Bittern-less

For the past two winters there's been sporadic sightings of Bittern at Holywell Pond, this is most likely a wintering bird, but due to the vast reed-bed, and ponds to the West, its only been seen on the main pond a handful of times, normally in flight.

Today I had a text from BD, saying 'Bittern at Holywell, in reeds in front of North Wood'. Alan and Sid had seen it fly across the pond and land in the reeds opposite the hide, but it hadn't moved (in sight) for half an hour. I sat until dusk, with no joys. I'll catch up with it someday !

The White-Fronted Goose was still amongst the Greylag flock, in the field on the way down to the pond.

Down at the Pond

I had a trip down to Holywell this afternoon, it was nice, and surprisingly Spring like in the sun, although the wind was still extremely strong!

My first 2 Swallows flew low overhead as I wandered down the cut between the house, great to see and a sign of things to come. Down at the main gate there was still a few Tree Sparrows about, some calling from the Birches near the boxes, hopefully we'll get some pairs breeding, and establish a new colony. A Small Tortoiseshell followed the sun, resting briefly, allowing a couple of snaps.

On the pond, 10 Pochards displayed near the hide, on the water with 1 Cormorant, 2 Mute Swan, a pair of Shoveler, 5 Teal, 14 Canada Geese, 4 Greylags, 6 Coot, 4 Little Grebe, 8 Tufted Duck, 4 Moorhen, 8 Mallard and a Grey Heron.

Greenfinch, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch and Pheasant fed in the feeding station, which had a few Coltsfoot flowering.

6 Sand Martins and a couple of Swallows hawked over the water, the first of the hirundines!


I've recently been reading 'Birdscapes' by Jeremy Mynott, a book about Birds in our imagination and experience, whilst watching the Pochard displaying, and Tufted Ducks sleeping nearby, my mind was taken back to the last chapter which talks about knowing the ins and outs of the common species, extensively. The thought, why do both male and female Tufted Ducks share golden/yellow eyes, yet male Pochards have astonishingly red eyes, and the females that of a darker colour? 

A Peregrine and the elusive Pintail

The day started in the vicinity of Gosforth Park, to set a Grey Squirrel trap, as part of a collective effort to protect the Red Squirrels of Newcastle. 30 Fieldfare, 20 Redwing, 1 Mistle Thrush and a few Chaffinch fed in the field before I entered the woods. The ground was littered with tracks, a lot of people movement and dogs, but a good number of Roe Deer and Badger tracks could be seen amongst them.

You can see the Badger's forefoot here, with the hind foot-print on top but slightly behind.

I had a few bits and pieces to do during the day, but ended up heading to Holywell for about 15:00. 120+ Lapwing and about 40 Curlew were feeding around the pool visible from East Grange.

Heading down to the hide I bumped into a local Birdwatcher and was pleased to hear there was a Drake Pintail on the pond. Opened the shutters, no sign of the Pintail, but the birds on the pond were uneasy, 10 Snipe and 2 Dunlin were in the air, along with the entire Lapwing and Curlew flock heading high, the Gulls were voicing their disapproval as were the Teal and Mallard, there was Peregrine about. Out the corner of my eye I caught sight of it, flying low just above the hide, a Tiercel. For a brief few seconds it showed unbelievably before it drifted behind, and out of sight, its presence still causing disturbance for the rest of my time there.

On the pond, 2 Cormorants sat on the posts, 9 Teal, 9 Tufted Duck, 9 Mallard, 8 Gadwall, 6 Coots, and 1 Grey Heron sheltered by the reeds, a lone Shelduck braved the open water and 6 Moorhen fed in the feeding station.

Wandering across the rest of the patch I had a single Woodcock, 60 Fieldfare over the Dene and 2 Red Legged Partridge in the Horse Field.

But the Pintail still eluded me.

Live !

Over the past couple of days I've been working on setting up a website, I'm pleased to say its now at a stage where it can go live. You can find it here cainscrimgeour.co.uk.

The site will continue to develop so keep stopping by :)

A quick half an hour tonight at Holywell was more than worth while, 3 Short-Eared Owls were hunting the main meadow. If you haven't been down to Holywell to see the SEOs yet I would highly recommend it, you don't need to travel any further than the public hide.

