Northumberland

Myself, Dan Watson & Gareth Blockley had recently planned a much anticipated long weekend on the Northumberland coast for a bit of a seabird fix.

Day 1

We set off on the morning of Friday 16/06 and slowly wended our way north. We planned in a couple of stops on the way to break it up a little, starting with the slightly unassuming Bowesfield Marsh in Stockton-on-Tees. A Marsh Warbler had been holding territory there for the fast few days and was well worth a crack, not being too far off the route.

It was the middle of the day and pretty blowy, so not the best conditions to see the bird, but we gave it a go! We scoured the relatively discrete area it had been seen in, however we were struggling...there was no sign. A Grasshopper Warbler began reeling closeby and provided a welcome distraction, showing really nicely sat on a nearby bush.

This seemed to spark the Marsh Warbler into gear and soon it was uttering a few scrappy phrases of song. Eventually it showed a few times amongst the bank of brambles in front of us. He never gave a full rendition of song, but rather a few further phrases. I had seen quite a few in Poland last year, however this was a nice, welcome UK tick for me, so the trip had begun very well indeed!

The Marshie then disappeared again and so we made our leave still further north, with next stop being the little fishing port of Amble, on the Northumberland coast.

Amble is the place from which to embark on trips around Coquet Island, the best site in the UK for Roseate Terns, hosting approximately 100 pairs. As well as the Rosys, the island also plays host to a great range of seabirds, with Puffins also particularly prevalent.

We were a touch early for our 6pm boat and so we sat by the quay and scanned the river mouth and harbour enjoying our first Eiders, Sandwich Terns and a few other bits & pieces.

The weather was very gloomy indeed, but still, at least it wasn't raining! As we approached the island, we began encountering the first few Puffins and Guillemots, as well as a sizable feeding flock of terns comprising quite a few Arctics, as well as our first Roseate Tern, yipee! My first Rosy for a good few years.

The island itself was a huge hive of activity with Common, Arctic & Sandwich Terns zooming around, as well as good numbers of Auks, Fulmars, Kittiwakes & Black Headed Gulls. Quite a few Grey Seals were hauled out on the rocks and in the water too.

The boat slowly made it's way around the island. The edge of the Roseate Tern colony was pointed out to us by our guide and we were able to enjoy some half decent views of the birds around their nestboxes and also sat out on the rocks. Due to it being low tide however, we weren't able to get quite as close as usual. Still, how good was it to see so many Roseates!

We headed back to Amble very happy with what we'd seen. A very enjoyable warm up gig if you like, before Saturday's seabird spectacular on the Farnes!

We left Amble and made our way onto Seahouses. Here, we enjoyed some bloody lovely fish & chips for dinner, sat around the harbour fending off the swarm of Black Headed Gulls and enjoying the gorgeous sunset! Finally, Gareth drove us the last few miles to just the other side of Bamburgh, to our digs for the weekend, a lovely Airbnb pad overlooking Budle Bay...spot on!

Day 2

As we awoke, it was clear that as per the forecast, Saturday was to be an absolute scorcher!

We were booked on the Farnes all-dayer boat trip, setting off at 09:30am from Seahouses. The trip gave us the opportunity to spend a couple of hours on both Staple Island & Inner Farne. I was super excited, as my 3-4 previous visits to the Farnes were just 1 hour stopovers on Inner Farne, so this time I could really take my time, not rush around and just enjoy it all a lot more. Dan had been before, but it was Gareth's first time on the islands...he was in for a treat!

Numbnuts here forgot to bring a hat, so before we could embark, I popped into one of the several 'kiss me quick' souvenir shops & bought myself a lovely blue number, to protect myself from Inner Farne's ruthless Arctic Terns!

It doesn't take too long to reach the islands from Seahouses and after some 15-20 minutes, we were clocking our first Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins, Kittiwakes etc. Soon after that, we encountered the first cliffs, with that familiar honk of guano in the air!

The plan was to first do a shortened cruise around the island, taking in a few cliffs and the local Grey Seal colony.

On then to Staple Island, for the first two-hour stint. We climbed the rocky steps and were immediately greeted with point blank views of some obliging Puffins, as well as a few Shag on their nests.

We all went off exploring. I spent a bit of time watching the Puffins toing and froing, zooming into their burrows with bills full of sand eels. Most made it unscathed, however the odd one was not so lucky, being mugged of their catch by the local Lesser Black Backs.

