Magnificent Mediterraneans In Newbiggin

Last Friday after my usual half past noon finish from work I headed northward up the coast to the seaside town of Newbiggin-By-The-Sea. I met up with Stewart Sexton, whom I had previously only had twitter correspondence with and he had promised me Mediterranean Gulls / Larus melanocephalus!
Now I had seen these gulls before but my views were always pretty rubbish and brief at best and I wanted an opportunity to get decent views of these birds, hopefully in summer plumage!
I'll be the first one to say that I'm not exactly a gull fanatic but Med Gulls are pretty darn special and why they congregate in Newbiggin is a mystery to me.
As soon as I arrived Stew had me locked onto two adults in breeding plumage! Beautiful birds, to me they resemble a much more appealing Black-Headed Gull, and unlike the black heads the Med Gull actually has a black head when in breeding plumage.
Unfortunately the weather was grim at best, not fantastic when photographing a bird that is predominantly grey and white.
In total we had five birds, the two breeding plumaged adults, two first winter birds and a second winter individual.
Great birds, great conversation and nice to put a name to yet another Twitter face.
Check out Stews blog and follow him on Twitter @Stewchat

First Winter Med's

Second Winter Med Gull

Breeding Plumage Adult Med's

David
Nature North East / The Northern Owl Project

Coastal Shorties

This afternoon I took a drive up the Northumberland coast in search of Short-Eared Owls that had been reported hunting on coastal dunes. After a 40 minute chilled drive in the afternoon sun I arrived at my destination and on my first scan of the area with my bin's I spotted my first Owl!!
It was phenomenal getting to see diurnal hunting Short-Eared Owls on the Northumbrian coast, and not just one but three!! After a solid 25-30 minutes of activity, with the birds quatering the grassy slopes in search of prey, the birds began being mobbed by corvids. One of the Owls ended up flying at a great height to prevent mobbed attack and soon all three birds dropped into the dunes.
After 15 minutes or so the birds reappeared, not as confiding as earlier mind and seemingly further apart than before.
What a treat, spending a couple of hours relaxing under the afternoon sun watching Shorties hunting and having a bit crack with a few birders. Magic!

David
Nature North East / The Northern Owl Project