probable yellow legged gull on tyne

Had a probable ylg on the tyne at stella today, ive got to look into it a bit more before i call it but its looking good, rba and gull research have both being sent the photos, ive had an email back from rba and it does look good for ylg but they have to look into it further to make sure its not a hybrid? Lesser black backed x herring. Here is a couple of photos, it would be a gateshead lifer for me if its eventually called as a yellow legged gull? Fingers crossed ;)

A nice birthday present :)

Well a day early one, a singing Quail was west of Holywell pond in a rape field this morning :) managed to get a some recordings of it, it was still singing at 9:30am when i left. Here is the best of the footage.

Just going to sit in the garden now and look for the wl hairstreaks and maybe hit lucky with a purple hairstreak :0 i planted some butterfly plants in the hope of attracting them down? Lets hope it works.

Gateshead year tick

Having missed the spring Black-tailed godwit i was pleased to find another at Lamesley water meadows this morning :) The autumn wader migration is underway, just need a good one ''pec sand'' will do fine or the ''spot sand'' on the tyne :0 please please lol

Quiet day

Not much to report today :( but here is a few shots from yesterday and today to be going on with.

Little owls at Ravensworth fell

Green Sandpiper at Shibdon

Snipe & Redshank at Shibdon

Green Sandpiper & Snipe at Shibdon

2nd year Med gull at Shibdon

Yellowhammer at Ravensworth fell, just after a bath

Waders Waders & more Waders

Plenty waders on show today at sites in Northumberland and Gateshead, a rare one too :0
Spotted Sandpiper was pick of the bunch at Foxton Bends
Common Sandpiper x 3 here aswell

East Chev held:-
Curlew Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper x 4
Lapwing
Knot x 4
Dunlin x 10+
Ruff x 4
Whimbrel x 1
Common Redshank x 2
Greenshank x 2
Otters x 2

Cresswell held:-
Oystercatcher x 1
Avocet x 1
Knot x 2
Dunlin x 6
Black-Tailed Godwit x 1

Shibdon Pond held :-
Green Sandpiper x 1
Med gull x  1

Lamesley wm held:-
Green Sandpiper x 2
Bar-Headed Goose

Others birds of interest were:-
Roseate Tern Coquet Island viewed from amble links when tide was well out, i managed to pick a bird up close to shore which carried a fish back to one of the boxes on the island :0
Turnstone
Snipe
Curlew took the wader count to 18 for the day.

Spotted Sandpiper

photo taken with Leica apo televid 77 + Samsung Note 2

Amazing Garden Tick

Could'nt believe my luck when i spotted a White Letter Hairstreak butterfly on the lawn in my garden today, i managed to get onto it before it flew up into the tree tops :0 my cottage is  joined onto a wood and i've never noticed that there was a few elm trees in the wood until today when i checked my tree guide. I spotted a couple of small butterflies flying around the tops of the elms, i haven't got any plants for butterflies to feed on unlike next door, so iv'e put a sugar solution out on the lawn in the hope they come down to feed. There is a colony of white letter hairstreaks in the Derwent cp which is on my door step, so maybe these have come from that colony? more than likely they have been there for a while and iv'e just not noticed them, maybe there is Purple Hairstreaks in the many oak trees that border my garden? :0 or am i just being greedy :) lol

These 2 shots were taken in the Derwent cp 2 years ago, no sign of any last year and this year so far, hope they turn up soon. 

Hobby in the Lakes

Had a few days in the lakes with my mother, i stayed 7 miles from Keswick in a lovely little place called Troutbeck on the caravan club site Troutbeck Head. I didnt intend taking my bins :0 but a good job i did as the walk from the site turned out to be a cracking spot with the best bird being an adult Hobby :0 which flew past me and perched in a nearby pine tree giving cracking views :) rare for the area, just a shame i had no camera with big lens :( also in the area were 3 Ravens, Buzzard, Kestrel, Lesser Redpoll, Meadow Pipits, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Swift, Sand Martin, House Martin, Siskin, Pied Wagtail, Linnet, Collard Dove, Wood Pigeon. There was loads of Common Hawkers in the area 20+ and a possible Golden Ringed which i wasnt quick enough to get onto :( Great area, from the site the public footpath which i went on was to the Matterdale Forest. We also visited Keswick, Grasmere, Poole Bridge over the time we spent at the Lakes, here is a few shots.

Troutbeck Head caravan club site

Footpath to Matterdale forest from the caravan site

The area where the Hobby was seen

View of Patterdale from Kirkstone pass

Derwentwater boat launch

Derwentwater boat launch

Helm crag

View from Grasmere

View of Helm crag from Grasmere