Stobswood is a site of perpetual change and
is at present still in process of recovering from the opencast that adorned the
site only a few years past. As time advances it appears the site is becoming of
greater value to bird life; a fact well demonstrated by my comparative score
for 2014, smashing my previous best my a rather nifty 130%. As I say, this is
due in the large part to the site maturing though extending “the patch”
boundaries to incorporate the new lake at Widdrington Village undoubtedly aided
my cause. Combining the ex-opencast last, the new lake and the woodland
surrounding my house I managed a respectable 126 species and 143 points. Not bad
for a site branded a “wasteland” by some of the less avian orientated locals.
This was far from a winning score and in the end landed me bang smack in the
middle of the inland north table, where I stand content having given it my all
in 2014 and noted some truly exciting species.
January/February
The New Year started rather well at Stobswood
with 67 species noted in the first two months alone. Of course the majority of
these were the run of the mill, everyday species. Many of which were noted from
the comfort of my bedroom overlooking the splendid patch of woodland adjacent
to my house. Among these a few common but somewhat more elusive critters
including Jay, Bullfinch, Great Spotted
Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Lesser Redpoll. Following a more in
depth rummage around the wooded areas of the patch Stobswood soon yielded some
other interesting species with Mistle
Thrush, Song Thrush, Siskin and Redwing noted alongside the usual assortment of tits and finches.
The addition of Willow Tit here came
as somewhat of a surprise, first noted calling from the shrubs behind the house
before eventually breaking cover and showing splendidly. Not common bird
anywhere in the UK, and one I feel truly honoured to still harbour. Anyways, Treecreeper and Tawny Owl came next before my attentions finally turned towards the
opencast and flocks of wildfowl that had been building nicely during the course
of the winter. Here both Pink-Footed
Goose and Canada Goose fed in
their hundreds whilst the pools provided a nice array of duck species including
Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall and Goldeneye. The real surprise here was
pair of female Scaup which showed
immaculately between the 17th and 22nd of February; a rather surprising addition to the patch list
given the shallow nature of the pools. The soggy areas of the patch also
yielded the vast majority of the sites overwintering waders with Curlew, Redshank, Snipe and Lapwing all present in substantial
numbers. Not a bad start..
March/April
March started with a bang with Stobswood
Pools throwing up my first real scarcity of the year in the form of a drake Green-Winged Teal which showed
intermittently for a fortnight or so. No finders points for this one sadly
though I managed to pick it up mere minutes after discovery. Alongside the
Teal, a host of other new arrivals had returned to the pools. Among these
fifteen Avocet were perhaps the most
striking though I was equally grateful for the presence of Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Shelduck
and Shoveler. April found me
connecting with the first returning passerines with Blackcap taking the coveted title of “first migrant” closely
followed by Sand Martin, Chiffchaff and Swallow whilst both Willow
Warbler and Wheatear arrived
fashionably late in the closing days of the month. Elsewhere here other
noteworthy additions included Stock Dove,
Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow, Grey Partridge,
Barn Owl and Little Owl whilst I
also managed a brief encounter with a family party of Whooper Swans. 87 species and counting..
May/June
May found me totally absent from the patch
with commitments at university keeping me well removed from the region, much to
my dismay. I made up for this poor
showing in June however with two stonking patch firsts; Mediterranean Gull and Arctic
Skua. The latter of which came as a bit of a shock given the inland nature
of my patch. Both Little Egret and Little Ringed Plover were new this
month whilst I finally caught up with
the remainder of the common summer migrants missed during my academic hiatus.
Among these House Martin, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Swift and Whitethroat. Also noteworthy in June was the addition Great Crested Grebe at Widdrington with
said site also yielding Red-Breasted
Merganser and a long overdue flock of Reed
Bunting. All of this brought me up to a reasonable 96 species; just shy of
my previous year’s final score! Not bad for the midway point..
