Back on the west coast

The Safari had a trip over to Holy Island yesterday. We checked at the tide tables and they said they there was plenty for us to cross. The causeway is covered by several feet of water at high tide and you really don't want to get caught out - time and tide and all that. So over we went and ended up at the already quite full enormous car-park. 

The posts in the middle distance show the walking route across the flats and it's not often you drive along a road with seaweed strewn all over it!

The Castle is only 400 years old and much modified in the early 20th C

The car-park was so big that Frank would never be able to get out of it so we turned and went back to another smaller car-park on the nature area away from the hullabaloo. It was cold and windy but there was a Little Egret (the only one of the hols). The top of the dunes gave a view of the not so ancient castle.

Heading back to the mainland

The Priory that remains today is Norman in origin being founded 300 years after the Viking raid on the original priory but not in the same place, the Parish Church stands on that site. 

That raid was the very beginnings of our ancestry as our hand problem is a genetic condition linked quite closely to the Vikings; although there is now some evidence that Vikings had at least visited and possibly settled parts of Britain a few years earlier and the raid had prior knowledge of what they would likely find by way of defenders and treasure. Despite our genetic make-up we don't condone chopping up defenceless monks with axes

Our journey back to Base Camp took us past the extensive planting on the hillside again and we got to thinking wouldn't it be great to have a National Forest - no not like Sherwood Forest or the New Forest but a real continuous wild-space covered in regionally native trees (where appropriate ie not on flower-rich grasslands or wet peat) from Land's End to John O Groats and Holyhead to Lowestoft for starters. It would ideally be no less than a mile wide at any one point and there would be no gaps of more than a mile every 50 miles. The forest would be an invaluable wildlife corridor, for recreation - the good of our souls and offer employment opportunities like coppicing, bodging and other woodland products/crafts. It could be started by linking all the existing patches of woodland and shelter belts.

Something like this for starters - sure the farmers and other land owners will head over heels with the idea!

That swathe is well less than the 'obligatory' mile

Who's going to pay for it? Us the tax-payer - we already give those farmers and land owners loads of our taxes as it is. If there's a benefit cap of £26,000 for 'normal' people then the Single Farm Payment should be capped at that too and the rest used for public benefit. Wouldn't it be great to see some extensive upland reforestation! Don't all start screaming (or dreaming) at once; can see it happening - we need to re-wild ourselves before we think about re-wilding the landscape and what should be living in it.

Where to next? We might get an hour out somewhere tomorrow.
In the meantime let us know who's planting all the trees in your outback

Life on the ocean waves

The Safari was back at the pools just after 06.00 this morning to have a longer mooch about. There was nothing in the horse paddock. In the woods behind the little Tin Church the usual summer suspects were in song.

We walked through the field below the Lookout and flushed two more Grey Partridges before we spotted them. There is a good view of the ruined castle from there.

Through the village we saw a House Sparrow going in and out of one of the several nest boxes so we waited camera in hand.

At the scrape there is a wacky bench made from recycled beachcombed finds.

The scrape itself had a new wader on it this morning, an Oystercatcher, but otherwise it was much the same as yesterday. A Mute Swan was giving a Canada Goose some serious aggro and there were actually three broods of Grey Lag Geese.

In the hedge behind the cattle was a Roebuck and several yards to his left laid down in the long grass and hidden apart from eyes and ears was a doe.

The pool was quieter than yesterday too with far fewer hirundines swooping about. The light was much better today so we hoped the singing Swallow would be back on his reed, no such luck but a female Yellowhammer poked around where the Goldfinches were yesterday, it was joined briefly by a male. 

They left moments later and she was replaced by a female Reed Bunting.

A Swallow came nearer than the reed - into the hide it came to add more mud to its nest.

Linnets were all over the Gorse which was strongle scented in the warm sun. It was cold out of the sun, you could see your breath in sheltered places that shouldn't be so in mid May.

There was no sign of the Marsh Harrier and a Lapwing was seen displaying over the scrape from the hide but had left by the time we got back there. Beyond the hide there were loads of Cowslips, it seems to have been a really good year for these lovely plants. Just coming into bloom were the first flowers of Bulbous Buttercups.

Back at the carpark we spotted a gate to nowhere.

Don't think they'll be taking  a tractor through there again

This afternoon we took the boat ride out to the islands - here's a few pics from the boat as we travelled across the increaingly rainy stretch of water and were taken around the furthest islands before coming back to the neareat and landing for an hour.

Bamborough Castle in the gloom

Guillemots in the rain

A bridled Guillemot

Kittiwake

It's coming our way!

Passing showers

Puffin (161)

Just a few of the Grey Seals in the colony

Harbour Seal - cuter face and V shaped nostrils (as opposed to nearly parallel)

Where to next? Should be another day out somewher tomorrow and and early dart perhaps back to the pools to see if this evening's thunderstorm has dropped anything new. There'll be some pics from the island too.

In the meantime let us know who's not going through the gates in your outback.

PS We hope the pics are OK for you as we are working off Wifey's laptop and old softwareit's hard to tell if they're processed properly.

Out on the east coast

The Safari is up morth on the east coast for a few days. \not much to report just yet. Sunny spells and heavy showers driven along by abrisk offshore wind today.

Bamborough castle from the harbour

Farne Islands from the harbour

Eiders in the harbour - don't get this close to them on Patch 2! Phone pic

Dunstanburgh castle from the north

Dunstanburgh castle from the south

We've not seen many birds yet but a trip down to a local beach had us watching horrendously distsnt Little Terns (156) across the bay. We'll get much closer views later in the week.  A drive down to check out a local birding hotspot gave us a fluky Grey Partridge (157) fly over the hedge only a few yards in front of the car.

Where to next? More in-depth safari-ing in the morning so more news tomorrow.
In the meantime let us know who's flipping over the roads in your outback.