It's been a while

It's been a while since my last blog post. My excuse for this tardiness was a two-week trip to Finland and Norway and an ailing computer that now struggles with big RAW files.

I'll hopefully have some Finland and Norway photos processed soon and up on Flickr. But here is a video of me enjoying my 'summer holiday'.

Summer in Varanger

I've managed a few visits to the patch since I got back, but have been busy catching up with work, the garden and chores. A combination of the above and changeable weather has meant no ringing yet.

On 18th June There were 18 black-tailed godwit on the Budge fields - having been away, I was trying to work out whether these were late birds headed north, early returning birds or loafing non-breeders - I suspect the latter.

Barn owls from nearby farms are being seen regularly, hunting in the dunes and grass fields and attracting their share of photographers. A cuckoo in the dunes has also attracted attention.

Offshore, there have been some good rafts of scoter, but these have often been distant. A few manx shearwaters have been noted passing-by.

NWT have been busy getting their new Hauxley Discovery centre ready to open (well worth a visit just for the building) so I helped them out by strimming in front of the hides. It was a very warm evening and I sweated buckets! Hopefully the photographers will appreciate it, I know that the resident swallows will.

Strimming

On 20th June there were two avocets on the Budge fields - still an uncommon visitor to Druridge Pools despite their increasingly colonisation of South East Northumberland.

On 22nd whilst checking the heronry, a male marsh harrier passed through - my first on the patch this year. A pair of curlews had a chick or chicks in the silage field. I knew it was going to be cut, so alerted the farm who looked out for them.

This weekend, I saw my first patch roseate terns of the year, with at least two feeding offshore on Saturday, a few manx went through too.

An early morning visit on Sunday was nice, through cold and blustery -  we've had our summer I think. I was kitted out in a jumper and fleece jacket (and was still cold). I wandered up onto the dunes for a look on the sea and there, strolling, nay marching, along the beach, was a bloke who was completely starkers. A braver man than me.

There were at least 200 swift feeding behind the bushes, taking advantage of the shelter they afforded from the strong wind.

On the Budge fields, it felt autumnal with little-ringed plover and wood sandpiper. Three spoonbills were also on the fields - doing what spoonbills do best, sleeping.

Sleeping Spoonbills

The warmer weather of last week had obviously brought a few butterflies out - there were lots of ringlets, red admirals, speckled woods, large skippers and meadow browns in the shelter of the bushes. There were also common blue and blue-tailed damselflies on the wing.

Speckled Wood

Ringlet

Large skipper

Red Admiral

Common blue damselfly

Blue-tailed damselfly

Two collared doves headed north were a year tick.

In the evening, the LRP and wood sand were still on the Budge along with 18 black-tailed godwits and there were now at least 300 swifts feeding in the lea of the bushes.