So close...

A seawatch from Whitburn without the wind and rain made a change. The sea was flat, but the visibility wasn't great, with general murkiness. An unlucky Woodcock almost made it across the North Sea only to ditch into the sea, just 200m from shore. After lying in the water, it managed to take off and fly a few feet, only to drop back into the sea and eventually succumbed to the Great Black-backed Gulls.

0800-1030

Mediterranean Gull    1s
Red-throated Diver    20n   54s
Shag    1n   29s
Common Scoter    22n   8s
Peregrine    1s
Little Auk    4n
Great Northern Diver    1n   1s
Kittiwake    4n
Great Crested Grebe   1s
Brent Goose    1n   1s
Woodcock    1 almost in off
Porpoise    3n
Red-breasted Merganser    2n
Sanderling     18s
Little Gull    1s
Bar-tailed Godwit    1n

Wigeon Dip

My first proper dip of the year at Grindon Lough. After an hour and a half of standing in the sleet and snow, failing to pick out the American Wigeon, we admitted defeat.

To salvage the day we headed over to Winnows Hill above Derwent Reservoir where we picked up a couple of Red Grouse and then 6 male and 1 female Black Grouse feeding in trees. Four lumps by the road morphed into Grey Partridge and added another year tick.



Black Grouse

All quiet at Derwent Reservoir, which is as full as I've seen it, with the water lapping at the base of the hide.



Coal Tit at Pow Hill

A stop at Far Pasture gave 40+ Goldcrest and a single Chiffchaff.

Grebe and Teal

A quieter seawatch from Whitburn this morning. The weather was still foul, but there were fewer birds about.

0800-1005

Black-headed Gull    4n   55s
Shag    6s
Eider    1s
Little Gull    13s
Common Gull    11s
Kittiwake    32s
Common Scoter    7n   1s
Velvet Scoter    2n
Little Auk    1n   2s
Shelduck    4s

After lunch it was up to Druridge Bay where the Black-necked Grebe was showing well at Ladyburn Lake until spooked by a dog-walker feeding the ducks.

Black-necked Grebe

At Bell's Farm the flood was covered in waders, but not the Dowitcher or Ruff that had been there a few minutes earlier. There were 7 Black-tailed Godwit, a few Knot and a Grey Plover amongst the commoner stuff.

A very peed off looking Barn Owl was out in the rain at Cresswell. It must be really struggling to feed, with everywhere waterlogged.

At Backworth the Green-winged Teal was glimpsed through the reeds, but despite a bit of a splodge there was no sign of a Jack Snipe.

More weather

I braved the elements at Whitburn obs again this morning. The wind slightly more east than southeast making it even colder and wetter, but again some good birds. Some cracking views of Bonxies and 2 Brent Geese south just below us were new for the year.

0800-1030

Kittiwake    1n   60s
Bonxie    1n   3s
Red-throated Diver    2n   5s
Brent Goose    2s
Shag    2n   1s
Gannet    1n   7s
Eider    12n
Little Auk    9n   19s
Goldeneye    7n   3s
Velvet Scoter    2n   3s
Little Gull    2n   10s
Blue Fulmar    4s
Common Scoter    3n   3s
Teal    3n



Bonxie

A stop at the flooded fields just off Moor Lane between Sunderland Road and Boldon Flats gave the 7 White-fronted and 3 Pink-footed Geese.

Back in Gateshead I took advantage of the heavy rain to visit Watergate free of dog-walkers. It paid off and I was rewarded with good views of Green Woodpecker, Water Rail and Kingfisher. At Shibdon 3 Lesser Redpoll were feeding just outside the hide, but a bit quiet otherwise. Still no Dipper on a very swollen Derwent.

Velvet

The rain and easterlies continue. A lie-in and horrendous traffic meant a late start for my seawatch from Whitburn. It was back row seats again, with the front row drenched from the driving rain, but despite mediocre visibility we had some decent birds. Velvet Scoter was the only year tick, but a distant Skua that had to go down as Skua sp. was most probably a Pomarine.

0915-1200

Gannet    7n   3s
Common Scoter    11n   1s
Kittiwake    40n   4s
Little Gull    2n   8s
Little Auk    10n
Goldeneye    10n   1s
Red-throated Diver    9n   2s
Shag    1n   1s
Velvet Scoter    6n
Eider    3n
Wigeon    1n
Bonxie     1n
Mallard    2n
Teal    1n
Skua Sp.    1n


Again I had no luck with the Green-winged Teal at an ever expanding Boldon Flats pond.

Dowitcher Return

More foul weather today. Slightly better today though, with the occasional fleck of blue sky, but plenty of rain. First stop was East Chevington, where there was no sign of yesterday's 2 Bewick's Swan, but the Slavonian Grebe was still showing.

 All quiet at Ladyburn Lake and there was no sign of the diver at Widdrington Moor, so it was off to Druridge. Nothing to speak of from the Budge screen, but the young Scaup was still on the north pool.

Success at Cresswell where the Long-billed Dowitcher made a reappearance after a two day absence. A squealing Water Rail here made a belated addition to the year list.



Long-billed Dowitcher

At the QEII the second winter Iceland Gull was showing superbly well in better light than the other day.



Iceland Gull

 

 

Called in at Big Waters on the way back, but just standard fare and nothing on the heavily flooded feeding area.

The Derwent at Winlaton Mill was very high and so no sign of the hoped for Dipper or Kingfisher. A Little Grebe was sitting on the bank, so it wouldn't be swept away. Fly-over Grey Wagtail and 4 Golden Plover were additions to the Gateshead list.

Sitting in the back row.

I spent the second half of this morning's seawatch at Whitburn sitting in the back row after getting a drenching from the stiff south-easterly blowing the heavy rain through the window. The sea was wild, massive and whipped into foam, not making for easy viewing. The full results can be seen on Paul's Blog, but with the awful conditions many birds were only seen by one or two of the six of us. My biggest miss was the year tick Velvet Scoter, but I did pick up Great Crested Grebe, Little Auk, Bonxie, Great Northern Diver and Little Gull. Despite the cold and wet the crack was good, so three hours flew over.

At South Shields pier a few Purple Sandpiper were sheltering on the northern side, but were constantly disturbed by anglers. Just to the south of the pier were 2 Snow Bunting and 2 Ringed Plover, all very windswept.

Another dip of the Green-winged Teal at Boldon Flats. It was there, but is spending most of its time hidden from view. Next time!