MarSue Wildlife - News 2008

News 2008.

November at Donna Nook

Two weekends in November saw us down at Donna Nook and what different weekends they were weather wise, one weekend was all sun and light breezes and the following weekend beat us with snow and blizzards till we were frozen. We stopped at two Bed and breakfasts both of them we highly recommend, them being Leslie Cottage in North somercoates (www.lesliecottage.co.uk) and Wickham house just a couple of miles down the road (www.wickham-house.co.uk).
A few cautions to remember, watch the tides and if visiting midweek be aware that the RAF practise bombing here and also dont get to close to the seals and pups because they will bite. Photographing the young pups and their mothers is very easy as they are so close, therefor big lenses and fancy cameras are not a necessity. Grey Seals in Britain make up around 50% of the worlds population but pupping on sandy beaches like at Donna Nook is a bit unusual.
Whilst we were here we also managed to tick a couple of lifers for us in that we saw Snow Buntings and a solitary Bar Tailed Godwit. During a walk along to the nature reserve we observed Redshank, Golden Plover, Kingfisher, Little Egrets, Pipits, flocks of Starlings and many others. We also noted that around this area is good for spotting Barn Owls especially early morning and at dusk.

August

August saw us spending a lot of time at Leighton Moss RSPB hoping to get good views and pictures of the elusive Bittern, we had heard that a bittern was showing well in front of the Tim Jackson hide, so after a period of three weeks and many many hours we had our reward as the bittern did all but a song and a dance for us right in front of the hide. This was our moment we had waited three years for, so we snapped till our hearts were content and then just watched.
Wow.

We were also fortunate to be introduced to a small nature reserve in Cumbria which amongst other things has a healthy population of Snakes, lizards, Red and Roe Deer and many other varieties of birds and wildlife.
We have just recently delved into the art of camouflaged clothing (Jack Pyke) Oak leaf pattern and have already noticed that its not a case of us getting closer to the wildlife but that the wildlife seems to get closer to us, probably because the outline of our shape is broken. We have also started using a portable hide but at the moment find it a bit cramped with the seating we have, but we are hoping to improve that soon.

Chanonry Point.

June

On our 350 mile journey to Chanonry Point we stopped off at several small lochs, hoping to spot and photo some Osprey, one of the lochs being RSPB Loch Garten and I must admit we were rewarded with excellent views. At Loch Garten we also spent time with the Red Squirrel and Siskin.

Our home for the week was a very comfortable static caravan called The Little Tern on the Beauly Firth just out of Inverness, details can be found at www.blackislebeachcaravans.co.uk.
From the van we watched Seals, Osprey, Red Legged Partridge and Oystercatchers with Chick. Most of the week was spent at Chanonry Point where we watched Bottle-Nosed Dolphin till our hearts were full, we also spotted Artic Tern and an Artic Skua. The Dolphins really were only 30 foot away at times but were difficult to photograph. We also spent time at Udale Bay, Culbin Sands and Loch Ruthven where we watched the Slavonian Grebe and Red Throated Diver.

We would also like to say Hi to Tony and Christine, Graham and Claire, also thanks to Charlie Phillips for sharing his Knowledge on the Dolphins.

The Isle of Mull.

May.

The Isle of Mull, what a fantastic place, a must go to island. The Isle of Mull can be an unpredictable place for both its weather and wildlife, the weather can change at the drop of a hat and the wildlife can crop up any where on the island even in busy harbours and lets not forget its scenery, its second to none.
We approached Mull on a cloudy wet and miserable day, But we didn't realize it was going to reveal one of its magic moments. We drove up to Tobermory on its main motorway road!!!! I should add at this point most of Mulls roads are single track with passing places, anyway, Tobermory on a miserable day, incoming tide and in its harbour, An OTTER came out to feed, we could not believe our luck as this was one of the animals we were determined to see this year. These photo's were taken a couple of days later when the sun shone and what a viewing.

We stayed in a lovely static van in an absolutely gorgeous,remote location a couple of miles from Tobermory called Lochnameal holidays and as always our thanks go to Steve and Val Irvine for their hospitality, for more info please e-mail us at our e-mail address found on our welcome page. A couple of scenic views of Mull.

For views of the Golden and White Tailed Eagles we spent time at Loch Na Keal, Grasspoint, Lock Ba and Glen More but although these locations gave us some fantastic viewing they were still a bit distant for decent photo's, Glen More was more favourable for the Golden Eagle. We traveled down the Ross of Mull and discovered a perching Buzzard which very kindly posed while we took 247 photo's, the advantages of digital is great.

On yet another sunny day we decided to take a ferry trip to Iona to see if we could spot the Corncrake, well, we heard plenty and some of them very close but alas we saw none! Our path led us to the other side of the island where we came across the most beautiful beach we,ve ever seen called the Bay at the Back of the Ocean where the sand is white, the sea is emerald green and the beach was almost deserted. Whilst on Iona we also visited its famous Abbey.

Other birds seen on Mull at various locations were Grasshopper Warbler, Hooded Crows, Eider, Turnstone, Shag, Wheatears, Hen Harriers, Sedge Warblers, Ringed Plover, Linnet, Great Northern Diver, Dunlin, Curlew, Whimbrel and Razor Bills but to name a few. Our Lifer this year on Mull was the Hen Harrier and Grasshopper Warbler.

Sunderland Point. April.

Sunderland Point on the Lancashire coast, visiting when the tide is out is best, you could be stranded for a hour or two, we were so take provisions, the good news is there is a public loo and we used this facility to brew up out of the wind, so we watched the tide with a brew in our hands, the car by the way made it safely through the incoming tide but i was'nt going to risk it. A walk round the point itself should give you views of Passerines of which a few are Linnet, Twite and skylark. Waders included Little Egret, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Oystercatcher and Whimbrel. The waders best being photographed from the car on the causeway through the saltmarshes. Other birds seen were Black backs and gulls, Garden birds and crows. We only spent a few hours here and i think it merits a lot longer.

January/February

We were stopping on a caravan site in the dales, but alas the gales were to much , the caravan rocked and nearly took off, so we went to a site lower down into the valley and upon pitching the van was greeted with a glimpse of the Goldcrest, magic, this begged the question do we sort the caravan out or put up the feed station, no contest, the birds got fed before us and we were rewarded with excellent photos of Long Tailed Tits, the Goldcrest and Bullfinch. A trip to Martin Mere gave us Bewicks and Whooper swans, Pintails and ruff, with a stoat thrown in for good measure. Poor weather though meant poor photos. Went to Mere Sands hoping to spot the Night Heron that had been seen, we didnt see it, but we saw a man that did. This trip did give us 2 Firsts, A pair of Mandarin Ducks, beautiful, and in the fields a pair of Grey Partridge. The feed station gave us photo opportunities and a Tree Creeper as a model. Its been a good start to 2008.