April Adventures 2025

The month where we finally ventured out and took a holiday abroad to get some new birds on our horizon, and on to our lists. However, for a write up of our trip to Lesvos, you'll have to wait for the next blog, or two. This post deals with the advent of spring, with the first of the anticipated migrant birds to hit our local area and a few elsewhere.

A Woody Start and a Rosy Finish; 2nd June 2022

Despite the title this is still a blog about birds and not wine, although no doubt you could accuse me of whining on a bit, as per usual.

After the fabulous views of the Barn Owl on the previous morning we revisited in the hope of more. The weather was drier with sunshine first thing so we were thinking that the Owl would be even more obliging, if that was even possible. In the event, we arrived earlier, by eight o'clock, saw the Owl immediately but only as it was flying back to its nest tree, and then didn't see it return to its hunting spot over the next half hour so assumed that it had been out earlier itself and had finished for the day. That is the joy of birding though, sometimes you get surprises like we did the previous day and at other times the birds don't always fulfil your expectations. Luckily in Northumberland there is much to do and many other places to go and by choosing to stay in Wooler and only being a few miles away we were able to replan and drive into the Harthope Valley which leads up to the start point for walking up Cheviot, the highest hill in this part of England. Not that we'd be walking there, we needed to save our legs for the upcoming mountain walks in Scotland. We would however, follow the well trodden track that follows the river up the valley at least part of the way to Cheviot.

We had visited this delightful spot three years previously and had enjoyed the tranquility as well as the upland scenery. On this visit we had barely left the car behind when we heard a Wood Warbler trilling from a line of trees to our right just ahead. The trees there were mainly firs but there were a few isolated silver birches and I knew that the Wood Warbler would most likely be around those since the species absolutely loves silver birch trees. We drew alongside one of the said silver birch trees and could hear the Wood Warbler still although the song was emanating from within the denser fir trees. My birding skills are not the best but I have found that I can mimic the whistling calls that Wood Warblers make just before they go into their body-quivering trilling song. Three short whistles and suddenly the Wood Warbler was in the silver birch right in front of us, looking for the imposter on its territory. While it showed, maybe for a couple of minutes, I rattled off a whole volley of shots of the beautiful little songster. Once the bird had established that there was no immediate threat to it from a rival it disappeared into the denser wood again and began singing once more. I had no reason to disturb it anymore so we walked on up the valley and left the Wood Warbler still trilling away.

We stopped at a bridge that spanned the river allowing for access to a farm. We know that Dippers nest here so we leant on the side of the bridge and waited. Less than a minute later a Dipper whirred past us and under the bridge. It alighted on one of the many water-washed rocks and did what Dippers do, it dipped, or rather bounced up and down on its rubberised legs.

The Dipper was holding in its bill, a few food items meant for its chicks which would be in the nest beneath the bridge. It hopped from rock to rock eyeing us with suspicion, making sure that we no threat, before delivering the food parcel. A few-seconds later the Dipper was flying upriver to fetch more grub for its offspring.

We headed up the valley for a short distance, just far enough to find the one bird that we knew would be in the valley that we needed for our year list. On a bend in the river, where some trees overhang the water, a Spotted Flycatcher perched serenely studying the air for flying insects which it frequently snared by launching itself off the branch before returning to a similar spot ready to hunt another. The Flycatcher also used a fence line to perch which allowed me to get a record shot. 

Back at the bridge we found the Dipper again. It was once more being very furtive owing to having another beak-full of goodies for its chicks. I took a few more shots then left the Dipper to it. We'd hopefully see a few more of the delightful birds when we got to Scotland.

We watched a mob of House Martins and Swallows collecting mud from the margins of a puddle in the paddock that borders the road. While we did so we could hear the Wood Warbler trilling away still. I attempted to grab some flight shots of the hirundines.

Mrs Caley chatted to another birder and pointed her in the direction of some of the birds that we'd seen. She was very grateful for us telling her that the bird she could hear in the trees was a delightful Wood Warbler. I pulled off my party piece again and she was even more happy to actually see the bird, her first ever of the species.

There is a track that leads off the road up into the hills, one we've looked at before but never ventured up. It looks so steep but we resolved to go a short way up it this time. We were glad we did too because once we'd reached the top of the first rise and were able to overlook a small valley, we spotted a family of Ring Ouzels, a Whinchat, a Red Grouse and a smart Brown Hare.

By the car there were lots of Pied Wagtails and a Red-legged Partridge scuttled up the hillside. When we parked up there were just three other cars parked. Now there were more like fifty-three. The Harthope Valley is a popular spot!

Year List addition;

227) Spotted Flycatcher