Saturday 8th February – Leazes Park
On Saturday I spent some time in Leazes Park, in Newcastle city centre. The weather was wet and windy. On the lake there were good numbers of Tufted Duck. I counted 27. In the trees there were 15-18 Goldfinches and 5-8 Chaffinches. There was also over 100 Greenfinches in flocks ranging from 6-30 birds. In a group of 8 I felt lucky to find a single Brambling, which was a welcome year tick.
Monday 10th February – Hexham & Grindon Lough.
Today I was in Hexham. On the river there were 5 Goosanders. There was also a feeding party of Long-tailed Tits in the trees. During my lunch I drove the relatively short distance to Grindon Lough. The weather was cold, but very bright and sunny. Amongst the 100-103 Canada Geese, I found 3 Greylags, but there was no sign of any White-fronted Geese. On the water there were 5 Goldeneye, 45-50 Wigeon, 30-35 Teal, 9 Tufted, 2 Shelduck and at least five Mallard’s.
Paul Buskin