Return to Speyside, Pt.1 - 17th to 21st June, 2016

My wife, Lindsay, and I had a return visit to the wonderful Grant Arms in Grantown on Spey in June this year, during which we celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary. This was our my tenth visit (Lindsay's eighth - I've been twice without her!) in seven years!

Friday 17th June

As is usual these days, we broke our journey from Leicestershire with an overnight stop in Northumberland, making a return to the superb Tweed View House in Berwick upon Tweed.

We had a very pleasant journey north, managing a lunch stop at the excellent Deli-Café in Boston Spa on the way up.

We'd hoped to visit Cocklawburn Beach that evening but, shortly after arriving in Berwick, the rain started, and continued all evening. A quick dinner in the local chippy was followed by a relaxing evening in our comfortable room at Tweed View House.

Saturday 18th June

We awoke to a misty morning - but no rain. After an excellent breakfast, served in our room as always by Graham, we set off, stopping briefly to fuel up just up the road.

The weather soon brightened up and the traffic was kind to us as we by-passed Edinburgh and crossed the Forth Road Bridge, admiring the works of the new road bridge which appeared to be almost ready to have the final spans dropped into place.

A break for a pot of Earl Grey at the Macmillan Cafe just outside Perth was followed by a short walk along beside the burn at Quarrymill in the hope of seeing Dipper. This used to be a sure-fire place, but they weren't seen on this occasion.

Lunch was taken at our favourite lunch stop anywhere - the Dalmore Inn, just south of Blairgowrie, and it was well up to its usual standard.

A stop at the Glenshee ski area, in the hope of seeing Ring Ouzel, only turned up Meadow Pipit and a relatively confiding Pied Wagtail.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba ssp. yarrellii ) (female) - Glenshee

The onward journey to Grantown was uneventful, and we arrived in good time to check in and still have time to visit one of our favourite locations, Lochindorb, before dinner which we'd booked for 18h30 that evening. 

Lochindorb produced Meadow Pipit, Red Grouse, Black-throated Diver, Lapwing, and Greylag Goose as well as other things not noted, but the only images that were anything like reasonable were of a very close Curlew. I didn't notice until I came to process my photos that this bird had a hideous growth under its lower mandible. I've chosen one of the images where this is less obvious!

Curlew (Numenius arquata) - Lochindorb

We enjoyed a good dinner that night, after which Lindsay declared that she wanted to take a bath after a strenuous day being driven around, leaving me free to go out to another favourite place, near Tomintoul, which I'm sworn to secrecy over.  I didn't get any photos there that evening, but I did get my first Cuckoo sighting of the year on my way there. Sadly it was on the wrong side of the road and a shot through the windscreen totally failed. I tried to go past so I could turn round and get a shot, but it kept going up the road ahead of me. This is the best I could do.

Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) (juvenile) - near Tomintoul

Sunday 19th June

The weather forecast for the day did not look too bad, but the rest of the week looked as if it might be a bit grim and as Lindsay wanted a visit to the coast, that's where we went!

Our first stop was at Burghead. This is a great place to visit in winter for close views of sea ducks, but less productive in summer. I believe this next bird, out on the harbour wall, to be a genuine Rock Dove as, to my untrained eye, it looks OK for that species and I didn't see any feral pigeons here, or any other dove for that matter.

Rock Dove (Columba livia) - Burghead

By the inner harbour, I photographed a small bug on the harbour wall, the identity of which I've no ideas about! There was also a Rock Pipit grooving around - there usually is one here for some reason! Adrian has pointed me in the direction of Bristletail (thank you Adrian). I think it's probably a Sea Bristletail.

Sea Bristletail? (Petrobius maritimus?) - Burghead

Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus) - Burghead

I left Lindsay relaxing in the car whilst I headed off to the area where House Martins tend to gather mud for nest-building. They soon arrived and busied themselves with this task. I tried for some flight shots, but didn't tarry too long as Lindsay was waiting.

