crimdon dene - hartlepool (1 Viewer)

[deansmith]

my local birding patch is crimdon dene in hartlepool
as its litterally at the bottom of my street

which has a small area of woodland with a mix of trees and and area of dunes with alot of dune grasses and gourze bushed with some running becks that have a few reeds leading to crimdon beach which you can walk either towards blackhall rocks or the other way to the headland

most birders know the beach as the protected area that the little terns nest on every year.

other birds i see regualry there are > stonechat, reed bunting, GS woodpecker, pied and grey wagtail, song thrush, blue tit, great tit, willow tit, lont tailed tit, wren and alot of gulls on the beach with sanderling, oyster catcher and redshank ussually present. eiders on the sea near steetley pier

i have also seen wheatear and black tailed godwit here but not as often

il post sightings here in the future and it would be cool to hear what other people see / have seen here .

DS

 

[rokermartin]

Hi i go to Crimdon Dene a lot and Blackhall Rocks there is always something of interest to see.I have seen Snow Buntings before at Crimdon and there was Shorelark a couple of years ago.I can remember autumn and winter of 2005 there were huge numbers of Common Scoters,17 Velvet Scoters and 2 Long tailed Ducks on the sea between Blackhall and Crimdon.I regularly seen RT Divers,RB Mergansers ,Goldeneyes,GC Grebes in the winter.Summer and early autumn is a good time i have seen lots of Terns and Skuas and i often see Little Gulls and the odd Med Gull now and again.The coast between Castle Eden Dene and Crimdon used to be excellent for large numbers of Little Gull gathering but they dont seem to occur anymore in big numbers.If i see anything interesting i will post it on the thread.

 

[IanF]

Likewise I love the place though I don't get there as often as I'd like. I came across a Shorelark there 3rd Nov 2006 with a single Twite and a single Snow Bunting at the back of the beach by the stream. Several Red-throated Divers as well that day so now is a good time to keep regular checks. A Red-necked Grebe was there a few weeks ago.
The woods of the Dene itself get decent birds as well with migrants dropping in but Willow Tit I've seen there regularly as well which is a good species for that area of the County.
Next time I go I'll add what I've seen.

 

[deansmith]

thanks i have to admit i rarely look out to sea or walk on the shoreline and ussually end up around the viaduct

with me not a driver and going about on foot/bike or bus then this is a handy place for me to just walk along too especially if theres something interesting about


on the 12/11/08 i did see a fem. ketrel chasing a crow then another crow appeared and the chaser became chased,

next year will be my first full year of birding so il get to see all 4 seasons and see the birds than come and go along the way

DS

 

[deansmith]

walk along beach towards the headland today >

usual gulls in usual numbers
sanderling around 20
redshank - 2
turnstone - around 10
ringed plover - 1

male stonechat

 

[rokermartin]

Quick visit ths morning nothing much doing on the sea 6 RB Mergansers,4 GC Grebes and the usual gulls on the beach.Up the coast at Blackhall nothing much there either 59 Eiders and a couple of Stonechats.

 

[deansmith]

treecrepper and gsw x1 double figures easy of blue and great tit
willow and coal tit also seen 3 - 4 of each

lots of robins and blackbirds

few goldfinch about and heard a wren

could also hear a pheasent walking back home seen around 6 in the field near the caravan park

the trees to the right where the bridge crosses the beck near the viaduct is prooving a great place for numerous species of tit, it has a path through it worn down by dog walkers i guess and the trees at the bottom where the beck is always provides plenty of blue and great tits with other species tagging along

 

[deansmith]

skylarks back again now, numbers increasing over the last week, ring plovers chasing each other all over the place mainly around the rocky sands where the terns nest

DS

 

[deansmith]

straight out after a night shift

4 willow tit, 2 wren, 5-6 reed bunting, 2 p.wagtail, 4 ringed plover, gc grebe on sea and 3 birds really far out (should of took the scope) looked like 2 guillemot and a rt diver what i could get through the bins. pair of stonechats collecting nesting material

 

[deansmith]

trying to photograph linnet here not easy there always on the move ! flock of around 40 last 2 visits , reed bunting and stonechat both getting ready for nesting. skylarks ever present pair of great crested grebes on the sea and double figures of red breasted merganser also seen. a few yellowhammer about.

