Started the birding day at a wonderfully sunny Tynemouth, where a very active yellow-browed warbler continued to flit about the sycamores' just prior to the pier. Nice birds, ybws', but damn tricky to photograph! This bird was occasionally calling but tended to keep high up the bank. I later received a text from CB (who had been at the pier... he had a ybw in his garden - nice!)
Early afternoon saw me arrive a ridiculously busy Holy Island. Newcastles' Northumberland Street must have been empty today - everyone was here!
A quick trudge across the dunes near Chare Ends (viewed north from the "9" on the map) saw me and a noisy RSPB-type group have views of a single great grey shrike - always a stunner but clearly a very wary bird, keeping to a distance of over 100m. Maybe it was all the unnecessary irrelevant noisy chat from the people there...
The village was very quiet bird-wise; the occasional brambling was seen and heard, while the vicars garden held one pied flycatcher. No sign of TC/MHs spotted flycatcher and I did not make the effort to head to the straight lonnen for their barred warbler as tales of long waits were not in my favour.
The significant highlight of the Holy Island was undoubtedly the delicious bacon buttie from the cafe. Always a winner.
West Hartford pit-stop visit produced c100 lapwing, a few bhg, a single mallard and a buzzard over the River Blyth.
Hopefully get out on Sunday too...
No comments:
Post a Comment