Last Sunday...

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Young Tree Sparrow

I got up early looking forward to getting out and about, but was met with a strong NE wind and rain. This eased off to dull drizzle by 8am, and myself and JWR headed up the coast.

Low Newton Pool and scrapes had a few birds including Black tailed Godwit, 11 Gadwall, Teal, a male Wigeon and 7 Shelduck while the dune bushes had a good show of local warblers with Blackcap, Chiffcahff, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and 2 Reed Warblers singing in the background. A lone Black headed Gull was incubating, maybe trying to restart the old colony...On the way back to the car, day flying Long Eared Owl was on the fence next to the main car park, a nice bonus.

A few moths flushed from the damp trackside vegetation - Common Pug (ok, this one was in the phone box) 2 Timothy Tortrix and 2 Epiblema cynosbatella.

At a loose end because of the weather, we took a look up at Spindlestone Quarry near Bamburgh. No birds were around but the flora was quite interesting on the scree and old slag areas ( I wonder if 'old slag' gets me more hits?). Not being too clever on botany, our list is as follows -

White Stonecrop, Red Valerian, Birds foot Trefoil, Black Medick, Hop Trefoil, Candy Tuft, Hares foot Clover, Thyme, Herb Bennet, Herb Robert, Rough Hawkbit, Wood Sage, Barren Strawberry, Pirri pirri Bur, Ribwort Plantain, Greater Plantain, Pineapple Mayweed, Nipple Wort, Common Cudweed, Curled Dock, Red and White Clover, Maiden Pink and Perforate St Johns Wort.

Some of those must be right.

Hop Trefoil

Common Cudweed

Later on in the garden were 8+ young Tree Sparrows from my boxes plus about 8 adults. A male Great Spotted Woodpecker fed a juvenile, one on each feeder, leaning across.