Newton Birding

Why Newton ? Well….

Just a couple of years involvement in the very sad UK twitching scene, combined with some minor drug consumption in my youth, has turned me into a social inadequate, capable of nothing more than rambling around babbling to myself about races of canada geese, and gibbering every time I hear one of those annoying bleepy pagers….

So…. For my sanity I now find my own sanctuary by walking around Newton looking at birds, and pretending to others that I really do know what I’m talking about….

Many people tell me that my condition is down to the early 90’s rave culture, but I know better…. Take it from me kids…

TWITCHING – JUST SAY NO !!

Seriously tho….Newton is a cool place……Sometimes gets the odd decent bird too.  

Below is a guide to the birding spots, many of these have had rares and scarce stuff, see the "Scarce and rare birds" page for details of these.

Long Nanny Tern Site

The Long Nanny Burn is the home of lots of very angry terns in the summer. These Arctic Terns see it as their life’s purpose to attack humans at every opportunity while shitting on you at the same time for good measure….

These unprovoked attacks have to be endured by the intrepid birder if you want to see their slightly rarer weakling cousins - Little Terns…

Many birders make the pilgrimage every year to see the lovely cute Little Terns failing to rear young ….AGAIN !!

Why are Little Terns so crap ? Every year they nest right down the beach and every year they are washed out !! All credit to the National Trust tho…they employ dedicated wardens to watch the site 24 hours a day, they see off predators, idiots with jet skis, idiots with microlights, idiots with dogs, etc etc……. but the terns just aren’t meeting them half way are they…. Is it too much to ask that they nest somewhere less exposed to the elements ??… No wonder they’re the UK’s second rarest breeding seabird… JEEEEZ !!!

VERY ANGRY !! 

Long Nanny Burn area has had a procession of rare birds…. Of these I have seen….. roughly speaking……. about……. Errrrrr................ZERO.

Yep its true…. best birds I’ve ever seen here are an Icterine Warbler, Short-toed Lark and a Sabines Gull… well not bad I guess, but when you consider that its had SOOTY TERN, GULL-BILLED TERN, LESSER CRESTED TERN and TEREK SAND amongst other rares over the years, I feel that my “Long Nanny rares list” is sadly lacking…

Short-toed Lark, 23rd December 2007

In the summer the tern site is always worth a visit though, not just to throw sticks at those Arctics, but there’s always a chance of picking up a summering Little Gull here, Roseate Terns and Mediterranean Gulls appear most years too. 

Mixed tern flocks are a regular feature at the Nanny in summer

Roseate Tern, Long Nanny, July 7th 2007

Adult Mediterranean Gull, Beadnell Bay, August 11th 2007

Long Nanny Burn (saltmarsh)

The Long Nanny Burn itself is a great bit of saltmarsh……… but it never seems to have more than a disillusioned redshank and a lost farmyard goose on it whenever I visit. …..But……….The truth is it’s a great site…. Honest !

The saltmarsh here (west of the footbridge) can be a haven for migrant waders, with large gatherings of Curlew and Golden Plover using this site. Other migrant waders (Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper etc, etc…) are often found here too. This is definitely the favoured spot for Little Egrets when they turn up…. Another bird that I have worked very hard dip out on here over the years…

On the other side of the bridge (between the dunes and the shore) is an area of saltmarsh favoured by wintering Twite, decent sized flocks have been present here for the last couple of winters. This is also the favoured spot for Shorelarks, Snow Buntings and Lapland Buntings which show up from time to time.

Snow Buntings on the shoreline at the Long Nanny



Snow bunting, Long Nanny, December 2007

Some migrants have occurred in the dunes here, I personally have seen some Redstarts and an Icterine Warbler, others have told me there have been Bluethroats and Red Backed Shrike in the past…. Mmmmmm……Sounds like a load of stringy old shite to me though !!

The Walled Garden at High Newton - Cunningly designed to prevent access for birders

Birding sites at High Newton consist of the bus stop (but you won’t see much in there, not even a soiled porn mag… pretty poor….) and the walled garden of “the big house”.

The walled garden is an area I hadn’t bothered with until a couple of years ago… when I used to doggedly thrash the coast refusing to come any more than ten meters inland because it wasn’t migrant habitat !……… How misguided I was !

This site was drawn to my attention by birding guru and old time Newton birding legend Rick Lockwood…. It was October 2004 and Rick called me to tell me he’d got a Yellow-Browed Warbler at High Newton… I rolled up to find Rick peering over this wall at the yellow-brow, we soon discovered a Pallas’s Warbler, Pied Flycatcher and a few Bramblings in there too…. On returning the following day I had a fly away view of what could only have been a red-breasted flycatcher.

Since that day the walled garden at High Newton has been firmly on my list of regularly covered sites…

Given the correct weather conditions in autumn this garden can be a great migrant trap, small flocks of tits can often contain crests, phylloscopus warblers and occasionally Treecreepers. For example, after some easterlies in November 2007 one small mixed flock of birds here included 2 Treecreepers, an abietinus Chiffchaff and a firecrest (not a common bird this far north).