July/August
July and August found me predominately in
Scotland with my work at St. Abbs Head NNR taking precedence over my patching
endeavours. This in mind I still managed a few visits whenever the opportunity
to visit my parents (and consume a hot meal) arose. The summer months provided
an impressive set of visiting waders with Golden
Plover, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Ruff and Green Sandpiper providing a relative
smorgasbord of long legged delights whilst a patch first Wood Sandpiper was most unexpected. August 2014 will forever go
down as the “month of many raptors” with two cracking patch ticks in the form
of Hobby and Red Kite observed alongside the first Peregrines and Marsh
Harriers of the year. Yellow Wagtail
was another fine addition this month whilst the start of autumn migration threw
up Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and another patch first,
a Garden Warbler. The latter located
after a most unpleasant half hour spent scrabbling around in the patches
plentiful Bramble thickets. The highlight of the summer however was not an awe
inspiring raptor or a scarce wading bird. It was in fact a combination of two
exceedingly common and widespread species absent from the patch for almost a
decade. I am of course talking about Moorhen
and Little Grebe, both of which were
duly noted in the closing days of August and helped give a new definition to
the term “patch gold”. 113 species and four months to go..
September/October
As is the norm for this time of year the
ticks began to ebb and new species were few and far between on the patch. This
was the case almost two months until a tweet from Patchworks own James Spencer
detailing the presence of a Rough-Legged
Buzzard in the area caught me well and truly off guard. Dipping the bird
the first day I was delighted to pick up the ghostly raptor early on the 24th
watching the bird drift around the outskirts of Widdrington Moor Lake for ten
minutes before it set off East and was never seen again.. At least by me.
Following this two Slavonian Grebes on
the aforementioned lake provided yet another new bird whilst a dreary walk
across the opencast yielded yet another surprise; a single Snow Bunting. Two pointers aside my only other new additions this
month came in the form of some c200 fly over Barnacle Geese, a charming female Stonechat and a pair of Grey
Wagtail. The latter noted on my neighbours roof, comprising yet another new
patch bird. 122 species.. Surely there was time yet for a final flourish of
avian grandeur?
November/December
Well, truth be told 2014 was set to finish on
more of a fizzle than a bang. Only 53 species were noted on patch this month
with the majority seemingly vanishing into thin air. Despite this a few choice
offerings could be found with Green
Woodpecker heard yaffling from a unidentified loction near Stobswood
Village. Green Woodpeckers on the Northumberland coast are like hens teeth thus
the addition of this species to the patch list more than made up for the dreary
feel of the early winter. Both Goosander
and Pochard were likewise new
for the year, both located on “the lake” whilst the addition of Fieldfare was somewhat overdue having
missed them completely the previous winter. Not exactly the flourish I was
hoping for though true to the nature of the site Stobswood held one finally ace
up its sleeve and even the Woodpecker soon faded into obscurity following a
sighting of an “unusual” raptor hunting the far shore of Widdrington Lake. After
frantically unpacking scope the culprit was soon revealed and the unmistakable
“ringtail” of a female Hen Harrier
drifted into view, providing a rather nice county tick and of course an outstanding
patch tick. Said bird stuck around for a good two months following our first
encounter and was even kind enough to put on a show during the Northumberland
County Bird Race. Supreme!
And there you have it. It appears the only
way is up for Stobswood and in 2015 I hope to build on last year’s fantastic
result. Indeed I didn’t produce any contenders for the converted “best find”
prize nor did I find anything particularly rare (I can’t take credit for the
Buzzard or Teal) though for me this is of little consequence. Patching for me
is equally about the common, everyday species as it is the glamorous rarities.
I will however go out on a limb make a few predictions for 2015; some of which
are based more on desire than likelihood. I predict an American wader on
Stobswood Pools, maybe White-Rumped or Pectoral Sandpiper. Likewise I feel “my”
new lake has a lot more to offer and may well throw up a patch first Smew or
more ambitiously an American Wigeon whilst a Woodchat Shrike at Widdrington Tip
wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility..Only time will tell.
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