I then spent a bit of time taking in the cliffs, home to hundreds of Guillemots, Kittiwakes and smaller numbers of Razorbills.

It was also good to see a couple of Fulmar up nice and close...but not too close! I'd forgotten how ridiculously awkward they are getting around on land, waddling and dragging themselves about! A couple of Rock Pipit were also around, carrying food, so presumably their nest was closeby.

Seeing a stationary Puffin with a bill full of sand eels is far from easy, as they invariably shoot straight down into their burrows before they are attacked by the gulls. However, just before leaving the island, we were treated to lovely close views of one particularly obliging bird, allowing me the opportunity to get the photo I've always wanted to get!

On then to Inner Farne, to run the tern gauntlet, my absolute highlight of the Farnes! It didn't disappoint and we were soon making our way up the boardwalk with the clicking alarm calls of Arctic Terns ringing in our ears!

We spent the rest of our time enjoying the rest of what the island had to offer ie. more crippling views of quite literally thousands of seabirds!

Before we left the island, we were in for one last treat, with one particular Arctic Tern deciding our heads were an excellent place to watch over it's territory! Brilliant!

While waiting for our boat at the jetty, it was interesting to note a number of 1st-summer Portlandica Arctic Terns loafing around the rocks. Having seen next to no Portlandica Terns before, I haven't been able to escape them in recent weeks! See here.

It was then time to head back to the flat for dinner, a few beers and the nursing of my horrifically sun burnt legs! Johny Lobster-legs was born!

Day 3

Sunday was a pretty chilled affair. It was also another scorcher of a day. How lucky were we!? We took a drive, late morning up towards the Cheviots and birded various bits of woodland and moorland.

We didn't discover anything too outrageous, finding a Redstart, a Cuckoo, several Stonechat, Curlews & plenty of Willow Warblers. We then headed back to the coast and spent the afternoon on Holy Island, wandering around for a few hours, again bathed in beautiful sunshine.

Once on the island, we stopped for a look at the Snook. Here there were lots of Orchids on show including Common Spotted, Northern Marsh & 100s of Marsh Helleborines beginning to emerge, with one or two just coming into flower.

We parked up and had a wander around Lindisfarne and along the southern shore. This brought several news birds for the trip including Red Breasted Merganser, Grey Plover, Bar Tailed Godwit & Ringed Plover. There were also plenty of Terns offshore with Arctics & Sandwich particularly prominent. The views from along here were stunning; pretty much 360. Check out the weird heat-hazy reflection of the distant Farne Islands too!

We turned our attention to a bit of rock-pooling along here, spying a young Wheatear on the adjacent cliff too. A nearby breeder or was Autumn underway already?!

It was then back to the flat, via Seahouses to grab a curry. We also popped into Monks House Pool near Bamburgh, adding a couple of Black Tailed Godwit to the trip list. The day finished with a few beers and a stunning sunset over Budle Bay...spot on!

Day 4

It was sadly time to begin our long journey back south! Yet again the skies were blue and the sun was beaming down nicely. Before leaving Gareth realised we had a small colony of Tree Sparrows around where we were staying. I don't know how we hadn't found these already, but there we go! I spent a bit of time watching them before we left.

We had a quick fruitless scan offshore at Bamburgh and then had a check of Monks House Pool, a small body of water next to the road between Seahouses and Bamburgh. This appears to be a great little site and certainly has a track record of attracting some good birds. We'd checked it daily since we had arrived here and had seen a few bits and bobs already. On this particular visit however, we did particularly well, pulling out of the bag both an adult Wood Sandpiper and a 1st-summer Little Gull, which soon headed off north.

A brief stop in Seahouses, then off we went! We planned a couple of birding stops en route to break up the journey a little. First up was Bothal Pond near Ashington (Northumberland). A summer plumaged Slavonian Grebe had been there the last few days and was well worth a look, being only a few miles off our route. The one sticking point was that it had disappeared over night! We were consoled with a distant Wood Sandpiper and a few Tree Sparrows before heading on again.

Our last birding stop was to again have a look at the Stockton Marsh Warbler. The weather though was uncomfortably hot and visiting again in the middle of the day, our chances were small. We gave it a good look but the warbler unsurprisingly failed to show. 

It was a sweltering journey home but we got back with no real delays, drawing to a close an unforgettable trip! Somethings tells me it won't be too long until we return...

