Pied Blackbirds contd.

Another trip to Rising Sun brought another curiously coloured Blackbird. This individual was atop the trees opposite the horses stables on the farm. This being approx. 400 metres from my encounter yesterday. As is clear, this is not the same bird but i wonder if it is related. Thanks to Tim for his comment yesterday re. albinism but i have since read a piece on a condition called leucism which is very similar. It seems the most obvious way to determine the difference is the eye colour since in albinism the eye colour would be red otherwise it would be normal. So if this is the case am i right in calling this a Pied Blackbird?

Captured this little beaut.

This was the sunset over the farm this afternoon

Pied Blackbirds

I will post this image from this afternoon taken at Rising Sun. Will continue post later.

Mystery Bird Rising Sun

Just sticking local at present.......on my wanderings around the Rising Sun i came across this fella.
I was following some tits in the hedgerow and this bird was skulking around in the foot of it. I spotted it very fleetingly to start with and put it down as another Thrush, until i got a flash of white. It was the size of a Blackbird and behaved like a Blackbird. IS IT A BLACKBIRD?

Any suggestions..........the shots aren't great as it was very secretive.

Rising Sun Country Park

Frozen Swallow (above) Busy Duke (below)

 My first venture out since new year due to the dodgy underfoot conditions. I can't afford to hit the deck....i mightn't be able to get up.
Rising Sun is just up the road so it seemed the safest bet. I parked outside the visitors centre and peered over the hedge at Swallow Pond............a first for me, there were NO birds of any description on, and i mean on Swallow. It was frozen solid, not one break in the ice. I continued along the Waggonway......it was very quiet, tranquil. The heavy layer of snow and freezing conditions meant that there were very few people about. FANTASTIC. Just how i like it. I tend to make 2/3 visits a week here in the spring and summer. That tends to be between 3a.m.and 6.30a.m. when there are no people, especially dog walkers about and the wildlife doesn't get disturbed. Try it one morning this spring...........its lush. Anyway, i continued on to Dukes pond and was greeted with a frenzy of activity. A third of the pond was free of ice and there was over 200 birds busying themselves. I like Dukes as you can get up close and you do get some nice waterfowl on occasions, especially as i said when it is quiet. Anyone who has been there will know how busy it gets at times with amongst others the passing Asda shoppers. I have seen possibly 50 birds on here max in the past but these were here because of the conditions on Swallow. The count was.....
148 B H Gulls , 12 Herring Gulls , 6 Teal , 3 Mute Swans , 7 Coot , 14 Moorhen , 23 Mallard ....nothing out of the ordinary but nice to see anyway.
I continued on to Hadrians pond as the muddy pathway, which has been almost impassable without wellies recently, was hard as stone. Guess what........as solid as the ground and birdless, like Swallow. On the way back there were plenty of various Thrushes along with the odd Robins and Tits scattered along the back fences of the properties that back on. I did spot a cracking little flock of Tits in the trees and spent 10 mins. or so taking in the sights and sounds of them as they went about the business of feeding until there was a heavy downpour of hail which drove them deep into what undergrowth there was and out of sight. I made my way around the far side of Swallow away from the centre and on approaching the hide was greeted by 2 Dunnocks and a young Blackbird all scratching around seeing if there were any crumbs dropped by earlier  Duck feeders as this is a popular spot for people stopping of from the Asda shopping trip to feed the Swans and Ducks. Things had livened up on Swallow........ 2 Carrion Crows on the ice , around the the screen hide in the trees to see if anything was hidden away on the small island in front of it but no, it was eerily silent in the woods and on the ice.
It was great to be out and about and the lack of humans was a bonus.

Teal images.

