I have visited the Holy Island of Lindisfarne many times to admire the sites birdlife, chase rarities and even seek out insects, but never to appreciate its diverse and interesting flora. Lindisfarne is well known as an excellent site for those interested in botany, it’s unspoilt beaches, sprawling dune slacks, fields and expansive areas ofContinue reading “Exploring the Fascinating Flora of Lindisfarne”
Category Archives: Trip Reports
Wonderful Wildflowers at Bishop Middleham Quarry
A Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Durham Wildlife Trust nature reserve encompassing a disused magnesian limestone quarry, I have read about Bishop Middleham Quarry for years. People, it seems, visit the site from far and wide to experience the fantastic flora on offer here. As well as for an abundance of colourful insects.Continue reading “Wonderful Wildflowers at Bishop Middleham Quarry”
Eye-catching Invertebrates at Gosforth Nature Reserve
Owing to a diverse mosaic of habitats, including plentiful dead wood, Gosforth Nature Reserve is a fantastic place at which to indulge a fascination for the North East’s smaller wildlife. This Rhinocerous Beetle (Sinodendron cylindricum) was, without doubt, the star of the show last week. A first for me, this glossy, cylindrical beetle (a male)Continue reading “Eye-catching Invertebrates at Gosforth Nature Reserve”
Where to watch wildlife in the North East: Jesmond Dene
In a new series of articles, we’ll be taking a look at the best places to watch wildlife in North East England. By no means comprehensive but hopefully informative, these posts are intended to provide inspiration on where to visit in the North East to observe and enjoy nature, as well as detailing some ofContinue reading “Where to watch wildlife in the North East: Jesmond Dene”
Investigating the Prudhoe Spetchells
For a ages, I have read the blogs of others who have visited the Prudhoe Spetchells yet, shamefully, have never visited myself. Until now.
Into the Wild Woods at Allen Banks
Spurred on by the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, this weekend saw us venture inland to the wild reaches of Allen Banks
On the hunt for orchids
Orchids capture the popular imagination to a far greater extent than any other group of plants. Indeed, birders, entomologists, mammal-watchers – those who would never, under normal circumstances, label themselves a botanist – often find themselves weak and the knees and enraptured by their blooms. Perhaps this is due to visual appeal – orchids areContinue reading “On the hunt for orchids”
A once in a lifetime encounter
Before yesterday commenced, I had only seen three Red-necked Grebes in my lifetime. Two as distant apparitions amid undulating heat haze on a vast swath of Estonian marshland, and the other, as an equally uninspiring spec on the horizon here in the UK. The latter being tossed astray by the tide around half a mileContinue reading “A once in a lifetime encounter”
Cetaceans on the Northumbrian coast
Yesterday I experienced something new and otherworldly: discovering a new side to my home county – Northumberland, for those who haven’t yet guessed – on a ten-hour trip into the North Sea with Northern Experience Wildlife Tours. The trip delivering a surreal experience as, at long last, I was able to get up close andContinue reading “Cetaceans on the Northumbrian coast”
Cuddy ducks, clowns and stench of guano
Britain’s seabird colonies represent a spectacle like no other: bustling, raucous municipalities where a multitude of species congregate to form a single, far larger, living being. An avian city, cramped and lively, which moves and reacts as one when presented with danger, or opportunity – similar in many ways to the concrete jungles so manyContinue reading “Cuddy ducks, clowns and stench of guano”
The Northumbrian 142: a quick account of my first 24-hour bird race
This weekend past, I had the pleasure of taking part in my first 24-hour bird race. Wherein myself and the rest of the team – consisting of three topnotch local birders – attempted to observe as many birds species as possible within the county limits over the course of a full day. Starting at 11pmContinue reading “The Northumbrian 142: a quick account of my first 24-hour bird race”
Glossy Ibis and more
Spring has sprung, at long last. And all about my local area, the sapphire blooms of English bluebell mingle with the garish, Simpson-yellow of lesser celandine and the pristine white of flowering wood anemone. The air encompassing them ripe with the stench of ramsons carried on the breeze and nearby waterways – the ponds, streamsContinue reading “Glossy Ibis and more”