but I did not see any land to photograph. I also saw several pairs of mating Common Darter. A couple of Migrant Hawkers paused for a rest and allowed some photos.

Migrant Hawker

Migrant Hawker

Migrant Hawker

A Willow Warbler was working its way through the bushes. At one point a female Marsh Harrier flew low over the hedge causing consternation from the birds below. I came across a tent of Peacock caterpillars.

Peacock Butterfly Caterpillars

Peacock Butterfly Caterpillars

A Green Woodpecker was calling as I neared the car park and a couple of Blackcap were tutting away. 20 Lapwing were resting up in a field and a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker gave some nice views even if it was into the light. It has been a quieter visit today but an enjoyable walk through.

Lapwings

female Great Spotted Woodpecker

Birds seen this visit include: 13 Pied Wagtail, Starlings, House Sparrows, 58 Sand Martin, 8 Little Egret, Cormorants, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, 103 Linnet, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 91 Mallard, 8 Common Sandpiper, 8 Redshank, 27 Turnstone, 3 Grey Heron, 21 Meadow Pipit, 13 Sedge Warbler, 2 Whitethroat, 6 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Kestrel, 4 Goldfinch, 4 Pheasant, Carrion Crows, 1 Dunnock, 3 Magpie, 3 Wheatear, 32 Ringed Plover, 18 Sandwich Tern, 28 Common Tern, 1 Dunlin, 2 Stock Dove, 2 Coot, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 2 Mute Swan, 1 juvenile Cuckoo, 2 Reed Bunting, 3 Reed Warbler, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Wren, 1 Collared Dove, 3 Blackbird, 2 Robin, 3 Chaffinch, 1 Willow Warbler, Jackdaws, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Marsh Harrier, 20 Lapwing, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker,

Med Gull, Wheatears and Hawkers - Reculver to Shuart 07/08/19

I headed to Reculver with the aim of a slow wander to either Chambers Wall or Shuart depending on how the walking went. There was a south westerly wind with building cloud and it was forecast to be a warm day. The tide was just starting to go out. It seemed fairly quiet when I arrived. A few Sand Martin were zipping around and House Sparrows and Starling were busy feeding up by the towers. Apart from some Herring and Black-headed Gulls out to sea was very quiet. There was a juvenile Mediterranean Gull in amongst 110 Black-headed Gulls roosting on the beach. An approaching dog walker sent them all up so I tried for a photo and luckily I managed to get the juvenile Mediterranean Gull in amongst them.

juvenile Mediterranean Gull in amongst Black-headed Gulls

A couple of Redshank were noisily debating on the oyster farm and a Grey Heron and a Little Egret were in the tree that often appears popular with them.  A Green Sandpiper was also on the oyster farm. A few Turnstone were on the move as the tide fell with 12 flying in. 8 Ringed Plover were roosting on the shore. A couple of Carrion Crow were working their way along the shore line and the light catching their feathers looked lovely.

Carrion Crow

A few Whitethroat were in various bushes while a male Stonechat had a begging youngster in tow and a little further along I also saw a female Stonechat. A couple of Wheatear were on the grassy area of the beach.

Wheatear

Good numbers of Meadow Pipit were either along the shore or the sea wall area. A couple of Stock Dove were at a fields edge. I could see 8 Coot down the dyke near Coldharbour which included at least 4 youngsters. Coldharbour itself was pretty quiet with just a couple of Common Sandpipers and a few Black-headed Gulls.  A pair of Pied Wagtail were on the shore with the male posing nicely for a photo.

Pied Wagtail

I sat and watched out to sea for a while. Sandwich Terns were passing west in small numbers with a mix of adults and youngsters amongst them. Common Terns were also heading west starting with a group of 15 adults and youngsters and then passing west in 2’s and 3’s. A Herring Gull flew up holding something and dropped it onto the shingle before flying down to see if it had successfully managed to open it.

Common Tern

Sandwich Tern

Herring Gull dropping shell

I carried on along the sea wall and found Plumpudding island to be very quiet with only a couple of juvenile Yellow Wagtail and a few Linnet on there. As I passed the stables there were 3 sizeable flocks of House Sparrows adding up to approximately 160 birds. A female Marsh Harrier flew across the back. Honeysuckle was out in flower and looked lovely.

Honeysuckle

A family of Blue Tits were working their way through the bushes. A male Marsh Harrier was quartering over a far field. As I came up to the hedgerow I could see some hawkers on the wing. As it clouded over they landed and in amongst them I could see a Southern Hawker. It appeared to be a different individual to the one I saw last time as this one was a male. It was a beautiful dragonfly and I was well chuffed to see it.

male Southern Hawker

male Southern Hawker

male Southern Hawker

A little further along I was very pleased to see the male Southern Migrant Hawker as it was good to know that it was still around. I managed to get a shot quickly of it as it was resting up before a fast approaching tractor came up the track and unfortunately drove both the Southern and Southern Migrant Hawker ahead of it. They flew up the track strongly and I lost them from sight. A little while later Marc Heath had a male Southern Migrant Hawker much further up the track and it is hard to know if it was the same one or a possible second one. Time will tell I guess. It would be lovely if a female is found raising the possibility of them breeding.

male Southern Migrant Hawker

A family of Blue and Great Tits were working their way through the hedge together with 5 Long-tailed Tits. Swifts were hawking for insects above. I came across a Small Red-eyed Damselfly and a Willow Emerald Damselfly who were both enjoying the sunshine.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Willow Emerald Damselfly

As I carried on down the track I had an eye to eye encounter with a Common Darter and then a little further on I enjoyed watching one as the sun shone through its wings.

Common Darter

Common Darter

Common Darter

I finished off an enjoyable visit with good views of a couple of Migrant Hawker.

Migrant Hawker

Migrant Hawker

Birds seen this visit include: 22 Sand Martin, 1 Reed Bunting, 7 Pied Wagtail, Cormorants, House Sparrows, Wood Pigeons, 65 Linnet, 6 Redshank, 31Turnstone, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 3 Little Egret, 3 Grey Heron, 17 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Great Black-backed Gull, 4 Carrion Crow, 28 Meadow Pipit, Skylarks, 1 Green Sandpiper, 7 Whitethroat, 5 Sedge Warbler, 3 Stonechat, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Wheatear, 2 Stock Dove, 11 Oystercatcher, 24 Sandwich Tern, 6 Common Sandpiper, 7 Swallow, 8 Coot, 17 Common Tern, 4 Blackbird, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Marsh Harrier, Blue Tits, 3 Mute Swan, 1 Magpie, 1 Collared Dove, 10 Swift, 2 Wren, 1 Dunnock, 1 Jay, 5 Long-tailed Tit, Great Tits,