Moving On!

My journey, it seems, has come to an untimely end, on Google Blogger at least.

I am very pleased to announce my Nature North East website is now officially live at http://www.naturenortheast.co.uk/.
From now on this will be the new home for my blogs, photography and in the future, a video series.
Though I will still be posting content to the Nature North East Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, the website will offer much more high quality versions of my photography, blogs and videos.
Any positive or negative feedback is more than welcome so that I can iron out any kinks or glitches in the machine should they arise.
Below is a small preview.

- David

Swollen Seas

Bubbling and powerful, the North Sea savagely struck the shoreline of the North East coast around St Mary's yesterday. The morning was grey, dull and miserable; but on the eastern horizon the light of the sun burst through the heavy clouds and lit up a small portion of the distant sky. A stunningly gothic morning on the tidal shore.

- David

Shorelark, Blyth Harbour

An approachable Shorelark lurking around Blyth South Harbour?

Count me in!

The Shorelark / Eremophila Alpestris; is a scant visitor to our North East coast during the colder months of the year and at the mouth of the river Blyth I saw my first!

I had read online of news of an individual bird at the harbour and unfortunately I first got the news when I was preoccupied at the gym and the sun was already fading, so I decided that the following afternoon I would go and have a look after work. 

That day I was treated to some fantastic views of this lone Lark.

- David

'You Forgot The Common Sense'

I was sent a link this morning to a Daily Mail article, oh the joys, the subject of which was this years poor breeding season of our most declining raptor, the Hen Harrier. 
I read through this short article a couple of times and in all honesty, it was an absolute non news article,  I'm guessing it must be a slow news day. 
Once again Ian Bothams 'You Forgot The Birds' group reared its ugly head.  As usual its line of fire was pointed directly towards the RSPB, nothing new there then.

Ian Gregory, the campaign director for Bothams pitifully desperate group, is quoted saying;
'the RSPB should admit it had not adequately protected the hen harrier nests it controlled.'

He also went on to describe the RSPB as 'a charity which specialises in failure'. 
Strong words about failure there, which is a tad hypocritical considering the groups website has the image of a Carolina Wren on it. Any British birder will know your going to be pretty hard pressed to find one of those in this country.
I guess they forgot their British birds, whoops!

The aforementioned Carolina Wren

Well I digress, lets get back to the Daily Mail article. So what Mr Gregory is eluding to are the nest sites that were being monitored and protected by RSPB staff and volunteers in England. His choice of words just go to show how uninformed he and potentially his peers actually are, they clearly have no idea how nature or conservation actually works. 

I was there with boots on the ground during the 2015 nesting season and I personally watched a total of three nests in England over a three month period. Sometimes in glorious sun and other times in torrential rain. 
In brief here is a rundown of what took place, now obviously I can't go into specific details due to confidentiality and I can only speak of the sites I watched personally. I can't attest for any other breeding areas;

• The first two nests failed due to natural reasons caused by that of inattentive young male Harriers, this inattentiveness which was potentially caused by a lack of experience resulted in the females eventually abandoning the clutches after overly extended periods of male absence.

• The third nest had all but one egg hatch with only one chick surviving to fully fledge with the other chicks succumbing to either potential illness or starvation. The birds were sent away for  post mortem and I haven't been informed of the results.

• There was also a fourth nest I was scheduled to watch and upon arrival at the site I was informed that it had failed, that very morning it had succumb to probable Stoat predation.

So there we have it, the nests weren't persecuted and they weren't adequately controlled by RSPB staff and volunteers. They were monitored 24 hours but unfortunately mother nature can be cruel and sometimes things don't pan out the way they would in an ideal world.
Misinformed non articles like this from the Daily Mail are nothing but a diversion from the real issue of driven grouse shooting. Not once did I see a Harrier bring a Red Grouse chick to the nests, its a strange concept that Red Grouse only exist at present to be shot out of the sky by a cold few. Its insulting that this uninformed group can point a finger of blame so nonchalantly and grab media coverage in doing so, when they have no idea what on earth they're talking about.

