The April FOOL



Ouch

That'll be me.

After a busy week at work and a busy Saturday spending the money earned during the previous busy week I opted to travel north to Druridge Bay this afternoon.

A common crane, assumed to be the bird that had flown north past St Mary's last week had been getting reported from Warkworth Lane.

Easily scoped from the entrance to the holiday park, we scuttled round to Cresswell and walked the 2/3 mile up the bridleway to try and get a better view. Hardly!

The crane was about as far as it could get from public access, and associated with a few mute swan. Despite that, it's always a good one to see up here.

Nearby a male marsh harrier was added to the notreallyatrip list, so a feeling of mild satisfaction was taken from the increasingly expensive drive up the coast.

I've not managed to get to West Hartford for over a week now - late hours at work have not helped, but this week should see a return to form... a new set of wheels (two rather than four, no petrol required) should see quick nips to and from the site.

***

I see the white stork at Backworth (yesterday) was ringed (see here)

Just like ...

Escaped White Stork, Burgham Golf Course March 2009



Quiet on the coast

I finished work promptly today so headed down to the coast for a quick check of St Mary's north beach and Briardene.

As it's been a nice bright afternoon SMI was very busy indeed. A bit too busy actually. The north beach was pretty much devoid of birds - no rock/water pipit on show, a couple of redshank, curlew and turnstone... and a barking dog. Boo. Hopes of a wheatear and sandwich tern disappeared so I headed back to the car via the "gut". On the wetland there were a a few teal, gadwall, mallard along with pairs of mute swan and grey-lag geese. Snipe and redshank quartered the pond edge with a single stonechat in the west field.

A med gull has been regularly reported at nearby Briardene, so I chanced my luck for ten minutes en route home. No sign, just a few BH/H/GBB/CGs and a carrion crow scrounging.

The white stork from yesterday appears to have flown back to its pen, so here's another picture to brighten up what is undeniably a dull post. This blog isn't doing too well for photographs of decent birds of late... what with dodgy ducks and free flying storks...

Late March should provide some better birding - a quick glance back through earlier note books bring back recent memories of Northumberland and Durham records of common crane, penduline tits, and firecrest. So exciting times definitely ahead eh?

White Stork (on the run)

A report of white stork near Longhorsley got me out of the house this afternoon.

White stork is a tricky bird in the north-east, as many birds originate from captivity - especially Harewood House in Yorkshire. The Harewood birds are free flying and have a tendancy to wander in the Spring... Regretably this bird was ringed and will look very familiar to the followers of Boulmer Birder - last years captive ringed white stork that was on the airfield at Bockenfield - a location just east of todays sighting at Burgham Park Golf Course. Must like the area!

According to the very helpful staff at the course, the stork had arrived during the morning on one of the tees adjacent to the A1, and after an offering of bread from a club member (I kid you not!), spent some time on the club house roof.

The stork was still on the club house when I arrived, craning its neck over the roof apex to watch golfers coming and going from the building. Quite a sight!

After a bit of a preen the stork dropped down from the roof into the putting area in the middle of the club car park, much to the delight of the golfers, and me. Many pics were taken, but only a few permitted a "clean" back ground - many had bits of car park or putting flags in the back ground.