Two birds with long slender curved bills x2

First venture out since before xmas on Saturday in the company of THE Howdon Blogger. As he posted we headed over to Durham and stumbled upon the 2 Glossy Ibis in a field opposite Sunderland Greyhound Stadium. The light was fine but the birds stayed in the long shadows while we were there. Confiding birds allowing views from no more than 12 metres at one stage.

long curved bills x 1
 

long curved bills x 2

The second pair of birds captured were at the end of our day down at St. Marys Island, this time in full sun, looking resplendent.
In between we had a brief glimpse of the Lesser Whitethroat in Tynemouth but having to constantly check for the prowling traffic wardens we cut short our stay.


Jarrow, mid morning, had us viewing over 30 Waxwings on a slightly ropey housing estate. They did come in to feed close by on Rowan Berries but  sadly, again, they were in shade while doing so. They weren't the only birds feasting on the berries as numbers of Thrushes in the shape of Blackbirds, Redwings and Mistle Thrush were all represented. We were well entertained by the antics of these birds as they all took turns in trying to stake their claim to the booty.


"those berries down there are mine"

"not if I can help it"
 

North Shields Fish Quay held nothing exciting as we passed through at lunchtime.


No light so I settled for this image.

A load of Bull.

Managed a few hours up the coast on Sunday morning taking in Druridge Pools and Hauxley.
A Common Scoter on the main pool from the Oddie Hide was a nice surprise early on along with dry underfoot conditions on the approach to the hides. Drainage has been installed so no need to plodge any more when visiting. Two nice flocks of Curlew and Lapwing lifted over the Budge Fields while the remaining Teal, Shoveler, Wigeon and Mallard pootled about unperturbed. No time for my customary walk from Druridge to Hauxley so I drove there.
There was a cutting wind despite the fine sunny conditions and nothing much exciting was seen from the water edge hides as most species were hunkered down. What is most noticeable is how well the Tree Sparrows are doing at this site. I remember not that long ago that if you saw a T.S. away from Big Waters it was a bit of an event. There were a number at Hauxley then but they were in the vicinity of the entrance. There are plenty of boxes up for them and they have spread, in good numbers, all the way along the caravan park side to the hide facing the beach. A great job. The hide I mentioned held lots of birds mainly on the feeders or below on the ground. Last time I was here a couple of weeks ago someone mentioned that they had seen a Water Rail in the bottom corner and sure enough the W.R. was in full view for the 20 or 30 minutes I visited the hide.


Highlight of my time at Hauxley had to be the 5 minutes in the company of a pair of Bullfinch not more than 2 metres away. Fabulous birds in nice light. Ahhhhhh.


 

 

A touch of the exotic in the north east.

 

Tears......twice.

I remember watching the video of the slaughter of Amur Falcons with tears streaming down my face.
This report in National Geographic had the same effect............for totally different reasons.

Safe Passage For Amur Falcons Through India

Posted by Steve Boyes of National Geographic Expeditions in Explorers Journal on November 20, 2013

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Up until this year, an estimated 120,000 – 140,000 Amur falcons (Falco amurensis) were being slaughtered in a remote part of north-eastern India at this exact time each year. In 2012, Shashank Dalvi and Ramki Sreenivasan documented this shocking massacre as tens of thousands of migrating falcons congregate along the banks of the Doyang reservoir in Wokha district of Nagaland. Everyday thousands of beautiful Amur falcons were being caught in mist nets, plucked alive, skewered, and then smoked before transport to market for sale as a cheap source of protein. The global population of this record-breaking aviator and natural wonder would have been depleted had this slaughter in Nagaland been allowed to continue. This year no Amur falcons have been killed so far…

click HERE to read the rest of the article.
If you signed the petition congratulations, you might just have made some sort of a difference.
I will find myself sighning more e petitions from now on.

BANG BANG, you're dead !

Reading the many reports of Woodcock coming in off the North Sea and the exhausted condition many were in took me back to Saturday afternoon.
The Lesser Grey Shrike got the day off to a brilliant start and watching The Stringer and J. S. putting out mealworms, showing concern for the welfare of the bird, lifted the spirits even higher. A more sombre mood later after John and I had visited Amble for lunch with the Gulls and we called off near Hadston Carrs to view the beach. Just before we got there, in the fields as we approached, we noticed three small groups of people with guns and gundogs on the edge of the wooded area facing the sea. Driving along the beach road we passed another couple of guys, again with guns and dogs, this time on the other side of the woods. On getting out of the car we were greeted with a cacophony of sound from the woods as a large party of killers and their accomplices screamed and yelled as their dogs barked and yelped and their guns discharged. The sight of Woodcock and Pheasant frantically taking to the skies in all directions, some of them disappearing from view as they headed out to sea, was a pitiful sight. I couldn't have believed that my heart could have sunken so low in such a short period of time at the behaviour of us humans. My mind went immediately to the poor Badgers and what those poor creatures have been going through recently.
I felt sick to my stomach.

Central Library exhibition by............

......a very talented local artist ALAN MOULD and his friend BOB LAINE.

If you've been in Thornley Woodlands Centre or stood at the Sherburn Estate Red Kite Viewpoint you will have seen some of his work without knowing.

Here are a few examples of that work.

 

 

Artwork associated with Friends of the Red Kites.

 

 

A couple of examples from his "Twisted Nature" series

 

 

 

 

 

These last three come under the heading "Digital Art"

You can see a lot more HERE

Call in and get something special for someone, or yourself, for Christmas.

I know that I will be.

 

There's no Buntings like Snow Buntings....................................

...........like no Buntings I know.


One of five near Chevington Burn.

Another beachcomber.