We took a longer walk today starting at Low Newton, where there were plenty of House Martins nesting in the eaves and soaring about the coast path. There wasn’t much activity at the Low Newton scrape, but some baby Avocets were entertaining as they swished their bills, whilst the adults aggressively chased off anything that came too close. We popped into the hide and scanned the pool, but there was nothing new here. Along the scrub lined coast path we found numerous Reed Buntings and Stonechats, together with Meadow Pipits, Linnets, Sedge Warblers and a Yellowhammer, all singing loudly to draw attention to their presence.
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| Linnet |
Descending from the dunes to the beach we noted just a few Oystercatchers and some passing Sandwich Terns. Soon we reached Dunstanburgh Castle where we sat to eat our lunch beneath the cliff, watching the Kittiwake colony with birds circling and calling. Some Razorbills intermittently darted out from their cliff ledges to the sea, wings flapping furiously, whilst overhead, long, lazy winged Fulmars roamed the cliff top. Eventually we tore ourselves away to retrace our steps and head off to Long Nanny.
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| Beadnell Bay |
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| Kittiwakes |
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| Fulmar |
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| Kittiwake |
Another walk through the dunes at Long Nanny brought us to the watch hut, where there were a good number of Arctic Tern’s nesting in the grassy dunes. Adults filled the air as they brought sand eels to feed roosting parents and tiny, young chicks, many resting beneath their parents wings while a few more adventurous souls sheltered amongst the grasses waiting for parents to return. In the distance we could also make out a few Little Terns, and a pair of Ringed Plovers regularly appeared on a sandy path ahead of us, roped off from public use. After some time here, we descended to the beach, where many more terns were nesting, and the warden advised there would be many more chicks hatching over the next few weeks. There were a few Ringed Plovers here too, with an utterly charming young chick, a tiny fluff ball on long gangly legs, running precariously across the beach.
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| Arctic Tern with chicks |
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| Arctic Tern |
Returning to the car via the beach, we then stumbled across a colony of Sand Martins, and watched for some time as birds came back and forth to their nest holes, with some youngsters seen perched inside, peering out to the wider world as they waited for food to arrive.
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| Sand Martin at nest site |
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