Spotted Redshanks

Afternoon visit to Holywell today produced two nice surprises, in the form of these Spotted Redshanks.

Back again in the evening and only one Short-Eared Owl was hunting the fields, I sat until it was almost completely dark, I'm pleased I did as this Barn Owl quartered the ground, coming close on occasions. (My camera struggle to focus in the light, shooting at ISO 6400, 1/60, f5.6)

Osprey !!!!!!

The most cropped picture known to man, but there it is, my first patch Osprey! Spotted it flying high, heading quickly South as I headed for the Cattle Field.

Without fail 2 Short-Eared Owls were hunting, watching one drift high off towards St Mary's where Jack seen it later on. Time was short tonight as I joined the wardens to set a number of small mammal traps, I'm looking forward to seeing whats inside.

I think I'm a Short-Tailed Vole

A wander at Holywell tonight produced one of the greatest wildlife experiences I've ever had, it felt like I almost entirely became part of my surroundings, and the ecosystem within it, connecting with the natural world on a whole new level. I've felt this feeling before, the feeling you get when your smell, shape, and sound all merge into the land, and the wildlife that roams it excepts you as an everyday part, no longer a threat, no longer something to be feared, and no longer something to avoid. This is what I strive for.

As regular readers might have realised, I have an affinity for Short-Eared Owls, and Holywell has had a recent influx of birds which have been showing well for over a week now. 

Tonight as I wandered down to the Pond a single bird hunted the recently bailed field and the hedge line which surrounds it, a recognisably pale bird which has hunted this area since it arrived, presumably a male due to the paleness of the face. The pond itself was quiet, no Shorties hunting the meadows, and only a handful of Teal at the public shore. It wasn't long before I moved on, heading for the Cattle field.

The Cattle field is just over the Waggonway, this is where the bulk of the SEO action has been taking place, a favoured hunting ground, up to 4 Owls have been seen hunting the rough grass. Over the past week I've found the best time to visit is from 18:00 with activity dying off by 19:00. I'd arrive later than usual tonight, not reaching the fields until 19:30 ish. A single Owl could be seen hunting the edge closest to the Waggonway as I followed the footpath, although it had vanished by the time I had reached the red gate.

I continued to follow the footpath, scanning back I picked up a dark Owl sitting on a fence post. This bird had regularly gave good views earlier last week from the public hide, coming extremely close on occasions. As turned around a second paler bird was hunting further up, towards the top of the field. I slowly made some ground between myself and the Owl before it began to bank round, and fly straight towards me, still quartering the land. As it reached the 30-40 metre mark I dropped down and lay on the track, with my back against a gorse bush. Quartering the ground it dropped once or twice, unsuccessful in its dive, before landing on a nearby straining post.

From my low position I had brilliant binocular views of the bird sitting on the post, constantly turning its head, occasionally 'locking on' to something in the grass for a brief second, before becoming distracted once again. I sat for some time watching this beautiful bird, its bright yellow-orange eyes seemed extremely prominent against its pale plumage, and the darkening skies. It had not noticed my presence. 

Looking ahead I marked an approach mentally, the lie of the land would allow me to get closer, but firstly I needed to make my way to the opposite side of the track. A check through the binoculars showed that the Owl was still unaware and I began to move, gently side ways, before stopping to see the Owls reactions. I couldn't believe what I seen, the Owl had seen those first movements, but instead of showing the stretched out, aware of my presence posture, it had locked on, frantically moving its head up and down, fixing its eyes on my position.

It took flight, I could feel the adrenaline pumping, my heart began to pound. The striking amber eyes were heading straight towards me, heading low but fast along the track. Time slowed and I realised the Owl was actually heading for me! Its eyes not leaving my position for a second. I lay solid, kept my binoculars just off my eyes and waited as the Owl gained ground. 

Before I knew it the Owl was above me, hovering, less than a metre above my head. It banked round and began to head back, I let out a little squeak with my lips and it locked on and began to hover again, then flew round and hovered once more, before returning to the post it had originally left. My heart was racing, the best encounter I've ever had with a Short-Eared Owl, this was more than a close view, I was being hunted, for that brief moment I had some feeling of what it is to be a Short-Tailed Vole.