House Martin (Delichon urbica) - Burghead

Having rejoined Lindsay, we set off for Clarkly Hill, just outside Burghead. Local birder Bob Johnson put me onto this place a couple of years ago. As we arrived, there was a flock of 80+ Linnet in the field and on the wires near the car park. Lindsay elected to wait in the car whilst I did a quick look-around. Just up from the car park is a small boggy area which has Northern Marsh Orchid as a speciality and there were a few specimens in evidence.

Northern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella) - Clarkly Hill

A young Reed Bunting was in the gorse on the far side of the marsh.

Reed Bunting (Emberiza Schoeniclus) - Clarkly Hill

As the sun was shining, I stepped into a field to see if I could see any interesting butterflies. I couldn't, but I did take a shot of a beetle - no idea what species it is, but it was extremely shiny!! Noushka has told me that this is of the Carabidae family (thank you, Noushka). I'm sure she's right.

beetle (Carabidae fa.) - Clarkly Hill

Just a little further up the lane, I did find a butterfly - a rather tatty Painted Lady. It's only in the last couple of days that I learned that all Painted Ladies in UK are migrants, having spent their winter in Africa! No wonder it looked tatty! This was one of the very few butterflies that I saw during this week in Scotland, most of the others being Green-veined Whites.

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) - Clarkly Hill

Further up the lane I found Linnet and Goldfinch.

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) (female) - Clarkly Hill

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - Clarkly Hill

For me, the real treat here was the very vocal and obliging Whitethroat.

Whitethroat (Sylvia communis) (male) - Clarkly Hill

From here, we moved on to Hopeman for our picnic lunch. No wildlife of interest was seen here, but a small village that has TWO ice cream makers each with their own shop has to be worthwhile!

I'd been to Spey Bay only once before and, on that occasion, arrived late afternoon as a downpour was starting. We turned away immediately and set off 'homeward'. On this occasion we decided to give it another chance. The place was seething with people, all taking advantage of a hot Sunday afternoon with a poor week forecast ahead. We were lucky in that a car park space freed up as we arrived. Most people were having to turn round and come away again. I went for a walk, but found nothing of real interest. Not wishing to come away totally empty handed I took a photo of a beetle - yep! no idea idea what species again!

beetle sp. - Spey Bay

We left Spey Bay, probably never to return as it's a bit out on a limb when staying in Grantown. We opted for the scenic route back to the hotel where we enjoyed another excellent dinner before having a relaxing evening in the bar.

Monday 20th June

After breakfast we set off for Laggan, well to the south of Grantown. Our main objective was the old General Wade's military road which runs westwards from here. However, an Icterine Warbler (a rarity) had been being seen in Laggan and so we first tried to find that. It seems that it had last been seen two days previous to our visit, but it didn't reappear whilst we were there.

Heading down the road, we'd not gone far before we found a Wheatear. We usually see this species on this road, but not until much further along the road.

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) (female) - near Laggan

As expected, we started to see Meadow Pipit with some frequency.

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) - General Wade's Military Road from Laggan

It's always a treat to see a Common Sandpiper that isn't running along at the water's edge.

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) - General Wade's Military Road from Laggan

For me, it's even more exciting to find an obliging Redstart! This one was near to one of the few places with habitation along the road.

Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) (male) - General Wade's Military Road from Laggan

In the spirit of showing birds in their environment, here's a couple.

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) - General Wade's Military Road from Laggan

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) (female) - by Garva Bridge, General Wade's Military Road

After passing over the River Spey at Garva Bridge we ran into torrential rain. We continued to the point where the road is permanently closed due to a collapsed bridge, and had our picnic lunch in the car before setting back again - still in pouring rain.

The weather brightened up as we headed eastwards and we had good views of Wheatear again.

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) (male) - General Wade's Military Road

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) (female) - General Wade's Military Road

I was much more excited, however, to find a pair of Whinchat feeding a youngster, near farm buildings.

Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) (male) - General Wade's Military Road

Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) (female) - General Wade's Military Road

Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) (juvenile) - General Wade's Military Road

Another Common Sandpiper was an opportunity not to be missed.

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) - General Wade's Military Road

As we neared Laggan I did a quick double-take when, through a gap, I noticed something in a field. I reversed up again, and realised that I'd been fooled. This was, presumably, to keep the corvids from destroying the plastic covering the bales. This is a common problem, and it looks as if this solution is working!

decoy Peregrine near Laggan!