We forgot the birds?  
You forgot the common sense!

- David 

The Skydancer

Winters Gibbet - Monument To Murder

Ominous, lonely, bleak, eerie, historic and somewhat atmospheric; Winter's Gibbet is situated near the small village of Elsdon, along the edge of Harwood Forest and is a reminder of a murderously dark deed dating back to the 17th Century.
This afternoon I took a drive up to Winter's Gibbet for a spot of photography, the weather was overcast and not brilliant but if anything it adds to the murderous vibe of the site and I attempted to grab some shots that encapsulated the remoteness of the location.
Unfortunately the Gibbet has been completely replaced, so its not original but it does still serve as a reminder of what once was.
I'm looking forward to getting back up here one evening and trying some dusk and even astrophotography, I only hope the ghost of William Winter doesn't decide to keep me company.

David
Nature North East

Sericomyia Silentis; One of many insect species amongst the moorland vegetation.

Dusk Photography At Seaton Sluice

As has been apparent in my previous blog post, I've been frequenting St Mary's at dusk to try and work on some coastal landscape photography; on Thursday night I turned my attention North towards Seaton Sluice and Rocky Island.
The weather was fantastic, however a few more clouds in the sky would have really increased the drama I wanted in the shots. Overall I couldn't find the shots I was after, I attempted to salvage what scenes I could and was relatively happy with what I achieved.
I have ordered a few ND filters to help with the brightness of the sun so until they arrive I have to make do with what I can.
I'm really enjoying my foray into coastal landscape photography; it really makes a change from wildlife photography, which I still do but have put on the back burner for now as I try to hone my camera craft towards landscape scenes in the North East as oppose to amateur wildlife shots.
- David
Nature North East

A Shortie & A Sunset

Short-Eared Owl; F5.3, Shutter Speed: 1/2,  280mm, EXP: +2.3

I decided to end a night of job interview prep with a chilled hour of photography on the coast. A beautiful evening with stunning light and a surprise encounter with a Short-Eared Owl; absolute magic!

David
Nature North East

Waders On Top

One of my favourite sights when up in a moorland habitat is that of wading birds perched proud atop a fence post or stood boldly on a dry stone wall. These are usually located by the side of a quiet winding road or gravel ridden lane.

The likes of Oystercatcher (as pictured), Common Snipe, Redshank & Curlew can usually be spotted taking advantage of a high point on the moors.
Providing us snap happy folk a chance to grab the cam and click away!

David
Nature North East

In The Company Of Brer Rabbit

Recently I've had the opportunity to photograph Brown Hare on rough grassland in an area of very quiet farmland.
They're fascinating mammals with a somewhat majestic and mystical quality. Its no wonder they hold such a prominent place in folklore across the world, from the american tales of the trickster Brer Rabbit to appearing in one of Aesop's Fables. Brown Hare make for very compelling viewing, unfortunately I left it to late in the game this year to get any photographs of them boxing during the spring months.
The photographs on this blog are a small selection of my favourites taken out in the field.

I wonder if many wildlife photographers ever stop to think about where the subject of their capture is at present.
A living wildlife subject that has been immortalised and preserved forever within the confines of a digital photograph may have been predated moments after that final shutter click or may very well still be thriving out there in the wild and perhaps in somebody else's viewfinder right now.

David
Nature North East

The Phenomenal Farnes! - Part One

After an eleven year absence I finally managed to make a long overdue return to the Farne Islands on the eve of my 27th birthday. 

The Farnes are a definite right of passage for birders, naturalists, photographers and outdoor enthusiasts from the North East alike.  They provide one of those rare opportunities to get within literal touching distant of multiple species of wild seabird.

It's a full frontal, tour de force experience and yet another reason why the North East triumphs as a wildlife watching destination.

The day was a beautiful and warm one, long overdue as the summer of 2015 has been a shabby one up until recently.  We set sail not long past midday and headed out into the shallows of the calm North Sea.

