A Raven, Hume's Leaf Warbler and two Waxwings.........

......not bad for Sunday mornings birding.
Tynemouth was my first stop. I saw the gates of the north pier were open, and having tried and failed to gain access on my last three visits, i made a bee line for it. I spent an hour in the shadow (although there was no sun) of the Lighthouse gazing at the North Sea  and saw.........nowt. Well, apart from gulls and cormorants. On the way back i heard the distinctive GRONK of a Raven. It had already passed overhead so i only got a couple of record shots in very poor light.

I didn't check out Priors Park but instead headed along to the Brierdene to check out the Hume's Leaf Warbler which i saw almost immediately from down in the dene. It looked like photo opportunities might be better higher up so i joined the small throng gazing into a Sycamore above the dene. I did get some more nice views but there were always branches in the way and the light was still poor so hardly tried to capture anything with the camera. A couple of Waxwings were reported by The Three Muskateers so i made my way in the direction of the Whitley Bay Golf Club and picked up on the Waxers quickly.  Ten minutes in their company before they lifted high and headed off south in the direction Monkseaton Drive but i have seen since that they returned.