Window to Wildlife

 It was good to get out birding again after a busy few weeks. It is a long time since we have parked at North Wall, as we now tend to visit Church Norton and Ferry Pool then relocate to nearby Halsey’s Farm and walk across the fields to the back of North Wall. I had forgotten how windy it is there! The tide was high and there was a lot of water in Breech Pool, so not much to be seen there. A fair number of godwits and Curlew were feeding in the adjacent fields. We continued on towards Owl Copse, and after a long wait managed to see the juvenile Red-backed Shrike, a rather attractive bird, despite its gory habit of impaling prey on to spikes to create a larder. Red-backed Shrike While we waited there were frequent movements of Cattle Egret which have obviously had another successful breeding season. Cattle Egret

 Ironically the start of the school summer holiday pretty much coincides with the start of autumn migration in the bird world, with non-breeding waders making a particularly early start. So on 4th August we headed off early with Sue Miles to  find a Wood Sandpiper at Cuckmere Haven. We had no luck on our walk up towards the beach, but managed to spot it feeding on the meander on our return. Fortunately it stayed put despite the comings and goings of various kayaks and through the telescopes we could easily pick out the prominent supercilium and patterned back that distinguish it from other similar waders.  Wood Sandpiper 18th August saw us head across to Oare Marshes in Kent, one of my favourite reserves as it is possible to get very close to the birds. The annual Bonaparte’s gull was present, already moulting into winter plumage,its black head fading to ‘headphones’.  Bonaparte’s Gull A number of Yellow Wagtails were around the saltmarsh and flitting along the footpath ahead, includin

 July is known as the doldrums month for birdwatching, where many birds skulk out of sight as they moult from their breeding plumage and grow new feathers. Nevertheless, we managed to meet up with Andy for a few very successful birdwatching opportunities.   8th July   Lavington Common Andy had never seen a Nightjar and our attempt to find one on Dartmoor earlier in the year was unsuccessful. The best time for locating the birds is while they are still calling in June and July, so Andy drove down for an evening visit. Tim then drove us all to Lavington Common, a fairly small heathland area where they are regularly found. We soon heard their distinctive churring song, cupping our ears to try to ascertain the direction of sound in the hope we would then locate a bird. We stood on a mound with clear views in all directions, but occasionally wandered off to the path, scanning the conifers in case a bird could be spied resting on a horizontal branch. Andy was thrilled to return from one such

 On the last day of our holiday, we crossed the border into Scotland and visited the scenic promontory of St Abb’s Head. The weather was fantastic and the scenery and views spectacular, much more reminiscent of Cornwall than the flat, rolling sand dunes of Northumberland. Mire Loch  The cliffs were lined with birds - as well as the usual suspects from Northumberland of auks and Kittiwakes, there were good numbers of Gannets loafing on top of the rock pillars. We were able to get exceptionally close to some of the birds and a nesting Shag with young was a particularly pleasing find. It was also good to study the herring gull chicks, as we are used to seeing much bigger juvenile birds. They were extremely well camouflaged against the guano covered rocks. Herring Gull with offspring Gannets and Guillemots Razorbills Shag and family Also of note today was our first ever sighting of the Chimney Sweep moth, a rather lovely day-flying species which was very abundant at this location Chimney S