After the storm...

Wonderful West Hartford...

I took a bike ride out to West Hartford this afternoon after a really heavy rain shower had bombarded Cramlington for a half our or so. The immediate effects of the rain can be seen in the two photographs of the Horton Burn (below) - but more of West Hartford first...

I'd thought that there may be the chance of a wader or two after the down pour, and that water levels on the flash would have been greater - alas no to both theories - no waders (as such, oystercatcher don't count in this equation), as the "water" equated to a few puddles... A few pied wagatail fed on the mud, but it was raptors that provided the entertainment - 1 water-logged buzzard sat miserable in the hawthorns, while in the distance a hobby was flycatching over the course of the River Blyth. 2nd consecutive year that I've had this species here. A few texts and call were made to the Cramlington birders and not long later I was joined by LMcD / GM.  No repeat of the hobby during our vigil, but 1 sparrowhawk and a couple of kestrel were noted up till late afternoon.

Otherwise WH was quiet - a single great spotted woodpecker was working the dead trees that edge the main flash and an occassional stock dove made an appearance with the wood pigeon. 9 mallard flew out of the marsh but that was about it!

The Horton Burn had been the instigator of my trip out - having passed over it coming back from a shopping trip it was clear that the volume of rain water had swollen the river course - most of the housing estate storm water drains into the burn - and has an instant effect - !



Horton Burn - just after the rain storm



Horton Burn - a couple of hours later!

2010 - Review July - December

July 2010 was enlightened with a self-found Cramlington tick - a cracking hobby that ended up spending a week or so touring West Hartford, Arcot and probably Wallsend Swallow Pond. The image above was taken at Arcot, when the hobby spent and hour or so hawking insects over the pool. A cuckoo was also seen during the visit, my first in Cramlington since the early 1990s'!

The first part of August had been spent in Malaysia on a fantastic trip taking in Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands and Pangkor Laut. Many a good bird was seen, but it was upon my return when the star of August appeared - in the plain, unassuming form of syke's warbler at Hadston!

Another month, another tick - September provided what is probably destined to be my last UK newbie for 2010 ~  a distant sharp-tailed sandpiper in Cleveland. A bit of a quickie this one, with a quick visit prior to a late-shift at work. I managed to miss the good fall of September 2010, so I was lucky to be able to get the most significant bird of the month.

I visited Cleveland again in September to see the obliging woodchat shrike at Hartlepools' Croft Park...

October 2010 was great - with a steady stream of rare's brightening up the north east coast. I make no apology for another slice of the St Mary's red-flanked bluetail - a stunner!

So November came, dark nights descended on the north and birding became limited ~ Waxwing arrived in great numbers and a squacco heron spent it's last days on the unlikely setting of the River Wansbeck in Morpeth town centre. Bird of the month for me was the woodlark on Inner Farne. A tricky bird to catch up with in Northumberland, this was a county tick for most of the hardy souls who made the crossing at the end of November.

December arrived somewhat early this year ~ time flies and birding for me was very limited. The bittern at Cresswell is probably the highlight, tho I suspect there may be some more interesting species for me to see in the last few days...

Common Tern

This is one of the two common tern that was fishing Arcot Pond on Saturday, inbetween having a pop at the hobby! Common tern do not breed at Arcot, but presumably commute from Big Waters.

Arcot Hobby

Here are a couple more images of the 1s hobby at Arcot Pond on Saturday 24th July. When I first arrived the hobby was perched distantly in the dead trees at the west end of the pond. The image is posted more for "bird in habitat" than that of stunning portrait!

The flight shot (below) was taken as the bird swept in low over the pool chasing insects. The hobby had just managed to shake off an angry common tern! As previously mentioned, the speed at which the hobby would hunt was staggering - this is one quick mover!

Hobby: touring the patch.

I checked out West Hartford this morning and much to my surprise one of the first birds to be picked up was the 1s hobby (11.25) - distantly feeding on insects above the River Blyth. As with the first appearance of this Cramlington mega, it did not hang round long - it sped off east along the course of the river, towards Bebside. A great start! I dispatched a text to STH, who replied pretty quickly with news of a shoveler at Arcot (Cramlingtons other well watched spot).

Not too much was going on over at the flash - the hobby sighting was complimented with a soaring buzzard and a couple of kestrel.

Checking the pager there was news that a hobby, possibly this bird, had been at nearby Wallsend Swallow Pond at 11.00.

Then the mobile rang - it was STH, with an enthusiastic "Hobbys' at Arcot!!!"... so it was back to the car and off to Arcot for me!

Sure enough the 1s hobby was still present, in fact it was showing very nicely, perched in the stand of dead trees that are in the south west corner of the pool (these trees once held a 1s osprey in the early 2000's!).

With not much further a do, it fed for the next forty minutes or so, freaking out the barn swallows and common terns on the pool, gorging on the plentiful insects. Often the hobby would soar very high then without any notice, stoop incredibly fast to the pool and zoom over the water. Needless to say it was very very tricky to photograph - the image in this post is hot off the card... I think I have a better shot or two to play with later.

As if the hobby wasn't good enough, another Cramlington scarcity appeared over the back of the pool. With the presence of hobby freash in our minds, my first call of "hobbys' back" was quickly sense checked - it was a cuckoo!... mmm, oops! To put the cuckoo sighting  in perspective, it's probably the first I've seen in the town since approx 1992!!

Also at Arcot this morning: grey heron, great spotted woodpecker, common tern, sedge warbler, buzzard, kestrel, sparrowhawk, mallard, moorhen and canada goose.

So a great morning. The hobby drifted south-east (to Holywell / Wallsend Swallow Pond?) just after 12.30. Hope we get another visit.

boo, bo bo

No sign of the 1s hobby this morning at West Hartford, it had been photographed during a prolonged stay on Tuesday. The flash is filling nicely with all the recent rain though - should be good for waders! A second visit this evening was better, with two barn owl hunting.

Popped

in to West Hartford between petrol filling and work, no sign ofthe  hobby but barn owl hunting. lots of swift this morning...

& again...

Great views of the 1s hobby this afternoon ~ this time spending prolonged periods perched in the tall dead trees that split the two flash pools at West Hartford. Fantastic through the scope, too far for the camera.

A later visit was less successful, maybe next time...

Sub-alba

It was a sunny evening tonight, so I took the opportunity to spend an hour or so at West Hartford pre-beer / pre-earlyish night / pre-overtime shift on Saturday!

The visit started off at quite a slow pace, with reed bunting, meadow pipit, linnet and goldfinch being the only sightings.

At 19:10 the barn owl appeared, hunting over the fields behind the diminished pool. So, with camera at the ready I was set to wait. And wait. typically the barn owl remained distant for most of it's appearance, only coming within range once, but at the wrong angle (flying away!)... so no images were obtained. How come visits without a camera yield fantastic close views??!!

As the barn owl headed back over to the fields near to the River Blyth a few barn swallow flew overhead, alarm calling. I didn't think much of this as a kestrel had been loafing around the old brick building, and conceivably their distress could have been in reaction to the barn owl.

As I scanned for the barn owl I picked up some more distant barn swallow, and remarkably they were being pursued by a hobby. ......HOBBY!!!! My first in Cramlington (though not the first recorded from the West Hartford area). Amazing how a split second can turn a quiet patch visit into a blinder!! The bird almost caught a barn swallow, but very quickly moved through. Texts were issued to the mobile-carrying Cramlington birders, and a wave of degrading responses were sent back. (Thanks lads!!)

So no barn owl pics, but a patch tick. That'll do nicely.

Sun setting at WH...