At Laggan we stopped again in the hope of seeing the Icterine Warbler. There were other people there who had failed to see it before our arrival. We stopped a while on the off-chance, but it didn't show.

We took the long route back via Lochindorb where we found a juvenile Lapwing and a Common Sandpiper together in the very narrow strip of grass between the road and the water.

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) (juvenile) - Lochindorb

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) - Lochindorb

After dinner at the Grant Arms that evening, I headed back to the location near Tomintoul that I favour. Again, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of birds compared to visits in previous years. I did find a Short-eared Owl, however, albeit at a very great distance.

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) - near Tomintoul

There were a few Curlew around and I wished the one that flew in with full evening sun on it, against a hillside that was totally in the shade, had done so somewhat closer to me than it did! I did get a Curlew come quite close to me as I sat in the car, however.

Curlew (Numenius arquata) -near Tomintoul

As I headed back to Grantown, at the same location where I'd seen the Cuckoo on the Saturday, I spotted a Snipe sitting on a distant post. I've only ever seen Snipe on posts in Scotland. Everywhere else I see them at the water's edge!

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - near Tomintoul

Tuesday 21st June

A relatively gentle day was in order this day as I was requested by the Grant Arms to take a group out on a visit in the morning and then give a talk in the evening.

The venue for the visit was Lochindorb and, in the event, I only had two takers. Mike and Val were a delightful couple and I was pleased to offer them a lift in my car.

We visited a couple of places en route, before heading to Lochindorb. The usual summer colony of nesting Common Gull was very much in evidence. Common Sandpiper were at the water's edge, and there were Lapwing about too. I was somewhat delighted for Mike and Val's sake when an Osprey paid a brief visit.

Osprey (Pandion Haliaetus) - Lochindorb

 At the south end of the loch I couldn't resist a photo of a Meadow Pipit on a road sign.

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) -Lochindorb

We were hoping for Golden Plover, but had no luck on that score. The real excitement came after we'd turned round and were heading back beside the water - a Red-throated Diver flew in, swam around in front of us briefly, and then flew off again. Black-throated Divers are usually resident on Lochindorb at this time of year (they breed here), but Red-throated are only occasional visitors.

Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata) - Lochindorb

I do like Common Sandpipers - I think they have a subtle beauty - so here's one that didn't fly off when I stopped the car beside it as we headed round Lochindorb.

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) - Lochindorb

Back at the Grant Arms, I met up with Lindsay again, and we headed of to Ballindalloch Castle for a bit of tourism and lunch. We'd never been here before, although it was highly recommended by friends. The grounds are wonderful, and beautifully kept.

garden - Ballindalloch Castle

As is was late lunch time, we made directly for the castle's cafe. The place was heaving with people when we arrived and we were greeted with the news that we could be three quarters of an hour waiting for a table. We were just deciding whether to take food out and eat it in the gardens when a table suddenly freed up and we were invited to take it. The reason for the crowds was that a coach-load of Australian farmers had booked to have a group lunch here before heading off to view the castle's famous original herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle. They were a really good humoured group!

We sat down for our lunch (very good, and reasonably priced), before going round to the castle entrance for a most enjoyable visit inside the castle. That's Mrs P with a bag over her shoulder in the foreground.

Ballindalloch Castle

After going round the castle, I took a walk round the grounds in the hope of finding some wildlife, but failed in that respect.

A scenic route took us back past Lochindorb, but the only sensible photo was of a Pied Wagtail.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba ssp. yarrellii ) (male) -Lochindorb

We had to be back at the hotel relatively early so I could set up for my talk after dinner that night. There were more people than I expected for my talk, entitled 'Speyside - A Place For All Seasons'. I was even more surprised, considering the subject matter, to find that half the attendees were local people, rather than hotel residents! The talk seemed to go down well - even if I did overrun my allotted time of one hour by about 15 minutes.  

This takes me to the halfway mark of our stay on Speyside, so I'll end this first part of my account of our visit. I've just realised that this first part started and ended with Pied Wagtail!

The second part will probably be in about a week's time, and will contain what I consider to be rather more interesting species and photos than featured in this first part!

Thank you for dropping by.

A Canadian Visitation - Pt.1 - 23rd to 27th July, 2015

Firstly, my apologies to my friends in Bloggerland for totally neglecting your posts for the past four weeks. We've had friends David and Miriam from Canada visiting us between 23rd September and 10th August. Prior to their visit I was busy sorting things out ready for their arrival. Subsequent to their visit I've been starting to catch up on things that didn't get done whilst they were here, plus beginning to process the nearly five thousand images that I shot during their visit! The first five days worth are now sorted as much as they will be, so here goes!

David is a time-served birdwatcher with more than 60 years of birdwatching under his belt. He is very well travelled as a birder, and extremely knowledgeable on the subject. Miriam (I hope she will not mind me saying this!) is not quite the enthusiast that David is, but her visual and audible observational skills (as I soon found out!) are remarkable, and a great asset!

This first post on their visit covers the first three days based at our home in Ashby de la Zouch, followed by a couple of days in Northumberland, prior to a week in Scotland.

Thursday, 23rd July

I set off early for Manchester Airport. David and Miriam were flying via Paris (sorry, David - a 'senior moment'), and Lindsay was at home, monitoring their flight which was scheduled to land at 11h20. I'd built in some slack time but this was eaten up when Lindsay said that they were now expected to land at 11h00. I parked the car at Terminal 3 and had just found the exit from Baggage Reclaim when, less than 5 seconds later, Miriam emerged, closely followed by David!

We were soon on our way back to Ashby, with only minor hold-ups on the return journey.

Lindsay had prepared lunch, and this was followed by a spell in our conservatory, chatting, and watching the birds in our garden. I quickly realised that, in some ways, my task of keeping David and Miriam amused bird-wise was going to be easy as they were enthusing about many of our common garden birds, but I also bore in mind that David had a number of 'life birds' that he was targeting this trip.

Later in the afternoon, I took them out to some local spots for a chance of finding Little Owl, and viewing some other birds. A short walk at Calke Park was followed by a visit to Staunton Harold Round Car Park and then to Staunton Harold itself., We ended up with a few birds added to David's year list, but no 'lifer'. This was clearly an unsatisfactory start, so we made a brief visit to my local patch where Miriam stayed in the car and David had a brief glimpse of a departing Little Owl - a lifer for David at last!

The only photos I took that day were of a tiny toadlet (approx. 1cm long) at Staunton Harold.

Common Toad (Bufo bufo) (juvenile) - Staunton Harold

That night I introduced David and Miriam to the delights of 'le Colonel' - lemon sorbet, drowned in vodka!

Friday, 24th July

Clearly needing to up my game, I had a look at Birdguides to see what had been reported lately. I was immediately grabbed by a Red-footed Falcon that was being seen around 50 miles (80km) from my home. David confirmed that he'd love to see this as another lifer. And so we set off. I'd been lucky enough to photograph a 1st summer female in May, 2008 only about 7 miles (10km) from my home, so this 1st summer male was an equally exciting prospect for me too.

We had absolutely no problem in locating this stunning bird, with a few birders already watching it. If the light had been better we'd have had some great images, but it was dull grey, and threatening rain. Here's a few - well, quite a lot really, as this is probably the last time I'll ever photograph this species!

Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) (1st summer male) - Chatterley Whitfield Colliery

Amazingly, a hundred metres up the road, there was a Black Redstart. In normal circumstances I'd have spent a lot of time getting images of such a bird, but the presence of the falcon overshadowed it. By the time we'd had our fill of the falcon and turned our attention to the Black Redstart, the weather had deteriorated further, and the rain was getting heavier. We didn't stay long.

Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) (juvenile) - Chatterley Whitfield Colliery

Our journey home was marred by traffic hold-ups, and so we diverted to Willington Gravel Pits for a visit in the rain. No photos were taken but it was an enjoyable visit.

We headed home with David having his second 'lifer' in the bag.

Saturday, 25th July

David had been particularly keen to see some of the Little Owls that I monitor, so our objective for the day was a visit to Rutland Water, visiting LO sites on the way. The weather was relatively dull and windy, so I wasn't over-hopeful on the LO front.

We'd stopped to check my LO Site No.44, and I was scanning the usual places for the owls, when Miriam said she'd spotted one - it wasn't in a usual place!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.44

Another LO was spotted on the barn at Site No.23, where we'd not seen an owl recently.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.23

Another LO was seen at Site No.34, but no photos taken, but just down the road there was an owl at Site No.43 - again where we'd not seen an owl lately.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.43

Another owl was seen at my Site No.42 (no photos) so we were now up to 5 sightings - better than I've done for a while! We continued to the Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water.

Little exciting was seen at Rutland Water from my point of view, but David and Miriam seemed to be quite impressed by the place. It was great to see a Water Vole make an appearance. It showed well for the naked eye, but the reeds intruded too much for a good image to be obtained. The juvenile Ospreys were starting to get adventurous.

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) - Rutland Lyndon

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - Rutland Lyndon

Water Vole (Arvicola amphibius) - Rutland Lyndon

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) (juvenile) - Rutland Lyndon

On the way home we found a juvenile Little Owl sitting out on a barn door at my Site No.42 and, whilst I was photographing it, an adult emerged, putting our numbers up to six for the day - and we weren't finished yet!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (juvenile) - my Site No.42

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (adult + juvenile) - my Site No.42

There were further LO sightings at Sites Nos. 36, 34 (juvenile) and 41, with a final bird at No.46, bringing the total for the day to 10 Little Owls - not a bad result! David remarked that there was nothing to this Little Owl business!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.46

Sunday, 26th July

We had a relatively gentle start to the day before the three of us set off for Northumberland - as this was to be an intensive bird-watching trip, Lindsay stayed behind. We stopped for lunch at one of my favourite places - the Deli Caffé in Boston Spa. We arrived at the Beadnell Towers hotel in Beadnell in good time and risked the weather for a long walk on Beadnell beach before dinner. The main attraction for birders here is the Tern colony by the Long Nanny (a river which flows into the sea here).

As we approached the Long Nanny we found a number of jellyfish beached on the sand. I am not sure what species these were as they don't look quite like anything that I can find illustrated or described. They were probably around 10 to 15 cm across. Please let me know if you can help with the ID.

Jellyfish sp. - Beadnell Beach

As we approached the Long Nanny, there were a few gulls around - Herring, Lesser Black-backed, and Great Black-backed.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) (immature) - Beadnell Beach

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) - Beadnell Beach

Most of the terns by Long Nanny are Arctic Terns. There were plenty of youngsters around and there was a constant procession of adults bringing in Sand Eels. I tried for flight shots, but this was difficult with the low light levels.

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) - by the Long Nanny

There were several Little Tern away from the nesting area which was behind fencing with 'keep out' notices. I was pleased to see that there was an observation post up on the dunes with an observer keeping an eye on the area to guard against human intrusion into the sensitive areas. I saw one person who looked as if they were sorely tempted to cross the line! David and Miriam kept to a respectable distance as can be seen below!

David and Miriam (Homo sapiens) - by the Long Nanny

Little Tern (Sterna albifrons) - by the Long Nanny

Just before we headed back to the car, a small group of Sanderling appeared. I usually only see these in winter plumage!

Sanderling (Calidris alba) - by the Long Nanny

The weather was breaking as we returned to the car to return to our hotel for a very enjoyable dinner. I seem to remember, however, that I didn't sleep very well that night.

Monday, 27th July

After a good breakfast I checked with Billy Shiels as I suspected that our booked trip to the Farne Islands would not be going, due to the bad weather. I was not wrong - there were no sailings that day due to high winds and rough seas. I quickly thought out a 'Plan B'.

Our first call was at Low Newton, where we parked the car at the top of the hill and walked down into the village. It took a while as there were plenty of birds to be seen from the road. Having reached the village, we took the footpath behind the houses which goes to the two lakes, the second of which has a hide.

