Gateshead birding (2 Viewers)

[salty]

seeing as my raptor trip was cancelled (weather to blame!) i decided to keep local today, for a couple of hours birding.
first off was shibdon pond. none stop rain and drizzle, but the pond was not frozen at least, so there was a good show of birds. armed with plenty of food, i decided to see what was about:

mallards, shelduck, coot, mute swan, redshank, b h gull, moorhen, tufted duck, canada goose, teal, gadwall, herring gull, dunlin etc etc.

away from the pond was:
sparrowhawk, magpie, blue tit, great tit, bullfinch, blackbird, woodpidgeon, jackdaw, carrion crow.

next was barlow fell:
red kite (despite snowing non-stop!), b h gull, dunnock, redwing, carrion crow, jackdaw.

next was thornley woodlands centre hide:
blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, yellowhammer, great spotted woodpecker, robin, bullfinch, chaffinch, black bird, jay, nuthatch, magpie, woodpidgeon, pheasant,

so not a bad way to spend 2hrs. highlights were seeing the sparrowhawk being mobbed by crows, the red kite soaring through a snow storm and hand feeding the mute swans.

 

[LSB]

A good couple of hours out by the sounds of it.Still no Brambling at Thornley I see. Thats saved me a trip ..

 

[RockyRacoon]

Sounds like a two hours Richie! Red Kite and Sparrowhawk are raptors, so they must make up for your raptor day :t:

 

[IanF]

Yep! Sounds good to me as well. I haven't had chance yet to get up that way this year.

 

[timmyjones]

not a bad 2hr birding better than school

 

[Nutcracker]

Not been birding across the river in Gateshead for years . . . maybe have to go again one of these days!

Better dig out my passport and apply for a visa, though

 

[salty]

yep, definetly made up for what i thought was going to be a dire day!

still didnt get brambling, merlin, LS woodpecker, water rail, green woodpecker, buzzard, kingfisher etc today. these are on my patch, but have evaded me so far this year!!!! - gateshead has some cracking birds!.

 

[treecreeper]

A good couple of hours out by the sounds of it.Still no Brambling at Thornley I see. Thats saved me a trip ..

Try the beech trees at the bottom of Blaydon Dene. They have been showing every time I've been for the past two weeks. Yesterday was especially good as it seems that the severe weather made them more confiding and easier to see. I saw about 5 whereas in previous days I've only noticed about two. However i'm always in a rush when I go through there so with more searching you could find a lot more......there were 60 for over a month there two winters ago !

Salty : a male Merlin was seen from the Northern Kites office window yesterday hunting over gardens at Swalwell; it seems the harsh weather had forced it to leave the moors and come into suburbia ! And no it wasn't a sparrowhawk as the person who saw it is a renowned birder !

Stargate Ponds is a giveaway for Green Woodpecker. I've seen it on my last two visits and my success rate is about 50%. Visit a few times and you'll see it; it regularly flushes from the ground close to you.

Dunlin and Gadwall are unusual birds for Shibdon Pond. Has the drake Pintail gone ? It was there for the previous two days and is a real stunner; very rare for Gateshead too !

Tom

 

[salty]

the pintail wansnt there today, but it's strange how the birds can vary at shibdon! - not sure if some species come in from the tyne for food? - same with the derwent, sometimes quiet, then you get little grebe etc from no where!

 

[Nutcracker]

the pintail wansnt there today, but it's strange how the birds can vary at shibdon! - not sure if some species come in from the tyne for food? - same with the derwent, sometimes quiet, then you get little grebe etc from no where!

Yep, a lot of the ducks and waders are on the Tyne at low tide, and move to Shibdon at high tide when the mud is covered

 

[StevieEvans]

Hi Treecreeper,
Re Gadwall
Thats one of my predictions for Gateshead (Gateshead Birders website), as a bird that will occur this year but wasnt recorded at all in 2004 !
So well done Salty, & let us know if you get any of these:- YLG, Slav, Ruff & Whimbrel... over the next few months.

Steve.

 

[salty]

shibdon pond is notorious for one hit wonders! - im sure the passing migrants and rarities use it as they they follow the A1 to get from a-b. checking the records from g-birders and you can see a few birds that are not 'usually common'.

i have heard of merlin, hobby, osprey! (derwent), hoopoe etc etc all within a mile or two. amazing.

 

[StevieEvans]

Not quite so many goodies these days though......but...

Laughing & Ring billed Gulls, Icterine, Marsh & Barred Warbler, Black throated Diver, Slav Grebe, Ferruginous & Ring necked Duck, Great Grey & Red backed Shrike, Bluethroat, Goshawk, Bee-eater, Bearded Tit, Spot Crakes, Bittern, Wryneck, Marsh Harrier, Firecrest, Water Pipit etc

Best thing i heard of (but too late to see) was a Hawthorn Bush which held singles of Barn, Tawny & Long-eared Owls at the same time!! :eek!:

Plenty of inspiration for you there Salty.
SE.

 

[Nutcracker]

I've had Black Redstart at Shibdon too

Though why anyone would want to get shibbed on is beyond me . . . :eek!:

 

[StevieEvans]

Was Black Redstart 2nd May 1986 ? cant imagine another one there for a good while.

Other shib'd on goodies include

Hen Harrier, Fulmar, Brent Goose, RCPoch, Garg, LTDuck, Smew, L.Stint, Turnstone, WWBTern, B.Tern, Turtle Dove, Water & Rock Pipit, ROusel, Hooded Crow, Grey Plover & Knot.

Hey Salty dont you think that the birds follow the River rather than the Road...?
SE.

 

[salty]

Hey Salty dont you think that the birds follow the River rather than the Road...?
SE.

thats a thought! - i was under the impression they used GPS, and travelled up and down the motorway, but i could be wrong Stevie

looking forward to my next visit down there, always busy with birds.

P.S. - let me know of any owl sightings in my area, as i am having a 'drought' - tawny, being the only glimpse i have had this year down here, cheers B

 

[StevieEvans]

Hi Salty
Cant see any mention of a recent Gadwall record on the Gateshead Birders web site.....
Perhaps you can send it in (the name of the site 'boss' is purely co-incidental!) :-

[email protected]

Re owls:- we've just set up an Owl Study Group at Durham Bird Club http://website.lineone.net/~davidbrown33/index.html (only £12 to join ) you may well get some interesting info as several members live in Gateshead.
SE.

 

[salty]

stevie:

still wasnt 100% that it was a gadwall, so i dont want to embarrass myself incase it was something else. it looked like one, but without the scope it could of been something else. but knowing shibdon pond, anything is possible!

i see a few rare birds now and again, but if im not 100% - i keep the sighting to myself. plus i dont make lists etc - wich i should start doing.

 

[StevieEvans]

:h?: Maybe you should have got yourself one or two ident books with that £5K !!!

 

[cuddy]

Come on Darren there are Brambling in Northumberland you cant be twitching down south