This morning standing at the back window talking on the phone a flock of thirty or so Fieldfare headed west over the Carr. Later on at a meeting in Gosforth more Fieldfare and dozens of Redwing calling overhead, a situation repeated when I checked for Turtle Dove at Brunswick on the way home. There have been two other records of Turtle Dove this year in Northumberland. Priors Park Tynemouth on 11th May and Killingworth on 15th June. If you draw a straight line between these two locations and extend it through Brunswick, Prestwick Carr could be next. Come on down for a patch tick you beauty.
I caught up with the bird again at last night and conclude that the period between 3.30 and 4.30 seems the most likely to catch it, possibly due to a lull in airport activity or just forced out to feed prior to roosting. Met a nice chap there from Southport who wanted to find Prestwick Carr. No problem follow me I said and off we set. As we approached the best spot two Shorties were already in the air as the landowner was in the fields preparing to shoot. We watched as three to four birds hunted around him and his dogs. Meanwhile two Long eared owls were just visible at their roost. The lad left with some reasonable images I hope but the quest for pictures has brought shame upon the photographic community. I chatted to the landowner who said barbed wire had been ripped down and an area trampled up the side of the field. His comment was that should he catch those responsible he would remove their dangly bits until the coppers arrived. I assumed he meant bins, cameras, scopes etc but was not entirely confident about which bits he would be grabbing!
This morning standing at the back window talking on the phone a flock of thirty or so Fieldfare headed west over the Carr. Later on at a meeting in Gosforth more Fieldfare and dozens of Redwing calling overhead, a situation repeated when I checked for Turtle Dove at Brunswick on the way home. There have been two other records of Turtle Dove this year in Northumberland. Priors Park Tynemouth on 11th May and Killingworth on 15th June. If you draw a straight line between these two locations and extend it through Brunswick, Prestwick Carr could be next. Come on down for a patch tick you beauty.
I caught up with the bird again at last night and conclude that the period between 3.30 and 4.30 seems the most likely to catch it, possibly due to a lull in airport activity or just forced out to feed prior to roosting. Met a nice chap there from Southport who wanted to find Prestwick Carr. No problem follow me I said and off we set. As we approached the best spot two Shorties were already in the air as the landowner was in the fields preparing to shoot. We watched as three to four birds hunted around him and his dogs. Meanwhile two Long eared owls were just visible at their roost. The lad left with some reasonable images I hope but the quest for pictures has brought shame upon the photographic community. I chatted to the landowner who said barbed wire had been ripped down and an area trampled up the side of the field. His comment was that should he catch those responsible he would remove their dangly bits until the coppers arrived. I assumed he meant bins, cameras, scopes etc but was not entirely confident about which bits he would be grabbing! 
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