Black Hairstreaks

Black Hairstreaks have emerged some 2 weeks early this year. I've never managed to be free, in good weather for their emergence and have only really seen them past their best, towards the end of their flight period. So, having heard of them appearing during the week, I decided to head to north Northants on Sunday 11/06.

Joined by Em, we headed pretty much the length of Northants from Brackley, to Glapthorn Cow Pasture near Oundle, the premier Black Hairstreak site. The weather was warm and a mix of cloud and sun and proved to be about spot on. We were treated to an awesome show, with certainly double figures coming down to nectar. At one point I had 4 all there in front of me nectaring away...brilliant! A Nightingale was also singing really nicely closeby... the cherry on the top of a well worthwhile visit!

The Portlandica conundrum

On a drizzly and windy Tuesday 06/06, I headed up to Grimsbury Reservoir, Banbury for my regular lunchtime circuit to get myself out of the office for a bit.

I soon clapped eyes on a tern flying around the reservoir. Commons are regular throughout the summer but are not a regular fixture and so, even if a Common, it was a mildly notable bird.

Closer inspection of the bird showed that this was in fact a Portlandica type 1st-summer Common/Arctic, a very much more unusual sighting. 1st-summer birds, though increasingly encountered in the UK are still pretty rare, with the majority of 1st-summer Arctic & Commons spending their time in the southern hemisphere. By chance, myself, Gareth & Dan had in fact seen a 1st-summer, what we believed was Common, just a week previously on a day trip to Minsmere. Based on structure and plumage tones, we went with Common, however now in hindsight, I wish I had studied it far closer. 

Getting a good grasp of all the Grimsbury bird's features wasn't easy due to the inclement conditions, as well as the fact that it spent much of it's time actively feeding over the centre of the water. Still, things that were clear were relatively uniform grey across the wings, with a thin, dark trailing edge to the primaries, clean underwing and slightly darker edged carpal area. The bill appeared all dark, while the bird had a small, white forehead, with white speckled feathering into the bird's dark cap and a largely white breast/belly with a few greyer feathers coming through. I have to say my knowledge of 1st-summer terns is pretty limited, however the relative uniform colour of the wings was bugging me a bit. Would Common show that? Due to the poor weather, I didn't bother bringing my SLR with me, however did manage a distant shot of the bird below with my bridge camera. 

I had a chat with fellow local birder Steve Holiday who was also present while I was there. He was also a little unsure on the birds ID, without some more detailed literature to refer to. We tentatively went with Common for now.

The next day (07/06), I again paid the reservoir a visit and was pleasantly surprised to see that the tern was still present, again actively feeding over the water. This time I had my SLR with me and was able to obtain some far better photos. I spent quite a bit of time watching the bird, trying to take in all the features. I must've watched the bird for a good 45 minutes and not once did it rest, doing an almost figure of 8 route of the reservoir over and over again.

Back home I had a good look online for more literature on 1st-summer Common/Arctics but found it really hard to find anything clear and definitive to assist in the ID of the bird. The Collins for example, only gives only a very brief nod to 1st-summers and not really enough for conclusive ID

Looking at the photos, to me, the overall structure didn't particularly portray that pot-bellied appearance that you would associate with Arctic. The bill in the photos also appeared relatively long

I put images of the bird on Twitter as a Common, however based on feedback, the bird in fact appears to be a 1st-summer Arctic Tern! This is based on the following:

• The amount of black around the eye is beyond what a Common Tern would show
• Most importantly, all the primaries are of the same age. A Common Tern would have two generations of primaries at this time of year, having moulted the inners and retained the worn outers

So a really educational bird and a good ID challenge! Also, a cracking little record for little old Grimbo by the way!

Minsmere

For the Sunday of the Bank Holiday (28/05), myself, Dan & Gareth plotted another day out. We decided on a full day at Minsmere. There was nothing particularly outrageous reported, however Minsmere delivers such a variety of habitat and species that whatever was about, it was sure to be a worthwhile visit.

We set off at 6am and had a good 3 hour run over. We started off at Westleton Heath to have a stab at Dartford Warbler, Woodlark etc. This turned out to be a cracking little wander in the scorching morning sun, with a good scattering of Dartford Warbler, at least 3 Woodlark (can you spot one below?!), a couple of Turtle Dove at least & several Med Gulls overhead.