Simonside 8 12 09

Set off on Tuesday in beautiful conditions. No wind, no rain and the sun was shining. Picked up Jeff in Cramlington but as we proceeded through Morpeth and northwards the light deteriorated as the cloud descended. Never mind, as far as i'm concerned strong or blustery winds make for the worst conditions when out walking.
 We left the car in the parking area just past Lordenshaw and at the top of the first rise were greeted by the very seasonal tree in the first picture, mind it could have done with some nice lights.Despite the clouds the views were still cracking with a couple of Roe Deer and a Fox being the only mammals we saw. On the bird front, Red Grouse exploded into the air, whirred and glided regularly all the time we were walking. Apart from a few Crows and four Greylag Geese which passed overhead there was nothing to match the pair of Red Kites we had seen soaring in the Langlee valley last week.Oh yes there were some other birds i spotted, Swans, on Caistron lake, well as you can see in the pic it was quite distant and i'm not sure what type. You can see along with Caistron the meandering Coquet river also as it heads towards Rothbury passing Thropton on the way.
Due to the vast amounts of rain of late, underfoot conditions at times were treacherous and if not for my walking poles would have come a cropper on four occasions. If you are thinking about, or have just started doing any kind of "off path" walking get a pair of poles.

Merry Xmas..........BAH,HUMBUG

View N./N.E. towards Rothbury

View S. towards Fontburn Reservoir

View N. from Simonside Crag to Coquetdale with Caistron on left and MEANDERING River Coquet


Note the use of Meandering....Davy Tee

Big Waters 5/12/09

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY !
I haven't been to "Muddy" for a little while and having seen the weather forecast, come hell or high water, i was going to commission the car this morning. I wasn't disappointed. More and more these days i find it harder to sit around in hides for any length of time.Thanks to Jeff Veevers i have discovered the joys of walking and although the hide at "Muddy" is probably one of the best sited and most comfortable, i enjoy viewing birds whilst out and about. I'm not knocking sitting around in any hide, the enjoyment i get from that is the patter with the lads and the advice i get from the experts to the continuous stream of questions i ask people. There are some very knowledgeable birders around and almost everyone that i have met have been very helpful.
My visit must have lasted 4 hours and only an hour of which spent in the hide. Like everywhere else water levels are high, i haven't seen the scrape opposite for the last 3 visits and the feeding station is partially under water. Stories of John Ballantyne watching the Kingfisher feeding in there were doing the rounds. It was fairly busy on the water with a female Scaup the highlight. Suddenly the Scaup was airborne, a series of ripples appeared on the water close by, then up popped the Otter. One of the lads managed to capture a shot of it with a fish it had caught before it disappeared into the reed beds to the right of the hide.
Before and after i had been to the hide itself i spent the rest of the time in the wooded area that the boardwalk takes you through. The lack of leaves on the trees now enhances the enjoyment i get from my birding as you can get good sightings of them scampering and scratching about in whats left of the undergrowth.The light and shadows cast also were absolutely stunning and i just stood and bathed in the glow. There was not a breath of wind in there and you could hear every sound clearly. Great tits and Blue Tits seemed to be everywhere. It

 appeared to me that they were reveling in the sunshine and had decided to have a game of tag in the trees. In amongst this there were up to a dozen Blackbirds scattered about with the usual alarm calls ringing out every few minutes. Chaffinches were in abundance, a number of which were hopping around on the boardwalk, along with a couple of Robins that made an appearance. I was on a tight schedule and had to get back with the car and reluctantly had to DRAG myself away. On the way out the resident Sparrowhawk landed on the branch of a tree less than 5 feet away but took one look at me and vanished as quickly as it had appeared. I was gutted as i had my camera in my hand at the ready but it had happened sooooo fast, but i did get a pleasant surprise a moment later when a Treecreeper appeared on the tree in front of me. This one didn't get away.               I reluctantly left, one happy man. I hope some of these images capture the atmosphere.

Scaup female

Pheasant male.........wader?????







These images were all captured in the wooded area

The boardwalk leading in to hide.

Coal Tit

Treecreeper 1

Treecreeper 2

Blue Tit