Treecreeper, High Newton, December 2007

Sounds great eh…. Well the walled garden at High Newton has one problem.........THAT BLEEDIN WALL !! Inside the garden is some good scrub and mature sycamores, however you have to be at least 6ft tall and standing on a car bonnet to get anything near a decent view over the wall into the garden…. ARSE !!!

If you walk down the road from High Newton towards Newton Links Farm you will come to a row of cottages with an old quarry/cliff thing behind them. This area has some good migrant habitat, which runs alongside the road to link up with the walled garden at High Newton.

Cottages and quarry/cliff thing at High Newton (tall trees of the walled garden in the background)

If you follow the road from High Newton towards Low Newton, there is a bank of conifers along the roadside, which lead to the Tin Church area. This bank of conifers has good potential for migrants and I’ve seen plenty of common migrants here, but, so far the best thing I’ve found in here is a Yellow-browed Warbler.... BOOOOOOO !!

National Trust put these up in case you get lost

Newton Point is my Flamborough Head…. Only real difference is that Flamborough gets rare birds…

If you walk from Low Newton village north along the coast it heads out to Newton Point, the rocky shoreline here is good for gulls and waders, and this is the best place to see purple sandpipers in the winter.

Purple Sandpiper, Low Newton beach

Looking back towards Low Newton by the Sea, check the rocks for....

Gulls.... (errrrr... and terns)

....and waders.....

As you reach the point you’ll find the “compound”, an old military building recently taken over by the National Trust who use it as an office and general chill out pad….. In the right conditions this chill out pad can provide short-term shelter for newly arrived tired migrants….. well….. until they inevitably get bored of the jugglers, face painting and ambient house music. Best migrants I’ve seen here are Wryneck, Ring Ouzel, Black Redstart, Redstart and Pied Flycatcher.

The chill out pad.... note the tower for bungee jumping....

The headland at Newton Point is the best place for seawatching too. In the autumn you can sit here totally exposed to the elements and freeze your bollox off for about 5 hours to get a distant view of a sooty shearwater.

Newton Point, Mecca for seawatchers everywhere

Little Auks, 11th November 2007

Newton Point is also very good for these...

..... and these.

The point itself is grassland and is cut for hay in late summer just in time to create attractive short grass rare pipits and wagtails in the autumn…. Mmmmm….. Saw a tree pipit here once…. and Yellow Wagtail....

Hay bales at Newton Point - The hay is cut late summer creating short grass in the Autumn for Richards Pipits......... unfortunately the Richards Pipits havent really discovered it yet !

If you continue north along the coast from Newton Point, the next bay along is called Football Hole.

Football Hole

Football Hole has regular wintering Long-tailed Ducks, which are occasionally joined by scoter. This bay and the next one north (Beadnell Bay) are good for migrant waders and wintering divers, grebes and sea ducks.

Red-throated Diver, Football Hole, November 2007

Velvet Scoters, Football Hole, December 2007

Long-tailed Duck, Football Hole, November 2007

Eiders, Football Hole, December 2007

Flocks of smaller gulls sometimes gather at Football Hole, these have included the odd Little Gull and Mediterranean Gull in the past.

 2nd year Mediterranean Gull, Football Hole, August 12th 2007

In birding terms the real feature of Football Hole are the two small bushes in the centre of the bay, this is the only cover for newly arrived migrants and the bushes act as a magnet for rares…. Well…. I say magnet for rares….. but I’ve flogged the coast here for bloody years and regularly checked those flippin bushes…..the best things I’ve seen in there are Willow Warbler and Sedge Warbler….

However, it must be down to my crap birding skills, it seems the world and his wife have all found good quality birds here with Bluethroat topping the bill as the most regular occurrence. I’ve met people who aren’t even birders who’ve seen bastard Bluethroats in the bushes at Football Hole !!

Other good uns that I have managed to avoid seeing here include, Subalpine Warbler, Barred Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Grotfinch and Red-backed Shrike...... and they're just the ones I know about.....

Maybe these legendary bushes are saving the big one for me…. Maybe it’ll be a Siberian Blue Robin or something equally crippling….   

Bluethroats MY ARSE !!!.............. Hang on a minute.... whats that thing with the quivering blue tail ????

The Tin Church area can be a decent spot for migrants. Regular spring and Autumn sighting here include all the usual migrants, and with the right weather its possible to get the odd Redstart, Pied Fly or Ring Ouzel thrown in…. 

Tin Church trees and scrub viewed from the path to Football Hole

Access for viewing is via a kissing gate next to the church, then follow the road which runs towards Newton Point, from this path you can view the gorse scrub on the southern side, and the elder scrub and taller trees on the northern side. The scrub and mixed farmland here have many nice breeding farmland birds, Yellowhammers, Skylarks, Grey Partridge, Linnets etc....

