in and around south tyneside (3 Viewers)

[rokermartin]

Hi Steve good idea of yours starting a South Tyneside thread, have to start checking the Leas and the Whitburn area for Wheatears and other migrants .

 

[echo24]

Hi folks, a great five hours out today…..

Cleadon hills this morning, nice & sunny ) – the missus dropped me off in whitburn and I walked back home….. single mistle thrush amongst a flock of c60 fieldfare, also great, blue & lt tits, yellowhammer, wren, blackbird, kestrel, chiffchaff (heard near water tower) and plenty of wood pigeons & corvids……..

Marsden quarry – cloud thickening ;-) …… dunnock & wren both singing beautifully, cock pheasant, kestrel, little owl, great & blue tits…..

Visited the lime kilns at souter, had a bit neb around and found evidence of foxes being in residence – plenty fur, bones & feathers knocking around – but most bizarrely there’s loads of peacock feathers at the north end of the site – maybe the fox has taken a local domestic bird?? Any ideas anyone??

Marsden bay – everything as normal (still waiting for sand martin) but one or two Kittiwakes have now started to occupy nest sites on the cliffs as well as c200 birds in the water north of the rock…..

The leas… skylark, stonechats, mipits, oystercatcher - no shorties though

Trow quarry – raining heavily now :-( …. Turnstones, redshanks, male kestrel, jackdaws & little owl…..also for those who are interested, there’s colts foot, scurvy grass & lesser celandine in flower now – great stuff!....

Good birding everyone…
Cheers, Dougie.

 

[seggs]

ive been off all week and had hoped for a wheatear on the leas.. and also checked marsden quarry/ golf coarse area,lizard lane etc. but no luck...
this time last year i was working away so did,nt get the first arrivals on the leas,..but did have 3 wheatears in the horses field(mount pleasant) on the 6-5-07.. also w.warbler and chiffchaff and swifts and l,whitethroat at barmstone the same day.

 

[The gaffer]

Good Idea

Steve,

This thread is an excellent idea but as Mark Newsome found out with his Whitburn birding website it is often difficult to get people to leave postings of sightings. Anyway good luck and I hope all goes well and I will contribute as often as possible.:t:

Marsden Old Quarry this morning there were the usual inhabitants but no sign of any migrants yet. One item of note was a pair of kestrels carrying out an aerial display over the quarry made to look more dramatic by the brisk breeze.

Brian

 

[seggs]

first chiffchaffs for me... and 3!

started the day at mount pleasant..
no firecrest showed whilst me and the better half were here.
but one chiffchaff sang and showed(looks like the same bird as joanne had here..ringed)..also another one further down the mineral line towards downhill lane..song only with this one..the pair of l.t.tits here also.
much the same around here as before..bull,chaff and goldfinch,robins etc..
and 2 patridges in the horse field..
jarra cem..
a kingfisher flew over the road at the bottom of cem bank!:t: nice surprise the first one ive seen around here all winter..the cem had more redwings than my last visit..50+ here..all the usual birds..only one gsw.and one treecreeper today...and 3 mistle thrush..but a chiffchaff on the outskirts(north end)..
the slake..
pretty much the usual redshanks 30+ and 10+ curlew...a few teal along the don.
decided to go to st.marys so our lass could see a firecrest next and were not disappointed:t:

 

[seggs]

Hi folks, a great five hours out today…..

Cleadon hills this morning, nice & sunny ) – the missus dropped me off in whitburn and I walked back home….. single mistle thrush amongst a flock of c60 fieldfare, also great, blue & lt tits, yellowhammer, wren, blackbird, kestrel, chiffchaff (heard near water tower) and plenty of wood pigeons & corvids……..

Marsden quarry – cloud thickening ;-) …… dunnock & wren both singing beautifully, cock pheasant, kestrel, little owl, great & blue tits…..

Visited the lime kilns at souter, had a bit neb around and found evidence of foxes being in residence – plenty fur, bones & feathers knocking around – but most bizarrely there’s loads of peacock feathers at the north end of the site – maybe the fox has taken a local domestic bird?? Any ideas anyone??

Marsden bay – everything as normal (still waiting for sand martin) but one or two Kittiwakes have now started to occupy nest sites on the cliffs as well as c200 birds in the water north of the rock…..

The leas… skylark, stonechats, mipits, oystercatcher - no shorties though

Trow quarry – raining heavily now :-( …. Turnstones, redshanks, male kestrel, jackdaws & little owl…..also for those who are interested, there’s colts foot, scurvy grass & lesser celandine in flower now – great stuff!....

