What was definitely the highlight of the year for me was seeing Faithless in Manchester at the beginning of December.
It was loud, all the classics tunes were performed and the lightshow was spectacular.
Being seated lasted all of 5mins before everyone was up of their feet dancing.
Despite being slightly deaf the next day it was an awesome night
After being delayed we were relieved when the boat company said they were sailing so we headed down to the quay. We were booked onto the all day trip which meant we were landing on Staple in the morning then onto Inner Farne for the afternoon.
The trip over was a little choppy but we were fortunate to be sat on the 'right' side and stayed dry. First stop was a brief look at the grey seals hauled out on the rocks before moving to Staple.
The cliffs around were covered in breeding auks and the sea and skies were full of birds fishing and flying too and fro. The best thing was the views and such a good angle seeing them from the water. On landing on the island it was great to meet up with ex volunteer David and catch up on his recent adventures. Despite the island only being small, there was plenty to.fill the 3 hours we had.
We moved onto Inner Farne for the afternoon and despite being very close to Staple, the feel of the place was very different. Staple was very rocky with virtually no vegetation and doesn't have any breeding terns. Inner Farne is much bigger, but still small, and actually has soil so there is much more vegetation.
Before we even landed there were Arctic terns everywhere we could see the people from the boat before us being hammered by the terns as they walked onto the island.
Ed had said that the roseate terns had been hanging around the quay but one of the rangers said they hadn't been seen that day yet. We had a scan of the roosting terns but no sign.
I had heard that views of the terns were good but I hadn't quite realised they would be nesting by the path and in some cases even on the path! The views were immense and I'm sure I could have picked them up if I wanted to do. Everywhere you walked you had to careful not to step on them.
The birds had no fear of people and at the main viewpoint they were nesting right by the fence completely unconcerned by all the people taking their pictures.
We decided to walk back to the quay too check the terns when we bumped into Ed and Lana coming back from their day off. We were very lucky as they invited us into the tower where they stay and showed us the view over the island from the roof. It was a fantastic view and you really got an idea of the number of nesting terns.
Our time was starting to run out so we headed back to look for any roseate terns. Most of the birds were now facing us roosting but I did manage to pick out an adult bird asleep. It did wake up for a short while before the whole flock flushed and it couldn't be relocated. 5th tern sp of the weekend and a great way to finish.
I would highly recommend a visit if you get the chance.
Sadly the predicted strong winds did arrive today so it wasn't a complete surprise that the Farnes boats were cancelled.
We rejigged our plans and headed for Bamburgh and a look at the castle. The coast road wasn't that busy so we headed along the verge. It was very windy so birdlife was limited to singing reed buntings and meadow pipits.
Icecream outside the castle and a random half hour watching a croquet match. Really couldn't work out the rules.
We decided not to look round the castle but walk back along the beach. By now the wind was at its strongest and the blowing sand was horrendous but thankfully it was mainly at our backs.
Despite the tides being pretty high there was a surprise in the rock pools. One of the highest ones was freshwater, presumably rainwater, and was full of tadpoles!
Despite having hoods up and everything zipped up tightly, just about everywhere was full of sand!! Invigorating walk though :-)
Headed up to the Northumberland coast today for a trip out onto the Farnes over the weekend. Pretty easy journey up although all the A1 roadworks were a bit slow going. Red kite and a few kestrels were the only birds of note.
Weather was a bit murky on arrival but an increasing breeze cleared things up nicely.
Chilled afternoon of fish & chips followed by a walk around the local area. Great to see lots of eider families, nesting kittiwakes and a few sanderling.
Wind sounds a bit interesting tomorrow so fingers crossed!
Could resist the lure of my favourite duck on the reserve today.
I have always loved white faced whistling ducks since I volunteered at Slimbridge many years ago and was lucky to see them in West Africa last year.
It was still slightly surreal to see the bird sleeping on the fresh marsh islands this afternoon. Clearly it was tired after its long flight north.
Didn't hear it whistle but if did briefly wake up for a stretch before bedding down again :-)
I'm sure that I didn'tyt dream several years ago a conversation between myself, John Badley and Paul French about our respective garden lists and who would get to 100 bird species recorded. Well Paul moved away leaving John and I to race to the target. We have both been in the high 90's for a while but I have the delight of winning the speedboat prize we agreed on all those years ago. Well I think that's how the story went anyway!
Well I did make it to 100s species before John and the honour went to a calling male cuckoo that was around the estate calling early on Saturday morning.
Having moved into our current house on 2007 we have been steadily improving our garden for birds and wildlife adding a pond and masses of borders and shrubs. A small pond attracts stuff into drink and bathe. Probably the most important aspect to getting a good list is the fact we live in a bungalow meaning that we are not surrounded with other houses and there is lots of sky to watch. This is ideal for watching raptors and scanning through then winter goose flocks flying over.
Ringing in the garden has certainly helped and has added several new species to the list.
So what have been the highlights....
Little egret - flyover in 2009
2 records of both mute and Bewick's swans
Brent goose - 11 over in December 2007
Gadwall - 3 on 2010. The lack of any real water close by means the wildfowl list is only 9 species
Red kite is a regular sighting and probably bred nearby last year
Merlin - 1 in 2008
Pheasant - only 1 record in 2009
Moorhen - 1 in the garden over the last winter
Stone curlew - very lucky to have these breeding nearby and can hear them flying over the house on warm summer nights. Can even hear them from bed!
Green sandpiper - 2 in 2014 Like with wildfowl, very few wader species have been recorded with 7 so far
Turtle dove - 1 in July 2007
Waxwing - several flyover records to date
Ring ouzel - 1 flushed out of the garden in October 2013
Firecrest - singing male for a morning in May 2014
Spotted flycatcher - 2 records, one in 2008, one trapped and ringed in 2014
Marsh tit - 1 ringed in 2011
Nuthatch - 1 in 2010
Tree sparrow - 2 flyovers in February 2011
Crossbill - 1 in 2008
I have also decided to complete the Patchwork Challenge 'competition' this year from the garden with the aim of getting to that magical figure of 100 species. Now that has been achieved the next aim is to get as big a list as possible. Nearly 5 months into the year and the list stands at 54 species.
Not a bad effort really :-)
Pics of spot fly and reed bunting
