Friday 2nd July: St Abb’s Head

-

 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 Sweep moth


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Friday 17th January 2025: Pagham Harbour

-
Image
We enjoyed a lovely day out at Pagham yesterday with Sue. We started with a circuit from the visitor centre, but the water levels were high at Ferry Pool and there was little of note. In the channel a few Redshank and Curlew were the best we could muster. We relocated to Halsey’s Farm and walked across the field to North Wall. There were plenty of Wigeon whistling noisily as we passed, and out in the harbour swathes of waders, creating a tremendous spectacle when they all took to the skies, a murmuration of Golden Plover swirling above flocks of Lapwing, and groups of Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit dropping in to the nearby fields. Lines of Brent geese headed further west, calling softly as they passed over.   Wigeon In the area we were thrilled to find a Long-eared Owl roosting, showing surprisingly well near the front of a bush. Long-eared Owl In White’s Creek we were treated to great views of a Spotted Redshank which wandered in very close, allowing us to note its key features. ...
Read more

Saturday 1st March: Sherwood Rough

-
Image
 After ten days of grandparenting duties, it was great to get out birdwatching again, on an SDOS outing to Sherwood Rough.  This is the site we had visited a few weeks ago for Hawfinch, and in birding terms the walk was a tad disappointing, but the company was excellent, with a good turnout of around twenty five members. It was a steepish climb up, but our efforts were rewarded on the ridge top, where a calling Nuthatch showed very well in a tree close to the path, and a Kestrel in the treetops made the effort of carrying my scope worthwhile! Continuing round, the woodland walk was rather quiet, but an open, sunny ride proved a little more productive with Yellowhammer and Firecrest showing very well.  At a small pond, we stopped for drinks and snacks, and suddenly, to great delight a huge, magnificent White-tailed Eagle drifted into view, and circled above us giving stunning views and a real ‘Wow!’ moment.  White-tailed Eagle (Richard Allan) With our spirits revived,...
Read more

27th February 2024: Short-eared Owl at Rodmell

-
Image
 On a beautiful sunny afternoon we took a stroll across the fields and beside the river at Rodmell. Near the farm track there were plenty of Chiffchaffs flitting around the bushes and in the fields we found lots of Corn Bunting, foraging on the ground and perched in low lying bushes all along our route, intermittently opening their mouths wide for a burst of their harsh, jarring song.  Amongst a few ponies we found two Little Egrets, and there were several Grey Herons, frozen in position in the reeds, dagger bill poised for action! Walking along by the river, we scanned the low lying marshes by the bank, but there was little activity, other than a Stonechat and plenty of Rooks. Retracing our steps, we found a large flooded field, where a female Goosander was taking advantage of this pop up lake, gingery head glowing in the low evening sun.  Setting out across the fields again, we stopped to chat with another couple, and suddenly we were all rewarded with an appearance fro...
Read more