Good birding everyone…
Cheers, Dougie.

strange one the peacock feathers dougie??..fowl play suspected|8.|
but great report:t:

 

[seggs]

Steve,

This thread is an excellent idea but as Mark Newsome found out with his Whitburn birding website it is often difficult to get people to leave postings of sightings. Anyway good luck and I hope all goes well and I will contribute as often as possible.:t:

Marsden Old Quarry this morning there were the usual inhabitants but no sign of any migrants yet. One item of note was a pair of kestrels carrying out an aerial display over the quarry made to look more dramatic by the brisk breeze.

Brian

thanks brian
its down to everyone in the area to make a go of it..with access to the site.
good response so far..really pleased...
marks site was great..and was what got me to into the internet birding info-...like minded people who shared a interest..and reporting
hope it works


wait and see.

 

[dampflippers]

Steve (Seggs) told me it's ok to talk about other South Tyneside wildlife here, so can I ask you to look out for amphibians and reptiles in the borough while you are bird watching?

Reptiles:
There are no sightings of snakes, and only occasional sightings of lizards and slow worms in S.T. I would be very interested to hear if you have seen any of these- either on this thread or by private message. I'm sure there must be some, especially around Lizard Lane and Cleadon Hills.

Amphibians:
This year Froglife and ARGUK have a toad crossing campaign, to try to identify where toads risk danger by having to cross roads to get to their breeding ponds.
If you know anywhere this happens, please let me know and I will inform the local amphibian and reptile group.
In South Tyneside there are no current great crested newt ponds recorded, and very few ponds with other newts (although alost everyone says they used to go newting on Bolodn Flats as a child!). Again, I would be pleased to hear about any newt sightings, particularly if you know which type are there. (Either on this thread or by PM).

In my garden:
Frogspawn was laid a few weeks ago and is just starting to hatch.
I don't get toads in my pond, but my smooth newts have been visible (manily at night) for the past few weeks, although I haven't seen any egss yet.
I've never seen any reptiles in my garden.

Thanks.

 

[seggs]

Steve (Seggs) told me it's ok to talk about other South Tyneside wildlife here, so can I ask you to look out for amphibians and reptiles in the borough while you are bird watching?

Reptiles:
There are no sightings of snakes, and only occasional sightings of lizards and slow worms in S.T. I would be very interested to hear if you have seen any of these- either on this thread or by private message. I'm sure there must be some, especially around Lizard Lane and Cleadon Hills.

Amphibians:
This year Froglife and ARGUK have a toad crossing campaign, to try to identify where toads risk danger by having to cross roads to get to their breeding ponds.
If you know anywhere this happens, please let me know and I will inform the local amphibian and reptile group.
In South Tyneside there are no current great crested newt ponds recorded, and very few ponds with other newts (although alost everyone says they used to go newting on Bolodn Flats as a child!). Again, I would be pleased to hear about any newt sightings, particularly if you know which type are there. (Either on this thread or by PM).

In my garden:
Frogspawn was laid a few weeks ago and is just starting to hatch.
I don't get toads in my pond, but my smooth newts have been visible (manily at night) for the past few weeks, although I haven't seen any egss yet.
I've never seen any reptiles in my garden.

Thanks.

hi must admit you used to get crested newt at the flats..don,t know now tho-? and the ditches at mount pleasant used to have smooth(common i think?)..many moons ago..
also the information board on cleadon hills mentions lizards here,but yet to see one myself... unluckly..
and we did have the odd grass snake near the scotch est. dene/brockley whins burn area(now station burn)..again years ago
so like you have mentioned more information on these species and any others should be mentioned..:t:

 

[nellieberta]

Not quite S/Tyneside however there are grass snakes in Heworth grave yard. Not sure if this is any help but i thought i'd pass it on any way.


Mick

 

[rokermartin]

Never seen any snakes or lizards in south tyneside ,seen plenty smooth newts, frogs and toads.Also years ago at Boldon Flats crested newts.Used to catch them when i was a young lad.

 

[The gaffer]

[Reptiles:
There are no sightings of snakes, and only occasional sightings of lizards and slow worms in S.T. I would be very interested to hear if you have seen any of these- either on this thread or by private message. I'm sure there must be some, especially around Lizard Lane and Cleadon Hills.

Despite my years wandering the fields of Whiteleas and Boldon I have yet to see any snakes or slow worms. Like the other comments I did see smooth newts and crested newts but I know that a lot of the ponds have now been filled in.

About a week to 10 days ago, on the Durham thread, someone posted a photograph of a gull in flight on The Leas. In its bill it had what what looked like a very large worm - probably a slow worm.

If I see anything of note I will post it on this thread.

Brian

 

[rokermartin]

[Reptiles:
There are no sightings of snakes, and only occasional sightings of lizards and slow worms in S.T. I would be very interested to hear if you have seen any of these- either on this thread or by private message. I'm sure there must be some, especially around Lizard Lane and Cleadon Hills.

