Journal Live - Blog Central

The Crown Jewels

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:51:20 +0000

Dougie Holden's comparison of finding the Eastern Crowned Warbler being like 'winning the World Cup' is very apt. Most birders will never find a first for Britain in the same vein as most footballers will never win the World Cup. He has literally discovered one of birding's crown jewels. Along with co-finder Derek Bilton, Dougie has written a place for himself in local birding folklore. I spoke to Dougie last night and congratulated him on their find and whilst it was a pleasure to talk to such a genuine guy, the real pleasure was from hearing the sheer utter joy at the stunning find in his voice. It was almost like speaking to a proud new father and as a birder I can empathise with that entirely. It is what drives many birders to get up on damp cold mornings and motivates them to go back to the same place they went to yesterday and the day before, and the day before that, and... The knowledge that through an incredible set of chance events that begin on the other side of the world they could be the first person to set eyes on a new bird, never before identified on British shores.
It can be incredibly frustrating of course, many of the birds we try and see and identify are small, mobile, incredibly well camouflaged and often extremely difficult to tell apart from other similar species.
In fact I've often thought that birding should be a core subject on the National Curriculum as it teaches so many good skills, observation, awareness, attention to detail, patience and acts as a daily memory test.
The Eastern Crowned Warbler has been a classic example, a bird seen and well photographed and initially identified as a Yellow-browed Warbler, in itself a scarce migrant, was re-identified via pictures posted on the Internet as the rarest of the rare in birding terms.
This particular bird could so easily have been overlooked had it not been for the initial enthusiasm and dedication of Dougie & Derek and then the diligence of Mark Newsome Durham Bird Club county recorder who was checking through photographs posted from the Durham area when he came across this one and as Mark said "felt the colour drain from my face."
What should not be overlooked either is the benefit to the local micro economy around South Shields. I predict there could be as many as 2000 visitors all needing food and drink and parking over the weekend as long as the bird remains (and is still present as I write).

Read more about Eastern Crowned Warbler at South Shields here.

Time For A Re-think?

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:26:50 +0000

Whilst not strictly a news story about birds the implications of a new map that has been created by scientists at University of Durham will have an unquestionable impact on bird habitats in the North East and the way our conservation organisations manage them.
The 'Coastland Map' published in the Journal 'GSA Today', charts the post Ice-Age tilt of the UK and Ireland and current relative sea-level changes. According to the map, the sinking effect in the south could add between 10 and 33 percent to the projected sea-level rises caused by global warming over the next century.
However interesting and potentially policy changing data for the Northumberland & Durham coastlines indicates that our coasts are rising and will continue to rise at a rate of 0.3-0.5mm per year in coming years.
The Durham team, led by Professor Ian Shennan and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, looked at the relationship of peat, sand and clay sediments that have been uplifted above sea-level or are now submerged below sea level. The team radio-carbon dated samples to see how sediments formed and to calculate changes in sea-levels over thousands of years.
Prof Shennan said: "The rate of uplift north of the River Tyne to Scotland increases because the ice sheets there were thicker and heavier. The action of the Ice Age on our landmass has been like squeezing a sponge which eventually regains its shape. The earth's crust has reacted over thousands of years and is continuing to react.
Now organisations such as Northumberland AONB and Northumberland Wildlife Trust who have managed projects and land on the basis of 'managed or planned managed retreat' in recent years in areas such as the Aln estuary and Druridge Bay may have to re-think their plans. Certainly it will perhaps reduce funding for any such projects as this new research is used to target funding at those areas expected to suffer most from the combined impact of sea level rises and land tilt.
(source)

Who Mourns For the Landfill?

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:06:56 +0000

Landfill has had it's day. Most of us are recycling more and more, although it seems to have taken the constant barrage of ten years of media focus to get the changes ingrained. Pristinely clean Household Recovery Centres are now the order of the day with a skip for every conceivable type of 'waste' neatly colour coded around the spotless concrete.
It's a good thing right? I keep telling myself this, it's a good thing. Anyone who has lived adjacent to a landfill will testify to the windblown mess for miles downwind of a site despite the best attempts by the operators to prevent it.
The local landfill site near us in Northumberland at Ellington Road just north of Ashington has been covered over this summer. A few fences remain but what was the biggest fast food takeaway for gulls for miles is now sealed into it's methane producing hole for the next thousand years.
And there's the rub, Ellington Road used to be a fantastic place for birders or more specifically 'larophiles' (after the family latin name for gulls laridae) to go during the winter and observe hundreds and sometimes thousands of large gulls gathering to feed, argue, fight and generally hang about. It made for a fantastic spectacle when something spooked them, say a passing Peregrine as they would all rise into the air silently.
Of course gull watchers would be looking for some of the rarer gulls amongst the more familar Herring & Great Black-backed Gulls. The winter months bring a few 'white-winged' gulls from the Arctic such as the Glaucous Gull and the slightly smaller Iceland Gull.
In recent years with DNA analysis techniques many new species have been split creating new opportunities to find and identify hitherto unheard of vagrants such as Caspian Gull.
So whilst I understand and applaud the brave new world of clean and green, I'm now tasked with finding the increasingly rare 'landfill' habitat, if anyone knows of a good one please let me know. Who knows perhaps one day the RSPB will launch a 'save our landfill' campaign, I doubt it somehow.

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:18:41 +0000

August is traditionally a quiet month for woodland birds and if the moorland birds know what's good for them they'll be keeping their heads down too. There is one group of birds however that are very prominent in August and that is our waders. To say our waders is probably a little misleading as many of these birds have bred elsewhere in places ranging from Greenland, Iceland or maybe closer to home in Northern Scotland. Right now most of them are beginning to migrate to their wintering grounds. For some species the journey will end on an estuary or marsh here in the UK for others we're just a stopover point to refuel before completing the next few thousand miles to Africa or further.

Pelagic

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:47:20 +0000

The word that birders use for a trip out to sea to watch birds. That's right many of us regularly pay money to get on a fishing boat and go a few miles out into the North Sea to throw fish back into the water hoping to attract some of the rarer seabirds that can occur in the North Sea at this time of the year.
I remember reading about these not long after I first started birding and being excited enough at the possibilities that I went off and organised a number of trips out of Blyth that were very successful in terms of the range of birds seen and some great sightings of Cetaceans - whales & dolphins -
Since then these trips have become a regular part of the birding scene in the North East with professionally organised trips departing regularly from the end of July into September.

Even Rosier on Coquet.

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:53:28 +0000

Northumberland's rarest breeding tern the Roseate is having a fantastic breeding season on Coquet Island. News from the ringing team there is that the total young ringed has now reached an astounding 114 making it the highest total on record for Coquet Island. This has been achieved with less pairs breeding than previous years indicating a higher productivity rate.
Now that the adults are feeding young the next two weeks offer the best opportunities to see this enigmatic bird along the North East coast. Recent sightings have included two at South Gare Cleveland and two at Low Newton by the Sea.
Fresh back from looking for seabirds at Newbiggin by the Sea today the North easterly that's whipping up proved useful fro bringing terns closer to land and another birder and I counted between eight and ten Roseate Terns over a two hour period. The same size as Common and Arctic Tern look for an all dark bill (without the yellow tip of the larger Sandwich Tern) and the coral red feet & legs combined with long tail streamers.

The Youth Of Today

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:20:19 +0000

Everywhere we went today there were youths, noisy, curious, sticking their beaks into things they shouldnt. Here is a small selection of some of them.
View imageView image

Everything Rosy on Coquet.

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:54:50 +0000

Despite the wet weather this month reports coming from Coquet Island suggest are suggesting a bumper breeding season for Northumberland's rarest breeding tern the Roseate Tern.
A team of ringers from the BTO and RSPB have been ringing this year's chicks and as of yesterday were reporting preliminary numbers at 82 pairs breeding with 75 chicks ringed so far this year.
For one particular birder and BTO worker Tom Cadwallender, this years chicks have been extra special. Tom has been ringing Roseate Terns on Coquet Island since 1991 and with the chicks ringed this year his total ringed has surpassed one thousand. That's a fantastic achievement and contribution to the improvement in long term numbers of one of the regions rarest breeding birds.

Ospreys Good For North East Economy

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 09:39:24 +0000

The news in The Journal this week that Ospreys are breeding for the first time in over 200 years at Kielder Water is great news for conservationists and bird lovers alike. The real winners though could be the local economy in the Kielder area as has been seen at Loch Garten in Speyside and Bassenthwaite in the Lake District.

All Quiet On The North East Front

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:02:22 +0000

Predictably at this time of year, most of our birds have settled down to the job in hand of breeding. Every bush and brook seems to hold young birds at the moment with family parties of duckling & gosling everywhere. Avocets on Teeside seem to be having a good breeding year with the number of chicks increasing weekly.
An immature Purple Heron spent the last few days of May at Saltholme Pool and attracted a bit of attention, this rare visitor can be elusive spending long periods of time deep in reedbeds but showed well to those that were patient. This particluar bird ended a long wait by recently retired Teesmouth Bird Club Chairman Ted Parker who has been trying to add Purple Heron to his 'British List' (all the species seen in Britain) for 47 years!
Birders often turn their attention to other wildlife during the summer and the region boasts a superb number of 'nature' bloggers who record and write about everything from bats to crayfish and all things in between.

Un-Common Cuckoo

Thu, 28 May 2009 14:19:04 +0000

Today's Journal story about the Common Cuckoo joining other species on the Birds of Conservation Concern "Red List" comes as no surprise to birders in the region. In fact this re-classification is long overdue. Common Cuckoo's are simply no longer Common. In fact they are so uncommon it's a wonder Trading Standards haven't launched an investigation.
The exact cause of the decline of this herald of Spring is uncertain, it may well be a that a number of factors are at play involving a reduction in food supply, perhaps a reduction in the 'host' species whose nests are used to lay eggs or possibly problems in their wintering grounds in Africa. What is probably not in question however is that man will lay at the root of whatever is causing them to decline. It's a disgrace that we may be the last generation to be able to walk into the countryside and hear a Cuckoo but more of us need to care and be prepared to try and change our lifestyles and have our voices heard by business and government in order to redress the balance.

Busy Birders & Busier Birds

Wed, 20 May 2009 12:07:46 +0000

Last week was certainly a busy one for birders here in the North East, particularly those with an interest in migrants as the spell of Easterly winds combined with the rain toward the end of the week brought several uncommon species to our coast.
Star billing probably went to the Farne Islands with their second Red-Throated Pipit of the year, this beautiful cousin of our common Meadow Pipit breeds in Scandanavia & Russia in Arctic and Sub Arctic areas, only a few ever reach Britain. Another visitor from over the North Sea were a couple of Bluethroats one each on Holy Island & The Farnes. Bluethroats are slightly bigger than a Robin but as their name suggest have a 'blue throat'. Once or twice Bluethroats have bred in Scotland, 1995 being the last occasion.
Elsewhere there were lots of warblers along the coast with more of our summer breeding birds arriving. Garden Warblers were very prominent with lots of males singing from coastal scrub. Amongst these UK breeders were two or three larger Icterine Warbler that don't breed in the UK (apart from one pair in 1992) although they are fairly common in Western Europe. Newbiggin, Holy Island and Cleveland all managed one 'Iccy' each.
Whitburn hosted a Red-backed Shrike and the first Quail began to arrive with birds in Durham and Northumberland. One of our less well known breeding birds the Nightjar are also beginning to arrive, mainly nocturnal in habits it is unusual to see one on migration so a bird found on Holy Island which flew up and down the street for a short time delighted one birder at the weekend. Now that the winds have changed all these migrants will slowly slip awaway, those planning to breed here will settle down to the task in hand. Some have already started with the first Arctic Tern eggs now laid on the Farnes. Spare a thought though for the humble House Sparrow in coming weeks. Recent research has shown that one of the key reasons behind it's decline in recent years has been the lack of greenfly in our gardens to feed their young in the first early stages. So if your a gardener try leaving a few patches unsprayed this year and provide a little extra help to one of our best loved birds.

Gone Birding?

Thu, 14 May 2009 17:02:44 +0000

News that Elliot Morley has been temporarily suspended from the Labour Party has been greeted with amusement in the birding world. Mr Morley claims to be a birder and any birder worth their salt has taken a look at the weather charts for this weekend and done whatever it takes to get a pass out, leave or whatever else is necessary to go birding. East winds, rainfall, high pressure over the contintent. classic migrant fall conditions. Don't read too much into the suspension he'll be back once he's seen a few rarities.

Who's That Singing?

Wed, 13 May 2009 11:50:34 +0000

North East By A Whisker

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:46:09 +0000

The UK has been on the receiving end of an invasion in recent days. There may have only been eleven of them but the Whiskered Terns that turned up (no pun intended) and spread out across the UK created a stir in the birding world.
Birders on Teeside were lucky enough to catch up with two of these fabulous looking Terns at Saltholme Pools RSPB but their visit was a one day only event.
Whiskered Terns breed in East & South Africa, Australia and Europe & Asia. The European population is migratory wintering in Africa. It is a 'Marsh' Tern choosing to breed on inland marshes often near Black-headed Gull colonies.