I sat in shock and wonderment, watching the Owl again on its post for sometime before I began my original idea of an approach. Sliding on my belly the 30-40 metres, I made my way slowly to the Owl on its perch, keeping within the tracks and the rough grass, breaking my outline and movement, constantly accessing the Owls behaviour. Not once did it see me, continuing to scan the field from its perch. Reaching the spot I had planned to stop, behind a large thistle clump, not more than 4-5 metres away I gently took off my binoculars and reached for my iPhone. Binoculars were no longer needed as I could see the body language of the owl with the naked eye.

The squeak was tried again, and I could see the Owl was interested, moving my body a little it again took flight ! This time it was above me in seconds, managing to capture a tiny amount of footage. It returned to its perch briefly before immediately returning hovering over me once, before heading off down the field quartering as it went. I had survived ! 

An encounter I'll never forget.

Reconnecting

I've been birding, and observing the wildlife at Holywell for roughly 8 years now, it was in fact Holywell which kick started my passion, and without it I wouldn't be where I am today. Back in 2004 I was out on a bike ride with a school mate, at 13 years old we still had some boundaries which are mothers enforced upon us, but thankfully these generally went in one ear and out the other. We headed out of Whitley Bay and along the backtrack, the Dene was a familiar place to us, so instead of going straight into the woods we headed out to explore the surrounding fields. This is when we found the pond. I don't have any memory of visiting the public hide, I can only remember venturing down to the members hide, finding it locked. 

A number of returns later, desperate to find out what was inside, I eventually arrived to find it open. A regular birdwatcher called Sid kindly let me in, he asked me if I would like to look at a Great Crested Grebe nest and I jumped at the chance! From that moment Holywell had me hooked. I kept thinking to myself, how could something so different and unusual and rare be found so close to my house, what else was there to be seen?

It wasn't long before I became a member of Northumberland Wildlife Trust and bought a key for the hide, biking down to the pond almost every day. One morning I arrived to find a birdwatcher leaving, this man was Eric Galloway, he took me under his wing and I began visiting Holywell Pond every Sunday morning, arriving early, as Eric said, this was the best time. He taught me how to become a birdwatcher.

Soon after my Granddad began joining me on Sunday mornings, and we visited every Sunday morning for a number of years.

I've dug up my first notebook, with the first entry dated 2nd October 2004. It was a struggle to read my own handwriting:

' Holywell Pond (07:45)

3 Whooper Swans, 1 Otter, 1 Male Scaup, 10+ Black Headed, 25+ Lapwings, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Pochard, 5+ Jackdaw, 15+ Woodpigeon, 2 Juv Herring Gulls, 1 Adult Mute Swan, 3 Moorhen, 4+ Great Tits, 5+ Crows, 3+ Blue Tits, 4 Magpies, 1 Tufted Hybrid, 2 Coot, 1 Wren, 1 Great Blacked Backed Gull, 7 flocks of geese flew over unidentified, 1 Robin, 1 Tufted, 55+ Greylag, 1 Female Chaffinch, 1 Male Chaffinch, 1 Wigeon'

Not a bad morning by the sounds of it, 3 Whooper Swans and an Otter. I'm not sure what the Tufted Hybrid I noted was, and I presume the unidentified Geese would have been Pink-Footed Geese.

Since I've began watching Holywell local and regular birdwatchers have always told me it was a shadow of its former self. Stories of wintering Smew, Bitterns, and Short-Eared Owls, at one time being one of the best wintering sites in the county for the latter.

Last night it felt like I reconnected with this shadow, as I arrived at Holywell to find the lone summering Short-Eared Owl to be joined by at least another 3 companions, hunting the ground from the pond, through the cattle field all the way to the Obelisk and across to the Dene. Nights like these go unforgotten, the fact that these Owls were on my patch, in 8 years I hadn't seen this many Short-Eared Owls at Holywell.

Tonight I revisited with the camera, the pictures don't do these stunning birds justice, but I was more than happy to photograph them on patch.

Hopefully they'll hang round for a few days.

Holywell

Just back from a wander around Holywell, great to see 10 Common Terns using the island this afternoon. The Short-Eared Owl from Sunday was still about, sitting on one of the posts which surround the main meadow, no sign of the Green Sandpiper.


As I left the gate I caught sight of this Fox amongst the crop, on the tractors tracks, it stood and stared for a few seconds before it was off!