As you leave Seahouses harbour and head out to the the island's you notice that slowly more and more birds appear in sight.  It began with a solitary Shag in flight and then a few Guillemot on the surface of the water, minutes later there are Guillemot, Puffin, Shag, Razorbill, Gannet and Gulls galore as we approach the dolomite stacks and prehistoric rocks erupting from the sparkling depths.

Guillemot & Kittiwake adorned the dolomite stacks like flies on shi......well, you get the idea. 

.....and the smell, oh wow, the smell! That fishy diet certainly has an aromatic downside!

After spending a good amount of time around the dolomite stacks we made our way over towards the seals near Longstone Lighthouse. Unfortunately our trip had coincided with the tide being in and in turn washing the Seals from the exposed rocks. we did still get an opportunity to see multiple bobbing heads in the water checking us out. I often forget how large a bull Grey Seal can be.

After another cruise around the other islands we made for land on Inner Farne and upon docking, headed up on foot from the stone dock towards the island.

First up - Arctic Terns; these relatively small sea birds have a beautiful black cap, red bull and stunning white on the underside plumage with very light grey feathers adorning the upper wing feathers.

The natural maternal instinct for the Arctic Tern to protect their eggs and young is so powerful that they allow you to get ridiculously close, and remember these are wild birds with a wealth of flying miles under their belts they've seen it all, so to get this close is a really rare treat.

Unfortunately for us human invaders this natural parenting instinct also drives them to become beautiful nightmares! 

Picture, if you will that now infamous seen from Hitchcock's 'The Birds' (1965) in which the school children and Tippi Hedren are running from the savage onslaught of a murder of crows!

Now, picture that, only swap the school children for smiling tourists of all ages and instead of corvids, imagine small Arctic Terns with white pointed wings and a much pointier beak!

If you've been you know how treacherous that boardwalk is from the boat and up to the chapel! If you haven't been but plan on doing so in the breeding season....good luck!

Upon avoiding 'World War Tern' and 'The Boardwalk of Doom' the battle for Inner Farne continued across the island's plateau where the avian onslaught gradually dies down and the atmosphere becomes a touch less frenzied, if that's possible on the Farnes.

It was on this part of the island that Puffin could be seen bringing in beaks full of sand eel and proceeding to take them down into their burrows for the young dwelling down in the dark.

Unfortunately the hard work of the puffins would at times be for naught as upon landing most were bullied by groups of Black Headed Gull and robbed of their fishy catch. 

This at times looked brutish and mean but at the end of the day it meant that the Gull chicks were fed, but because they're larger and not as cute we take an instant dislike to the gulls. 
Survival of the fittest remember, nature is cruel and we forget that living in our modern abodes with the joy of running water, WIFI and easily accessible food of our own. 

Coming up in The Phenomenal Farnes! - Part Two...

Close encounters with Razorbill, Shag and the unexpected appearance of a familiar cetacean.

David

Nature North East

Tigers In The Undergrowth

You don't have to travel abroad to find a wild Tiger. 

I have spent a small amount of time looking for Adder amongst the Bilberry and Heather of the Lancashire Moorlands, both after and before starting work. 

A few shed skins later and I feel my search is getting closer to finally witnessing the scaly serpents!

Whilst searching for the venomous beauties I spotted something moving fast on the stoney ground, a Green Tiger Beetle / Cicindela Campestris, followed swiftly by another and another!

In all honesty I had seen these beasties on Tv shows like Springwatch before but never before in the field and at first I was strangely disappointed. I had expected them to be much bigger and more imposing beetle!

It wasn't until I looked at them closely that I saw the very alien and predatory characteristics and it became evident to me, that size didn't matter.

You don't want to be a smaller insect or invert when one of these killing machines is about!

David

Female Green Tiger Beetle, on the bottom, devouring an Ant during mating.

American Wigeon, Hollywell Pond 24/04/2015

Payed the American a visit yesterday afternoon, the yank in question being a drake American Wigeon which has recently settled at Hollywell Pond.