Description
Join ornithologist, Andrew Kinghorn, for a brand-new course exploring the fascinating birdlife of the North Northumberland coast
Key Information
Course tutor: Andrew Kinghorn
Date: Monday 27 January, 9.00 am - 3.00 pm
Course structure: 1-day workshop
Meeting Point: Beadnell Bay Car Park; 55.5521580074254, -1.6292799742899469; followed by an afternoon session North of Bamburgh Castle at “The Hut at Bamburgh”; 55.611610827690406, - 1.7170918768290384
Course cost: £40 NHSN Members / £50 Non-Members
Course Outline
Some of the best winters birding in Britain can be undertaken in North Northumberland. The area between Beadnell and Berwick is of particular note due to the gatherings of seaducks, divers, and often geese. Whilst on the saltmarsh species such as Twite busy around.
The day will be started at Beadnell Bay where we will look for both Common and Velvet Scoter offshore, we will look at how to tell both apart in the field. There is a good chance here of encountering Long-tailed Duck and there should be some wading birds to look at, giving us a good chance to get good views of species such as Sanderling, Curlew, and Oystercatcher. After taking a look at the sea, we will look at the saltmarsh where we should hopefully see Twite, this species is almost entirely classed as a winter visitor now to the UK and Beadnell Bay is a good location to see the species in good numbers. If we are fortunate, we should also see Wigeon and other wintering ducks on nearby freshwater, we will check through the gathering dabblers to see if we can pick out anything different. In the past there has been flocks of Pink-footed Geese in this area too.
After an exciting first half of the day at Beadnell we will take a short drive along the coast to Bamburgh. From here we will be looking off the famous Stag Rocks, this location recently had a White-winged Scoter and in the past has had a Black Scoter, so has reaffirmed itself as one of the best places locally to see vagrant birds in winter, as well as a vast array of common birds. We should see more scoter species off here and there is also a good chance of divers, Red-throated Diver should be expected whilst there is also a good chance of Great Northern Diver and an outside chance of Black?throated Diver. There is also a chance of Slavonian Grebe and its larger cousin (Great Crested Grebe) looks very different in winter and we should see this.
The day will focus on identification of the birds most commonly seen in Northumberland during winter in their winter plumages. There should be plenty of opportunities to learn something new, whether that be recognising the calls of a winter bird you had never noticed before, or finally getting to grips with those pesky distant seaducks!
Recommended Equipment:
Binoculars are ideal, but not essential as a scope will be provided for sharing.
Notes on Accessibility:
Suitable for most abilities, the day will be a slow pace to allow as many able-bodied individuals as possible. Please bring along any lunch and snacks you may need.
Please note that toilet facilities are limited on this part of the Northumberland coast, though there is a toilet at Beadnell Bay car park and there are also toilets in Bamburgh. Please note that the car park at Beadnell is Pay and Display, it will be expected that either individuals attending or NHSN cover the cost of any car parking charges.
About the tutor:
Andrew has more than 16 years of field experience and has experience watching birds across the UK and Europe. He has seen over 500 species of bird in the UK alone. Andrew started as a local birder in his home county of Durham, he then joined the Durham Bird Club and has been an active member since. Currently, Andrew is the Chair of the Durham Bird Club but has previously held roles as County and Assistant County Recorder. After a stint in the IT sector, Andrew returned to ornithological consultancy in 2021.