Window to Wildlife

 We were pretty gutted to find our planned boat trip to Coquet Island to see the nesting Roseate Terns was cancelled due to northerly winds and strong swell. However, as we had planned to explore some other sites in the southern part of the county, we headed in that direction anyway. The boat trip was scheduled to leave from Amble, so we drove here anyway, hoping that a stray Roseate Tern may have popped into the harbour, but sadly only Common Ternswere found.  We continued onto Lower Hauxley reserve, comprising of a lake with five viewing hides and a woodland walk. A target species here was Tree Sparrow and this was quickly seen on the feeders in the car park, and subsequently at various points around the reserve. Apparently there are over 300 birds around the reserve, so our desperate search for this species was a source of bemusement to the staff. There were good numbers of regular waders, geese and ducks around the reserve as well as terns - but sadly no roeseates! A Ruddy Shelduck

 A drizzly morning was unexpected, and not ideal for our inland visit to high moorland today. A road closure also disappointed, meaning we arrived at the valley later than planned after a lengthy diversion. We continued to be affected by low cloud over the high moors, but were determined not to let this spoil our day. We set out from the car park at Hethpool, following St Cuthbert’s Way, and were rewarded for our brave efforts by a Whinchat perched briefly on a thistle. Over the next few minutes we watched it flit up and down from bracken, to fence, to shrub, enabling good views, even if they were all fairly fleeting. On the way back to the car park Sue was delighted to spot a Dipper on the burn, and although this quickly disappeared from view, a youngster on the opposite side of the bridge hung around longer for a photo opportunity. Juvenile Dipper As we drove across the estate on single track private roads, we encountered several Black Pheasants, which are melanistic variants of the