As we joined the footpath there was a Pied Wagtail on the fence and what I took at first to be a juvenile Pied Wagtail but I now believe to be a young Yellow Wagtail - please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) (immature) - Low Newton

Further on, in the distance on the first (largest) piece of water, were several waders and water fowl. For me, the most interesting was the Black-tailed Godwit in summer plumage. I've since been told that this was a Bar-wit, and have edited accordingly - thank you Pete!

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) - Low Newton

It had been spitting with rain, but the heavens really opened as we approached the hide. A quick dash had us safely installed before we got too wet. It was probably Miriam who spotted the nearby Snipe first! It was probably one of the best views I've ever had of a Snipe. However I was obviously not wearing my photographers head that day. I can partly blame the bad light, but when I examined my images that evening I found that I'd been working with totally inappropriate settings - too low an ISO and too slow to freeze the movement. Perhaps my tiredness was partly to blame. These are the best of a bad bunch - there's been some work done on them!

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Low Newton

 I did a little better when a Heron waded across in front of us.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Low Newton

It had been my intention that we visited Holy Island after our trip to the Farnes. We were able to bring our proposed visit forward a bit, but not too much because of the tides. After Low Newton we headed to Seahouses and soon saw that sea conditions were not pleasant and that nothing was leaving the shelter of the harbour. We looked for Purple Sandpiper but didn't find one. We then continued past the magnificent Bamburgh Castle to Budle Bay. The tide was right in and no birds were seen.

The next stop was at Fenham le Moor where there is a hide that looks over the water towards Holy Island. We spent some time here, mainly watching a Curlew and a Whimbrel.

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) - Fenham le Moor

Whilst there, we could see the queue of vehicles waiting for the tide to go out sufficiently to allow a traverse of the causeway to Holy Island. When this started moving, we prepared to depart the hide. As we were about to leave, a local birder came in and said that the action was just about to start as when the tide went out, the birds came through in large numbers. However, the draw of Holy Island was too strong and we departed.

Crossing the causeway we saw little but a small flock of Dunlin. The gentleman at Fenham le Moor had told us of a good spot on Holy Island, accessed via the monastery gardens. This proved to be a great tip off. Not much was seen at first but, as the tide went out, the bird numbers and species increased.

What I think was a Black-tailed Godwit, but I'm not sure as the rufous colouration on the underside seems to extend too far back, was soon followed by a small flock of Bar-tailed Godwit. Again, my thanks to Pete Woodruff for alerting me to my mistake - all Bar-wits!

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) - Holy Island

A small group of Goosander drifted past.

Goosander (Mergus merganser) - Holy Island

I was trying to remember to watch behind me as well as keeping an eye on the scene that was unfolding in front on the water's edge. I did grab a shot of what I think is an immature Linnet on the bank behind the foreshore.

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) - Holy Island

Suddenly it seemed as if birds were flying in from everywhere. On a distant bar uncovered by the falling tide, there were Oystercatchers, Curlew, Whimbrel, a good flock of Golden Plover, large numbers of Godwit, and probably several other species which we didn't identify or notice because of the distance.

Curlew (Numenius arquata) and Bart-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) - Holy Island

Add caption

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Holy Island

Look how well the Golden Plover is hidden in the next image!

mixed waders - Holy Island

Redshank (Tringa totanus) - Holy Island

We'd been standing out in the cold for too long - yes, it was ridiculously cold for the time of year, and continued to be so for the rest of the trip - and decided that it was time to return to the car to warm up.

On the way back to our hotel in Beadnell we stopped again at Budle Bay. This time the tide was out a fair way, and there were shorebirds everywhere! Fairly near to us was a solitary Whimbrel. We got out to take photos and I wasn't doing too badly when a Curlew flew in and decided to see off the Whimbrel. It was time to find fish and chips in Seahouses, which we did before heading back to our hotel.

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) -Budle Bay

Curlew (Numenius arquata) -Budle Bay

By the time we got back, I was ready for bed, but there was a long delay whilst we settled our bill that night as we wanted an early departure in the morning.

The second part of this account will cover the Scottish part of our travels. I just have to process the photos before I can write it!

In the meantime, I hope to be catching up with what I've missed in Bloggerland.

Thank you for dropping by.