Bee Eaters and Buntings

After a week working I was looking forward to catching up with the Bee Eater which appeared at Druridge Pools through the week, after a bit of waiting and a walk up to East Chevington and back it finally appeared perched on a nearby fence, only leaving to grab a passing insect. After lunch we ended up at Low Newton where we along with a small but enthusiastic group caught up with a very smart looking Little Bunting. 

B is for Bee Eater and Bunting

After being unable to get down for the Bee Eater due to work I was looking forward to Saturday, would it be still there?. On arriving at Druridge Pools the signs weren't great, it had been seen but had flown North towards East Chevington so I headed off in that direction, it was very quiet only Stonechats and a large flock of Linnets so I headed back to Druridge, it was a good move as within minutes the bird had turned up and sparkled as it perched on a nearby fence, leaving only to feed on passing insects. Home for a spot of lunch then over to Low Newton for a very smart looking Little Bunting which was feeding amongst the upper branches of a tree near the Tin Church and was much appreciated by all present. 

Holy Island 17th September

It's that time of year when Holy Island is just too good to miss, however there is also the chance that there will be absolutely nothing. That was certainly the case today when it came to passerines, the Snook had it's usual numbers of Meadow Pipits and the Half Moon slack held 3 Reed Buntings, and a single Common Whitethroat, Snook House itself had 1 Goldcrest, 1 Robin and a Willow Warbler.
From there I decided to walk along to Emmanuel Head, following the Beach produced 9 Sanderling, 1 Redshank and 4 Bar-tailed Godwits. The day really picked up with a spot of seawatching at Emmanuel Head, the long lines of Gannets of all ages were picked out against the dark choppy sea, next through were 6 Velvet Scoters quickly followed by 2 Manx Shearwaters and 2 Red-throated Divers, this sequence was broken by constant movement of Kittiwakes which in turn attracted those pirates of the seas Arctic Skuas, one unfortunate bird was assaulted by 3 hoodlums at the same time and soon disgorged its food, in total 11 Arctic Skuas were seen, the highlight arrived soon afterwards in the form of a graceful Sooty Shearwater one of many which were seen up and down the coast today. It just proves that even the most unpromising day will still have it's highlights.

Black and White beauty

After finally catching up with the Corn Bunting at Boulmer ,a bird which tragically is a real rarity in the county our focus turned to Low Newton scrape where after spending much of Saturday in the Druridge Bay area our end of the county was treated to a stunning White-winged Black Tern as it fed over the scrape. At this point I should apologise for the quality of the image, with it's buoyant, bouncy flight it was very hard to focus on, but who cares, what a cracking bird and one which is always worth a trip to see.

Dragons and Damsels

After Stewart and Richard's superb talk on Wednesday evening I decided to check out Branton Ponds for Dragonflies and Damselflies. The smaller Damselflies were much in evidence, the easiest to I.D. were the Blue-tailed then there were the Common Blues with their almost tree-like marks on the 1st and 2nd abdominal sections, having checked dozens I failed to find a single Azure with it's tell tale letter H marking on the same section. Then as if by magic a larger Dragonfly came into view, after careful observation it finally came to rest on some vegetation where I was able to observe it in detail and narrowed it down to another species which was mentioned in the talk, Black-tailed Skimmer, after getting this confirmed by Stewart I did as he had suggested and enjoyed the views of what was a new species for both me and the Ponds.

  

Citrine

After a morning spent in the Cheviot Hills surrounded by low cloud we headed down to Lynemouth Flash to catch up with a Citrine Wagtail which first appeared yesterday. On arriving we were soon onto the bird  as it fed constantly at the water's edge, a small group of people had gathered and soon it was only about 5 metres away still feeding and totally unfazed. Next we headed to the Budge Screen at Druridge Pools which held Wood Sandpiper, Garganey, Little Egret, and a very smart male Ruff in full breeding plumage, Spotted Flycatcher was also seen dashing for insects from a wire fence, after an unpromising start to the day the sun was out and all was well in the world.

 

Green Hairstreaks

We decided today was a good day to look for Green Hairstreaks on Debdon Moor, as we crossed on the moor track Swallows buzzed overhead and Tree Pipits were also calling, in the distance a Cuckoo gave its evocative call. Eventually we arrived at an area of small crags surrounded by Bilberry and started looking, after a few minutes searching some movement was seen and there was our target, when a second one appeared they both flew off in a frantic chase but always came back to the same spot.