Tin Church hammer, June 2007

Fieldfare, Tin Church, October 2007

On the opposite side of the road from the Church is another track leading to Quarry House, there is more scrub along this track, however the track is strictly private and birders are requested to view from the road end only. At the road end of this track is a large sycamore, which is worth grilling for phylloscs in the autumn, having had Yellow-browed Warbler, Pallas’s Warbler and Firecrest in the last few years.

My most memorable day here was fairly recently in late October 2006 when we had a huge fall of thrushes and robins including thousands on Redwings, fieldfares and Blackbirds, plus a few Ring Ouzels, a Redstart, a Black Redstart and two very nice Yellow-browed Warblers. All in two hours of afternoon birding….. AWESOME !!

The Tin Church, site of the Great Grey Shrike dip....

...also managed to use my keen birding instincts to dip Firecrest and Barred Warbler here too... mmmmm......come to think of it...... I think I've dipped more good birds here than I've seen.... BOLLOX !!

View of Low Newton by the Sea from the top of the hill

Down the hill from the Tin Church you will find Low Newton by the Sea… What used to be a quaint little fishing village, is now flooded rich snobby people who flock to the green on sunny weekends to show off their spotless BMW 4x4s… and wave £50 notes around at the bar…. Still who gives a shit about them.....

The beach at Low Newton is always worth a look for migrant waders and gulls. If you exit the green and head back towards the Tin Church you will see a track immediately on your left leading behind the cottages, this track will take you to the birding Mecca that is Newton Pool !!

As you head down this track you’ll notice a high wall on your right hand side. This is another excellent walled garden well designed to prevent good views of cripplers when they turn up (unless you're 7ft tall with platfom boots and a pogo stick or stilts)…. And the fact that no cripplers have ever turned up here proves that the wall is doing its job well. Best thing I’ve seen in this garden is a Firecrest, although I have it on good authority that the place has had Pallas’s and Barred Warblers, and to be fair I’ve seen a lot of nice common migrants here like Pied Flycatcher and Redstart.

The Track to Raresville....

Here is the track to Newton Pool......

In the field on the landward side of this track is a seasonal pool. This pool often appears in autumn and winter, but it depends on rainfall, some years it only lasts a few days..... This flood pool can be a magnet for waders in autumn and if it lasts into winter can provide good habitat for snipe and dabbling ducks....

In past autumns this flood has hosted little stint, curlew sandpiper, wood sandpiper and even a pec... In the spring this field can be good for pipits and wagtails, often holding  white wagtails, yellow wagtails and occasionally blue-headed wagtail.

Pectoral Sandpiper, Low Newton flood, 16th September 2007

If you continue along the track you’ll see the Wardens cottage and the small copse next to it, just past here is Newton pool and the famous ancient hides ..… legend has it these hides were carved from solid trees by stone age man. Since then they have been kept and preserved by many generations of dedicated National Trust wardens.

NEWTON POOL IS THE BOLLOX !!!… I mean its totally 100% raresville !! Its got some great breeding birds and big list of rares too…. Well… when I say rares…. I mean Northumberland rares…… and when I say big… I mean quite big…. Lets not get bogged down with terms……Its all relative and size doesn’t matter anyway apparently…..

RARESVILLE

Newton Pool, viewed from the ancient hide

These are some great breeding birds at Newton Pool too....

Red-breasted Merganser & Scaup, Newton Pool, December 2007

Some common wintering diving ducks at Newton Pool
Pochard, Tufted Duck & Goldeneye



Dabbling ducks at Newton Pool
Pintail, Shoveler & Teal



Some common passage waders at Newton Pool
Lapwing, Redshank & Ruff

OK so the truth is Newton Pool has definitely had a few scarce birds too…

Now….I’m not going to bore all of you “normal” birders by going on about all of the scarcer birds at Newton Pool. If you’re one of those twitcher types and this interests you, just click the “Scarce and rare birds” section at the top of this page for a list of species which have occurred…. most of these I managed to avoid due to an unfortunate combination of crap birding skills and a pathological hatred of people who own bleeping pagers… especially the clueless ones who talk a lot.

The doctors told me I need to either stay calm, or avoid these situations altogether. After a close call where I nearly got arrested for attempting to insert an annoying bleeping pager into someone, I’ve now decided to always walk the other way if I see a crowd of pager slaves on the path ahead of me.

So…. enough of my ramblings…. back to Newton Pool….

As you can see…..it gets ducks….

….ducks and gulls…..  maybe the odd wader too.....

errrrrr…. that’s about it really…..

…..Oh, and a big flock of those nasty Greylag Geese that honk and shit everywhere…..

Many common gulls use Newton Pool for bathing.... these ones aren't "Common Gulls", but they are common gulls and are similar looking to "Common Gulls", sort of.... 

Seriously tho.... it can feel pretty RARE here, some of my best personal "finds" at Newton have come from the pool area, these include Little Bunting, Rose-coloured Starling, Red-backed Shrike and Wryneck.... so it can't be all that bad really... i'm sure there's a crippler out there somewhere..... mmmm....... one day.......

Wryneck, Newton Pool, May 12th 2007