Some of the Lyle family took a week’s holiday to Northumberland to do some sight-seeing, dog walking and a little bit of birding. The weather was a bit up and down including one day when it was so wet and windy we did not leave the house.
For those who are not sure, Northumberland is situated at the most north easterly point of England and bordering Scotland. The coast is widely recognised as one of the premier areas in the whole of the UK for all year-round birdwatching. It has a 50 mile renowned shoreline with a mixture of sandy beaches, rocky inlets and muddy river estuaries. Just a few yards inland there are many pools surrounded by shrubs and reed beds. Some are SSIs, European Special Protection Areas and Ramsar sites.
In spring and summer, seabirds such as Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, 4 tern species, Cormorant, Shag and Eider make their nesting sites off shore on the Farne Islands and Coquet Island. Some also nest on the cliffs just south of Berwick-on-Tweed. Autumn and winter see the return of vast flocks of geese, ducks and waders from the North to the invertebrate-rich rocky and muddy shoreline habitats. For many of them this is the first port of call on the UK mainland before heading further south to East Anglia and the south coast.
The east coast autumn migration is a "must see” for most birders. The offshore islands, rocky promontories and the hinterland are safe havens for the many tired passerines making their first landfall after crossing the North Sea.
Of all the many birding sites to visit, the outstanding one is Holy Island (Lindisfarne) which is an absolute “hotspot” for rarities. This year, as we were with family, the only birding was a walk around the village and harbour. We did see all the expected waders, gulls and even several hundred seals resting on the sand bars of Budle Bay. Whilst we were there the rarities included Barred Warbler and Blythe’s Reed Warbler, but not seen by us. I did photograph a Red -eyed Vireo there on our previous visit. Holy Island is visited by a causeway which is under 4 foot of water twice a day. So if visiting please check the tide times so that you can get back to the mainland.
So what did we see? As expected, the huge volume (ooo’s) of Pink-footed, Barnacle, Greylag and Brent Geese arriving at Budle Bay and theDruridge Bay bird hide, along with a couple of Goldeneye and a Siskin. In this area the most surprising birds for me were Great White Egret and Ruddy Shelduck. I did not think they had got this far north. On the sea side at Druridge Bay we had c400 Common Scoter, a few Black -throated Divers, a single Great Northern Diver and many Gannets young and old. At Low Newton bird hide, a Marsh Harrier kept us occupied for several minutes whilst at Boulmer, Bar- and Black-tailed Godwits were plentiful in the receding tide. Sanderling were also here and a delight to watch scampering in and out with the waves, plus some late Swallows and House Martins. The kids had the dogs running loose here and the birds did not seem unduly perturbed. At Bamburgh Castle, there were Purple Sandpipers, Eider and a “comic” tern. We were looking the wrong way when a Pomarine Skua flew past. On the River Coquet there were plenty of waders, Shelduck, Little Egrets and Goosander to be seen and at East Chevington Lakes there were Ruff, Knot and Snipe. Total species seen was 81 without trying.
We would certainly recommend this area for a holiday, even an NDOC week-long trip as there is plenty to see, as well as Bamburgh and Alnwick
Castles.