Trip reports

North Shields Gulls and Waders

Sunday, 24 February 2008

This was to have been a joint venture with the young Wildlife Explorers group, but in the end the youngsters were not able to join us, so it was as usual a group of fairly mature years that set out from the North Tyneside Fish Quay on a blustery Saturday morning. It was a small group and that was no doubt due in part to the dreadful weather of the previous two days - including gale force winds. But the wind had dropped a bit, and from time to time the sun came out, making for a very pleasant stroll along the mouth of the Tyne as far as Tynemouth village.
The hoped for Glaucous Gull was not seen, but all the expected varieties of Gull were, including the not-so-common Common Gull, and the white-head-in-winter Black-headed Gull. A Great Black-backed Gull provided a useful lesson in just how big it was by dwarfing the Carrion Crow with which it was sharing a meal (of a washed-up dead fish) at the water's edge.
Waders seen included Purple Sandpiper, Sanderling and Dunlin, as well as Redshank, Oystercatcher, and Curlew. A Rock Pipit was sighted in the Middens, while a couple of solitary Eider Ducks were seen bobbing handsomely on the sea.
We were kindly provided with a hot drink at the house of one of our members in Tynemouth. All in all, a short but pleasant outing.

Clive Morphet

Bird List

Cormorant
Eider Duck
Oystercatcher
Sanderling
Purple Sandpiper
Turnstone
Dunlin
Redshank
Curlew
Black Headed Gull (first winter and adult)
Common Gull (second winter and adult)
Herring Gull (first winter, second winter and adult)
Great Black Backed Gull (first winter, second winter and adult).
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Feral Pigeon
Rock Pipit
Robin (H)
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Starling
Goldfinch (H)