November is not the month to put your feet up and relax, whilst the onset of darker nights makes it more difficult to squeeze in birding opportunities it’s most definitely worth making the effort. Newbiggin on a bright shiny Monday morning on the first day of a bright shiny new month found me full ofContinue reading “November 2021”
Author Archives: Alan Tilmouth
October 2021
It was easy to tell it was October as the grumbling of many birders became louder as days of west/south-west winds offered little quality (at least on the mainland). Despite the apparent poor state of affairs I’m not going to complain, I continue to do most of my birding within a few clicks of theContinue reading “October 2021”
August/September 2021
A period that saw my youngest start his sixth full season at the NUFC Academy and a post-covid resumption of full training schedule and games programme. Inevitably when combined with work and life birding once again became a little sporadic over the late summer/early Autumn. A short trip to Aberlady Bay with the kids earlyContinue reading “August/September 2021”
July 2021
As I was overnighting in Darlington on the final day of June I decided as I was nearly half way to Bempton that one journey to see a bird wouldn’t be the end of the world. Only one flight in three years and a big reduction in car miles staying local but the Black-browed AlbatrossContinue reading “July 2021”
June 2021
Summer staggered onto the stage slowly, apparently offering more freedoms and a return to normality so why does it feel like we’ve gone down a rabbit hole and there’s no turning back no matter how much we wriggle and squirm? The first day of June felt like distant summers past as some warmth helped persuadeContinue reading “June 2021”
May 2021
Highs and lows, always both, perhaps that’s the way it should be. Certainly the first few days of this particular May will be remembered, as any period with a new bird for Northumberland should. I doubt that this addition featured in anyone’s predictions of what might arrive next.. A brief look at the sea fromContinue reading “May 2021”
April 2021
April did what April does, one minute you’re fooled into thinking it’s Spring and leaving the layers and gloves behind and then the weather says “Hold my beer!” A cold northerly airflow for much of the month seemed to slow progress, for many species on the East Coast at least, hirundines particularly were notable byContinue reading “April 2021”
March 2021
The only thing permanent is change Big changes, small changes, it’s all change in March. Winter visitors departing, summer visitors arriving, another shift of our collective pandemic state of mind and for my kids a long awaited return to sport and other activities. One of those opens up different destinations the other adds curbs andContinue reading “March 2021”
February 2021
Sandwiched between the freshness of January and the real onset of Spring in March February can be a wishy-washy birding month. On the positive side it only last 28 days most of the time and despite my northerly latitude there’s always some signs of the change of season ahead. With Covid-narrowed horizons this particular FebruaryContinue reading “February 2021”
January 2021
New Year, there’s something about that idea of resetting and starting afresh that provides some positivity in mid-winter. The current restrictions narrow the focus to what’s close and nearby, though to be honest, I always feel like January starts that way, like throwing a stone in a pond you start at the centre and (hopefully)Continue reading “January 2021”
Alan Tilmouth 