Whooper, Black Redstart & Crane. A Quiet Northumberland P.M!

I headed up the coast this afternoon – taking advantage of another week of nightshifts coming to an end.

First stop was QEII park north of Ashington – here two sand martin were my first of the year, while the lake itself was quiet, holding Canada goose, mute swan, coot, mallard, goldeneye and a mix of c/bh gulls.

Druridge Bay Country Park took the sand martin count to eight for the day, with six hawking the west corner. Nine whooper swan were unexpected and very photogenic – expect a couple of more images when the pace settles.

After a check of Hadston beach, I headed back south to Druridge Pools, where a beautiful male black redstart was available, though not photographable. The black-red was feeding in the dunes just south of the reserve entrance, and had a minimum of three wheatear for support, two of which were bright males.

Again no owl action at Cresswell, so I headed home via Eshott. The common crane had last been reported near Warkworth on Monday 22nd, so it was a great surprise to find that this mighty “grus” was still present. A bonus for me today is that the crane was much more mobile – feeding in roadside fields both south and north of Eshott.

The cranes’ presence was not accepted by the soon-to-be-breeding lapwing ~ dive bombing ensued, causing the crane to become very vocal! A record shot is below…