An Easter Weekend of Firsts


Despite the cocktail of sun, rain, hail and snow all in four days I managed to have an excellent Easter weekend of wildlife watching. I heard my first chiffchaff this week, which can only mean spring is on its way despite the occasional blizzard!

Osprey season has begun and I spotted my first of the year on Saturday. That was the hottest day in a long time and sunglasses were essential for squinting up at the sky. As well as seeing this stunning male osprey hovering over the estuary, I saw my first sand martin of the year (too nippy for a photo) and my first ever grey plover, which was a rare visitor to the area.

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That evening the excitement continued with my first gannets and bottlenose dolphins of the year! It was a gorgeous evening with a cracking sunset, made even prettier by the appearance of three dolphins that cruised all the way around the headland. There were a couple of distant breaches too far away for a photo but it was so lovely to see dolphins again. I can’t wait for the season to kick off properly when there will be sightings on most days!

But the most exciting encounter happened on dry land.

I knew there were hares nearby as I often saw them dashing across the open fields, too fast and far away for a photo. I wondered if I pulled up with the windows down safari style whether they might appear a bit closer. For a photographer, a car can be an excellent wildlife hide.

I passed the time watching pheasants foraging. Every now and then the male would do his screech call and flap his wings, which looked lovely in the early morning light.

I waited for him to do it again but he wasn’t playing ball. My hands were going numb and I was just about to put the camera down when a hare appeared behind him.

I froze, actually hearing my heart thud as it padded towards me. Once it was ten feet from my lens it sat and stared right at me before lolloping back behind the bales. Even though it could see me, there was something about me being in the car that had relaxed it enough to check me out.

Once I was sure it had gone I checked the photos and actually cried looking at them, which has never happened before. The combination of shock, joy and relief was overwhelming and I almost couldn’t believe what had happened.

It’s been an Easter weekend full of treats, from soaring ospreys to sunlit dolphins to breathtaking views of one of the most iconic Easter animals: the gorgeous hare. Thank you Mother Nature!

Chesters – Day One

 

The drive to the Village Tearoom and Emporium was stunning. As the sun was beating down on my right arm I was a little nervous I hadn’t brought the sun cream, but luckily the light was just right to make Northumberland’s hills shine gold, without turning my skin pink.

After meeting Heather, we drove to a top-secret spot where adders were frequently sighted. Due to the adder’s rarity in the UK, it is important not to broadcast locations of their possible breeding sites, to avoid a rush of human activity and potentially disturbing the snakes. As the afternoon was still very hot, we found eight adders basking, both males and larger females. In fact, in one spot there were four males writhing together, perhaps in an attempt to attract a watching female. It was my second adder sighting, but getting the chance to see them so clearly was a real treat. While maintaining our distance, we watched them bask for nearly an hour. Though I could have stayed far longer, it was time to head to Chesters bothy before it grew dark.

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Leaving the adders behind, we drove to the end of the road, where urbanisation ended and true wilderness began. Shouldering our bags for the weekend, we began the two-mile walk through the beautiful Breamish Valley, accompanied only by the bleating of sheep and the infamous scraping call of pheasants.

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As the day drew to a close, the hills faded from shimmering orange to dusky pink with a patchwork of dark green conifers and purple heather. Then suddenly a flash of brown as a hare darted up the hill, white tail flashing. He was too far for my camera to get a clean shot, but it was a great sighting on my first day in the Cheviot Hills. Fascinatingly, hares can be pregnant with two young that are not twins simultaneously. The unborn leverets may have been conceived at different times, meaning they have different growth rates.

Before long we reached a patch of conifer forest that looked like something from a fairytale. As we threaded up the pinecone-dotted track I couldn’t help but think how well a pack of wolves could fit in here, miles from interfering humans.

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Just as we emerged on the other side of the forest and paused for a breather to gaze upon some truly stunning views of the River Breamish, Heather explained how there were tales of red squirrels in the Cheviot Hills, but due to habitat fragmentation resulting in isolated patches of woodland, she didn’t think the area could support a breeding population. As if we’d been overheard, a high-pitched chattering sounded from above and two red squirrels appeared, hopping from bough to bough and scrabbling up the trunks. Not only were these the first red squirrels I’d seen in the wild, they were the first individuals that Heather had seen at Chesters, so it was a special moment indeed.

After such good luck, we almost had a skip in our step as we made the rest of the way up the hill to Chesters bothy. Almost immediately we were met by a flock of fieldfare as they swooped overhead, another new species for me.

