" Where are the Starlings ? " John murmured...........

.........there they are.

Whoop whoop

Whoopee                 a swan

Belly nice

Caught up finally with the  European White-fronted Geese at the Rising Sun feeding in the field to the east of Swallow Pond. This is a horse field and the grass is always lush here thanks, i would think, to the manuring it receives throughout the year. I've commented to folks before that the grass must be sweet as the Red Stag favours this field also and the geese have been seen here mostly since they arrived last week. A bonny goose with lovely markings across the adults bellies, making each bird very distinctive.

What a fine goose...adult.

Juvenile...less markings around beak and on belly.

Loads of Blackbirds around the park, great to watch them chucking the leaves around in the undergrowth. No other Thrushes to be seen. Dunnocks were prevalent  with a few calling and a few Tit flocks. Quiet otherwise but i did see the Jack Snipe momentarily as it lifted as a walker almost trod on it at the far edge of Dukes Pond, it shot off towards Swallow.
Here are a couple of more goose images to have a gander of.

See gull........

Herring Gull

..............enjoy gull.Imagine heading down to the coast and not hearing the iconic sound of this gull. A handsome, slightly menacing looking bird that helps to keep the streets clean also.
You gotta love 'em.
As a small boy they were the sound of a Sunday afternoon for me. I lived in North Shields not far from the Fish Quay and i remember when the streets were empty on a Sunday after 2.30p.m. when the pubs had closed and almost every shop was shut. There was almost nobody on the streets, there was no reason to be. Sunday was a day of rest and you were not allowed to sell so many things, fish and chips top of the list i seem to remember, except if they sold them at the rare Chinese or Indian takeaway. Woodbines were 9d for a packet of ten....................
Anyway, i love carpets me...........sorry Herring Gulls.

Double take

 

Prestwick Carr Thursday early afternoon, no Great Grey Shrike to be seen and generally in was quite quiet but as i approached  "that" hedgerow six of the beauties could be seen to be on the wing. Must have caught the end of the activity as they quickly settled down. Five birds in view by now, four on their favoured fence posts with another over to the left in a Hawthorn. Gradually they disappeared and all was quiet again. After that the high point was a passing Red Admiral. I had seen one on Saturday also when i ventured up the track to the sentry boxes. That day i did see the Great Grey Shrike, my first. A good week for me as i had my first Greater Yellowlegs, which i caught up with at East Chevington having seen my first Grey Phalarope earlier in the day on Wednesday at Hauxley. All in between sightings of a Water Rail, Kingfisher, Whoopers and a single White-fronted Goose.

I had already started this post before reading Peters update today, obviously confirming the owls schedules at Prestwick. Must add that i did see a Common Darter very briefly last Saturday at the Carr.

Did you spot the second owl in the image??

Bit of sunshine on a miserable day.

Brightening up your day, i hope.

I'm taking you back to Sunday, 6th of November and a stunner. I'm posting this on Tuesday, 8th of November and the sort of miserable day that makes you want to chuck yourself off the Tyne Bridge at the thought of things to come. Having left Blyth South Harbour John and i ended up at Druridge Pools eventually. My first thought was to go see if there were still Common Darters at the end of the track heading out to Low Chibburn Chapel. For some reason we stopped off at the hide looking out over the Budge Field and a movement low in front of us brought one of the dragonflies i was after. It landed on the front of the hide in full sun taking in the heat that the sun was so generously providing as was the second Darter we found on a fence post when we moved along the track.

Common Darter looking dapper in late autumn sunshine.

Back along the track and views from the Oddie Hide included a fairly brief but clear sighting of a Water Rail on the far bank. Before Druridge we had called in at a very busy Newbiggin and with an explosion associated with Guido Fawkes sending every bird within half a mile of it up in the air we quickly headed up to the point. Jimmy Steele was set with his scope directed on the North Sea giving a commentary of some nice sightings as they drifted past as he told us of the Siberian Chiffchaff he had found at the mound earlier in the morning. We left him answering his mobile for the umpteenth time as news was obviously circulating of the bird and he issued instructions to inquisitive birders.