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...

Woodlark III

Two final images of the woodlark from Saturdays trip to Inner Farne.

The damaged lens is away for repair, so I'll rely on the 100-400mm for any immediate phototographic subjects.

Woodlark II & Damage Done

Above - Woodlark, Inner Farne - more "cresty" than a waxwing?

Below - Ouch!

Woodlark, Inner Farne

I was lucky enough to be part of a group of hardy souls to brave the choppy North Sea crossing to Inner Farne on Saturday morning - our quest was a much sort after county species - woodlark.

The day had started grey and wet, so a drive by glance at the female common scoter on Cresswell was suffice before Mark and I pulled in to East Chevington for a pit-stop break. A text arrived from Ian confirming that the boat was still scheduled to sail to Inner Farne, weather permitting at 11.

As with my earlier visit during the week, we had no sight or sound of the cetti's warbler. The slavonian grebe continues on the north pool, so it was still a good start.

Departing East Chevington not long after ten, it was a slow drive to Seahouses for our 11.00 meet.

We met Alan G in the harbour upon arrival and within a few minutes the others arrived - Graeme B, Andy M, Michael C and the trip organiser Ian Fisher.

It was a good, if not a little choppy voyge (see video at foot of this post), and we even managed a little auk as we neared the islands - good start!

It was a very warm welcome by David Steele and his team of wardens as we docked; and within minutes were were being guided to the birds favoured feeding area. A skylark lifted from the grasses and was soon followed by a woodcock. The woodlark had been feeding on the path prior to our arrival, but there was no immediate sign.

We stayed put with DS as a warden skirted the cliff top. Within seconds his hand was raised - the woodlark was feeding on the cliff top near the white buildings. Result! A cracking county tick for all of the group except Ian.

Woodlark are darn tricky to get in Northumberland... in fact, all of the records in the first 10 years of the 2000s' have been on the Farnes - so we were privileged to be granted access so late in the season.

Initial views were reasonable, as the lark fed in grasses between the rocks. As we stood and watched the lark did the most unexpected - continuing to feed it walked right up to us! Ian had to back up as the lark breached the minimum focus distance of his 500mm! (Should we have put a message on the pager asking for the larks to feed from a respectable distance?!)

It was absolutely fantastic to see the species up close ~ although the bird was a little wet, the lark held its' crest erect and even did a bit of sub-song in response to the camera shutters! Check out the hind-claws! Certainley my best views of this species in the UK.

The good birding was not over - another little auk had flew past as we watched and photographed the lark, while fulmar drifted by the cliff top. It's fair to say that we had had our fill of the lark and with news that the boat was returning we headed quite happily back to the landing point. A long-eared owl that had been present in a gully could not be located but a common redpoll lifted - and quite conveniently chose to feed near to the path...

And then there was more - a bit of twist to the tale - or me to be more accurate... I slipped over on the wet rocks and smashed the 500mm onto the ground!!!!

It could have been a lot worse - the lens has "survived" optically, but the tripod mounting has been obliterated ~ a costly repair will no doubt ensue. So glad it was after the lark!!! Pictures of the damage will appear on the blog soon.

To end, here's a short clip of the boat crossing out of Seahouses ~ "choppy"!

Thanks to Ian and David/Warden Team for organising the boat, landing and bird - a fantastic morning!