Despite my years wandering the fields of Whiteleas and Boldon I have yet to see any snakes or slow worms. Like the other comments I did see smooth newts and crested newts but I know that a lot of the ponds have now been filled in.

About a week to 10 days ago, on the Durham thread, someone posted a photograph of a gull in flight on The Leas. In its bill it had what what looked like a very large worm - probably a slow worm.

If I see anything of note I will post it on this thread.

Brian

Hi Brian saw the gull pic you are on about, did 'nt think it looked like a slow worm ,thought it was the wrong colour for a slow worm.Slow worms are usually dark in colour.

 

[nellieberta]

Blagged a cheeky 15 min walk around Marine Park (I think thats it's name.... the one near the amusement park in S/Shields) today whilst working hard . Supprised to count 17 species in a short space of time. The highlights being pochard and a tree creeper. I'm not sure coz Ididnt have any bins with me but as I entered the park (south east gate) I think I saw a ruddy duck lift and fly off in a southerly direction! I could be mistaken but a ruddy is a pretty distinctive bird. I'd be interested to know if there have been any similar sightings that could confirm my suspicions.


Mick (Nellieberta's long suffering photographic labourer:t

 

[seggs]

nice one mick!..thats why i named the thread this..to include the surrounding areas..which rarely get mentioned.
hebburn,pelaw etc.
great report about g.snake in the cem. here, have they been seen lately?
and thats the first time ive seen treecreeper reported in marine park!

............................
is there anything people can do to encourage snakes and slow worms ?etc..for researse reasons..
i know ive seen adders taking sheltering under man made items. when placed in the right sights.

 

[nellieberta]

I used to catch grass snakes in Heworth cem when I was a kid (4 or 5 years ago) I did however see a single snake as recently as last summer. So I would say with some certainty that they are still there. What numbers we're talking about I wouldn't like to guess.


Mick

 

[smitsel]

Has anybody got any information on these sites. The one circled seems to be a partly flooded pasture, there is also a pond at 12 o clock from the circle and another at 10 o clock at the top of the page. Cheers, these sites seem to show up better using google earth.

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?&t=l&map=54.8981,-1.6117|15|4&loc=GB:54.8981:-1.6117:15&dp=841#t=l&map=54.94207,-1.48584|14|4&dp=841&loc=:54.94034:-1.49056:14||

 

[Mark Newsome]

Has anybody got any information on these sites. The one circled seems to be a partly flooded pasture, there is also a pond at 12 o clock from the circle and another at 10 o clock at the top of the page. Cheers, these sites seem to show up better using google earth.

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?&t=l&map=54.8981,-1.6117|15|4&loc=GB:54.8981:-1.6117:15&dp=841#t=l&map=54.94207,-1.48584|14|4&dp=841&loc=:54.94034:-1.49056:14||

This is the area off West Pastures Lane. It was an excellent site until a year or so back. The thicket which had breeding Long-eared Owls is now a gypsy camp and the pond (which attracted a superb selection of waders 2 years ago incl. Wood Sands, LRPs, Greenshanks etc) is now a playfield for dogs and kids. The surrounding ridge and furrow pasture land held excellent numbers of breeding Lapwings, up to 7-8 wintering Short-eared Owls, passage Monty's Harrier etc, but a good proportion was ploughed up and is now used for commercial purposes by the farmer.
The pond near Scots House (off Newcastle Road) was created by the owner in an attempt to attract ducks for shooting. It doesn't have much value for birds, but probably holds amphibians. This area is private land though.

The whole area could be excellent for birds, but has been sadly spoilt in recent years. A real shame.

 

[seggs]

This is the area off West Pastures Lane. It was an excellent site until a year or so back. The thicket which had breeding Long-eared Owls is now a gypsy camp and the pond (which attracted a superb selection of waders 2 years ago incl. Wood Sands, LRPs, Greenshanks etc) is now a playfield for dogs and kids. The surrounding ridge and furrow pasture land held excellent numbers of breeding Lapwings, up to 7-8 wintering Short-eared Owls, passage Monty's Harrier etc, but a good proportion was ploughed up and is now used for commercial purposes by the farmer.
The pond near Scots House (off Newcastle Road) was created by the owner in an attempt to attract ducks for shooting. It doesn't have much value for birds, but probably holds amphibians. This area is private land though.

The whole area could be excellent for birds, but has been sadly spoilt in recent years. A real shame.

i know mark a real shame this area..(like many of our few places )
what went off with the gipsy site, if you know? had not visited for a while and this turns up!..trees and everything gone!..
been told the police are watching the other problem here.

 

[smitsel]

Thanks for the info Mark, as Steve says a real shame.:C