Whooper

A cracking Whooper Swan at Kibblesworth brickworks this morning. Found yesterday by Chris Bill, this is possibly the bird kicking around Lamesley at the turn of the year. Having spent some time with the local Mutes it is far from timid.

Whooper

Decent numbers of wildfowl at Lamesley with 27 Wigeon and 9 Gadwall, along with the first returning 3 Redshank of the year. A couple of Lesser Black-backed Gull were on the mud at Dunston while a Mute Swan made a few fly-pasts.

Mute Swan

A quiet month with a couple of trips to Rufforth to see the seagulls. Difficult this year, with all birds distant and jumpy, but we did manage 2 Caspian, a Yellow-legged, plus decent numbers of Iceland and Glaucous. A handful of seawatches at Whitburn have been lacklustre, but a Slavonian Grebe north on the 15th was a star bird.

The best bird in Gateshead has been an Iceland Gull found by Paul H on the playing fields opposite the Cardinal Hume School. This bird has been covering a fairly large area, flying around the roof-tops of the Wrekenton and Low Fell.

The Rock Pipit on the Tyne at Dunston has continued to give me the run-around.

Fudge

A quiet seawatch from Whitburn was livened up by a fly-by Iceland Gull, but little else.

I called in at Washington WT on the way back and paid a tenner for cracking views of the drake Ferruginous Duck.

Ferruginous Duck

Back in Gateshead I failed again to see the Rock Pipit at Dunston, but the Waxwing flock was still at Swalwell.

Waxwing

At Lamesley there was a Barnacle Goose with the Greylag flock, plus 20 Wigeon and 7 Gadwall. By the oak tree there were 50+ Redwing, 20+ Fieldfare, 5 Mistle Thrush, 30+ Linnet and 15+ Greenfinch.