February has started well

Re-roofing my outhouse has prevented any birding trips to the patch of late, so with the wind too strong to work up the ladder today and frost preventing any mortar-work, I took the opportunity to get down to Druridge.

And...it was bloody freezing! Nice and sunny, but the strong northerly wind, coming straight from the Arctic, made it feel very cold indeed.

The well-stocked feeders that are around the hides attracted a decent crowd of chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches, I am predicting a brambling in the next week or so and hopefully some redpolls.

Looking out through the gaps in the Budge screen, straight into the biting northerly, brought tears to my eyes, it was nitheringly cold, so I didn't stop there long. Just enough time to make sure there were no pintail or other interesting ducks. We walked back through the bushes flushing a woodcock as we went.

Choppington's second-best wildlife guide was out and tipped us off that there nowt of note on the big pool, so we just checked it from the bushes - he was right.

So to the dunes, for a look on the sea. It was quite sheltered, hunkered down behind the dune ridge. The northerly has blown some little auks into the North Sea and one of them was the first bird I saw, headed north, quite close in. Several more were noted in the half -hour we spent watching. A good year-bird on the 2105 list.

Also on the sea was a great-crested grebe and a smashing drake velvet scoter with four common scoter.

We retreated to the Drift Cafe for a warming lunch.

63 little auk

64 great-crested grebe

65 velvet scoter

66 red-breasted merganser

67 kittiwake

PWC Score 77