 

[deansmith]

first chiffchaff of the year here on 1st april. linnet numbers ever growing starting to get a bit of a red flush on them now would make a nice photo if theyd stay still ! alot of 'regular' woodland birds, tits ect showing obv. signs of getting ready to breed.

 

[rokermartin]

Had a quick visit today birds of note in the Dene area 6 Chiffchaffs,1 Willow Warbler,3 Blackcaps,6 Swallows and in the dunes 1 Wheatear,2 Stoncehats.Just waiting for the Whitethroats,House Martins and the Little Terns to arrive now.

 

[deansmith]

30+ linnet this morning and double figures of redshank on shoreline

 

[deansmith]

not strictly crimdon dene but the first mile or so of hart to haswell walkway runs along and behind crimdon dene boundry - mainly a walk to see if gs woodpecker nest site is being used no sign of activity at any nest holes but 1 woodpecker in the area.

chiffchaff, willow warbler and blackcap seen along with usual woodland birds - goldfinch, chaffinch, yellowhammer, wren, dunnock, blackbird, blue, great and long tailed tit - robins collecting nesting material.

tawny owl heard again in same area but the dense woodland it seems to be in is private land though only 5 minutes flyover from my house so good chance its where the 3 owls we get in the garden come from.

mallard, coot and moorhen on big pond.

 

[deansmith]

10 swallows around pony world.

 

[rokermartin]

7 Little Terns this morning flying offshore and seen resting on beach.Other birds seen RT Diver,3 Sandwich Terns,3 Whitethroats,2,Willow Warbler,1 Chiffchaffs and all three hirundines.At least 2 of the Swallows were gathering mud.

 

[deansmith]

double figures of swallows and 4 house martins around the beck, linnet hopping from gourze bushes, 2 ringed plover on muddy beck bank 1 with silver leg ring. whitethroat singing and a yellow wagtail ( male - first for me here ) on the pathway on the walk down.

3 little terns fishing about 200m ofshore and a great creasted grebe close in on the sea.

the little tern nesting area gets fenced off on wednesday for those interested.

 

[IanF]

double figures of swallows and 4 house martins around the beck, linnet hopping from gourze bushes, 2 ringed plover on muddy beck bank 1 with silver leg ring. whitethroat singing and a yellow wagtail ( male - first for me here ) on the pathway on the walk down.

3 little terns fishing about 200m ofshore and a great creasted grebe close in on the sea.

the little tern nesting area gets fenced off on wednesday for those interested.

I must have just missed you Dean. I was there mid-morning. Saw the Terns and Swallows and had a chat with the warden. Yellowhammer, Linnet and Whitethroat on the north side as well.

 

[deansmith]

I must have just missed you Dean. I was there mid-morning. Saw the Terns and Swallows and had a chat with the warden. Yellowhammer, Linnet and Whitethroat on the north side as well.

i was sat on the bench with my scope for around 2 hours around 11am - 1pm
i had a walk down early this morning hoping for terns and got a nice singing whitethroat but got lucky with the terns on a re visit after seeing what the weather would decide too do.

i have just been down after the rain and 7 terns present fishing very close ofshore

no doubt il see you down there sometime soon ian when more terns arrive (though again youl end up with far better photos than me ! )

i also had a chat with trevor, he has already started his hedgehog relocation programe !

 

[IanF]

i was sat on the bench with my scope for around 2 hours around 11am - 1pm
i had a walk down early this morning hoping for terns and got a nice singing whitethroat but got lucky with the terns on a re visit after seeing what the weather would decide too do.

i have just been down after the rain and 7 terns present fishing very close ofshore

no doubt il see you down there sometime soon ian when more terns arrive (though again youl end up with far better photos than me ! )

i also had a chat with trevor, he has already started his hedgehog relocation programe !

Can't have missed you by much. I was just getting in the car to go as Trevor arrived - needless to say 30 mins later I was still there

He told me about the hedgehogs and the fox. Sounds like he may have the problem licked for this year :t: