March

How often do you hear birders saying, 'its quiet'. Today I spent a few minutes watching a group of Rooks, walking around feeding in longer than short grass, its fabulous, they talk and grumble, hop and amble on with their business, I love Rooks; if you can just forget about all the other people around you bothering themselves with whatever they are doing and watch the birds its great because when you snap yourself out of it you feel you have shared a little time with whatever has taken you.

Short Eared Owl

March has been like this on the patch, what a month. Short Eared Owl and Barn Owl as often as I wanted to see them and then the first new birds on the 8th, Gadwall a pair on the River Coquet upstream of the weir, great ducks these, grey, white, black and chestnut males and female with orangy bill and nice white speculum, up to five birds noted as the month progressed. 

A couple of Redwing overhead as we drank tea sat on the wall at The Butts, Warkworth were welcome additions to,'the list'.

Buzzard and Stock Dove were added on the 22nd.

On the evening of the 23rd, the sea was absolutely covered with noisy Black Headed Gulls, it hurt the eyes looking through them in low light. However a raft of 15 Common Scoter were nice. Interesting though were groups of Whooper Swan flying North, 30 or so in each group and then a larger group seemed to land in the fields towards Birling.
120 exactly I counted and a further 60+ moving north.

Whoopers

I need to return to Stock Dove though for my absolute special time on the patch this month, Stewart and I were leaning on a fence when a soft dove like song struck us, Stock Doves were prospecting hollows and dead stumps to our right, fantastic, we rushed to get better views and we did. Nothing to photograph and nothing to bring people rushing to our sides but something special to 'watch'.
Now you see things like this, I don't forget, theres is something about Stock Doves too, its as if they are birds of childhood, I hope you get that, a bit soppy perhaps. I loved it anyway, I've loved March.

Roe Deer

Turnstone on the pier

High spring tide

Grey day on the pier

Not a Stock Dove but a Woodpigeon seemingly nesting under the pier

Track of the day from early March, Warkworth