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After dumping our bags, we sat outside on the dry stone wall and listened to the evening’s birds before the generator drowned them out. Amongst the shrieking pheasants, there was the distant hoot of a tawny owl, and later when the sun finally sunk behind the hills, the bizarre wing beats of snipe reverberated across the landscape. If you’ve never heard a snipe drumming, any description I could give would never give it justice. It’s a sound I’ll never grow tired of hearing. It reminded me that I was in the middle of nowhere. I was cut off from technology and we needed a fire to get hot water – it’s the sort of living many people have never truly experienced. Sitting outside in complete silence could seem eerie, but to me there’s a haunting beauty to the only traffic being speeding fieldfare and the occasional skylark hovering overhead. It’s like stepping back in time to when technology was an unheard of impossibility.

Later, when Cain arrived, the three of us headed over the hills in search of long-eared owls, a bird Cain was eager to tick off during our stay at Chesters. The night was as beautiful as the day had been – the sky was clear and a huge ethereal glow encircled the moon. Sadly, the owls didn’t appear, but the night walk was the perfect end to my first day in the Cheviots. When we returned to the bothy I spent some time writing about the day to jog my memory when I returned home. I knew that without a doubt, my notebook would be essential this weekend.

Species seen/heard:

Adder Vipera berus Coal tit Periparus ater European hare Lepus europaeus Fieldfare Turdus pilaris Great tit Parus major Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris Robin Erithacus rubecula Snipe Gallinago gallinago Song thrush Turdus philomelos Tawny owl Strix aluco

The Wonders Of Watchtree

After nearly a year at university, Zahrah and I decided it was past time we paid Watchtree Nature Reserve a visit. Now I had the car, it was only a twenty minute journey. The result was one of the best wildlife encounters I’ve had.

We began the day in the wetlands hide. Almost immediately we were met by a group of goldfinches, swiftly followed by some tree sparrows, a species I’d never seen before. I’m used to seeing goldfinches in pairs, but it was a treat seeing even more at once. After gobbling a seed they would turn and study their surroundings, always on constant alert. I keep forgetting just how lucky I am to be an apex predator. I couldn’t imagine waking up each day and wondering if I’d end up being somebody’s breakfast. I commend the natural world for its gritty determination – we humans have so little to worry about in comparison.

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After the goldfinches left we were joined by a great-spotted woodpecker and two more species I’d never seen before, redpoll and reed bunting. I couldn’t believe how soon the birds had come after we’d entered the hide.

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After some quality time photographing the birds, we meandered past the marsh pasture. Here we saw more birds, including a lone oystercatcher and a buzzard wheeling overhead, pestered as always by corvids.

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Then, eagle-eyed Zahrah cried out and pointed to a hare speeding along through the field. Too quick to even keep in frame let alone get a clear photo of, I watched the creature in awe as it bolted out of sight. They really are formidable animals, and not to be messed with.

Giddy with happiness at our good fortune, we visited Pow Woods to eat our sandwiches. After, we skirted the perimeter. I was just ducking under a low-hanging branch when I glimpsed something ivory-coloured. When I made out antlers I almost shrieked. Sat on a raised mound of grass was a roe buck skull, antlers intact. The jaw was missing, but it was still the most incredible thing I’d seen (perhaps dwarfed by the sei whale bones at Tullie House, but I’d found the roe all by myself).

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For a while I’ve wondered why skulls are so often found without the rest of the body. As if the magic Pow Woods wanted to prove me wrong, twenty minutes later we found another roe skull, this time with its whole skeleton! This individual was female, lacking the prickly antlers. All her bones were laid out flat on the grass; scattered ribs, vertebrae still loosely set together and long slender leg bones.

By this point Zahrah and I were in disbelief. I relished the opportunity to study something so intricate and complex – skin and flesh had been stripped away to reveal the inner workings of a animal. A thousand questions popped in my own skull. How old was she? How did she die? Most of the bones were unbroken. Both skulls, male and female, had had their noses shattered. Later that evening, I discovered that foxes often chew this part of the skull to get at the nose tissue inside. I could only assume both deer had died of old age – surely nothing in Watchtree Nature Reserve would be big enough to take one down. Even in the wild, adult deer have few predators besides ourselves.

Zahrah and I walked back to the visitor centre in a daze. We’d seen a spectrum of birds, a hare, and now a complete roe deer skeleton. How could our day be better?

A live roe deer.

As we walked through the scot’s pine, a lone buck meandered across our path. No doubt he’d heard, seen and smelt us coming, but still took his time foraging, eventually disappearing into the trees. At the time my camera had been in my bag – shameful on my part – so the only shot I managed to get was his rear end as he melted away out of sight. Still, I valued the experience alone.

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Safe to say, Zahrah and I are planning to return to Watchtree Nature Reserve in the very near future. Although, I’m not sure we can better this visit!