After a fair old stint on the heath, we moved on to the reserve. Over the next few hours, we enjoyed a slow circuit of the reserve, taking in Island Mere & Bittern Hides, and the various viewpoints around the scrapes. It was particularly cool to take in the number of Med Gulls of varying ages around the reserve and the sound of their distinctive calls could be heard everywhere throughout the day.

Wader passage had largely come to an end by the time of our visit, however there was still singles of both Sanderling & Knot, as well as 3 Black Tailed Godwit later on in the day. The resident Avocets appeared to be in plentiful supply, as were the raucous cacophony of the Black Headed Gull colony. Terns weren't too numerous. There was a decent scattering of Commons, however only 2-3 Little Terns and a similar number of Sandwich. A 2cy Common Tern was a nice thing to see, a plumage rarely seen in the UK (below).

Having done a full circuit of the reserve, we took a short break at the visitor centre for a coffee. The local Pheasants clearly knew which side their bread was buttered, lingering close to the cafe, looking for scraps!

Afterwards, we were super chuffed to have both Water Vole AND Water Shrew pointed out to us, showing from the dragonfly pond boardwalk, close to the visitor centre. Both were mammal ticks for me and a real highlight of the day!

We spent the last part of the day again at both Bittern & Island Mere hides, now far quieter. Close to Island Mere, Gareth headed a little further along the path, while Dan & I paused to look at something. We heard a distinctive 'ticking' call. Both our instincts were confirmed as a Hawfinch flew over our heads and away towards the oak woodlands. A real unexpected bonus!

The reedbeds both during the evening and throughout the day, produced quite a few Bearded Tits, with small family parties seen on a couple of occasions. Bittern booming was heard sporadically throughout the day too. Bittern sightings were at a premium, however we did get lovely fly-by views of one late in the day from Island Mere. This was while listening for the male Savi's Warbler which, after a bit of a wait, began tuning up at some point just before 8pm. It then sang well on and off until we left the hide some 20 minutes later. Despite our best efforts though, we failed to see it!

We did plan on finishing the day, back at the heath to enjoy some Nightjars and Nightingale, however almost as soon as we got back to the car and readied ourselves to drive down to the heath, the heavens opened! A quick check of the forecast and it appeared it was likely to be game over. Rubbish luck! Nevermind, it had been a very decent day indeed. We then wended our way back to the Midlands.

Marsh Frit & friends

I had earmarked the weekend of 20/05 & 21/05 to pay, my now annual homage to several of my favourite butterfly sites to connect with five of the scarcer species. Gareth Blockley was to join me this year. We both had an element of flexibility for the whole weekend and with the forecast for the Saturday a bit showery, we decided to use Sunday as the day to go.

The plan was to connect with Pearl-Bordered & Marsh Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy, Adonis & Small Blues. At this point in the calendar, it is a bit of a cross over with all these species and so there was no guarantee we would see all five but we would certainly give it a bash!

First stop was the sun-kissed Cirencester Park Woods. The hope here was to locate some Pearl Bordered Fritillaries that usually frequent a few key areas here. Unfortunately, despite a prolonged search, we just couldn't find one despite a few decent patches of sun. This was an area I saw several in last year so it was pretty disappointing we couldn't locate one. Perhaps the previous day's heavy showers had delayed their activity a touch? Who knows!

Anyways, with time pressing, we moved onto Strawberry Banks, a short drive along the Stroud road. Well I say a short drive, however the windy, single track road to the site was closed, meaning an even more convoluted route than usual! Anyways, eventually we arrived and the search for Marsh Fritillaries began...surely we wouldn't miss out here!

No we wouldn't and in fact, they were easy to find. Not quite the numbers I've seen from previous years, however there were definitely some emerging while we were there, so they were certainly not at their peak as yet.

I just have to see these every year. They are just stunning! We spent quite a bit of time here enjoying them floating about. We also found a single Small Blue, plenty of Dingy Skippers and a few very nice Lesser Butterfly Orchids.

After a good while at Strawberry Banks, we moved onto Stroud for our last site, the picturesque Rodborough Common. We walked down to the steep, sheltered slopes, towards the southern end of the common.

A good scour of the area produced at least two Duke of Burgundy, several Small Blues, a good scattering of Brown Argus & at least 2 Common Blue. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't find any Adonis Blue but it was touch and go as to whether any would be out yet. 

That concluded a great day out. Three out of five wasn't too bad, plus all three were new butterflies for Gareth. I make that a successful mission!