Northumberland Pacific

Out with Mark and Pete and we drove up into Northumberland this morning to Druridge CP where a Pacific Diver had been showing really well on Ladyburn Lake all week, typically though there was no sign of it there this morning and it was found to have relocated to nearby East Chevington where although we saw it well enough there was no chance of getting any decent photos, a large skein of Pinkfeet flew over as we walked back to the car. With the Black Scoter being reported from further north at Goswick we thought we’d have a try for that in the hope the Diver may return to Ladyburn Lake and we’d do better with it on the way back however the Scoter didn’t prove that straight forward either and although there was a good selection of stuff on the sea including Red Throated, Black Throated and Great Northern Divers, Slavonian Grebes and Long Tailed Ducks all the Scoter were very distant, we had a good scan and at one point thought we might have got onto the bird but it was just too far to be sure then we received some information that another birder was watching it about a mile further north off Cheswick so we shot up there and tramped out along the beach for half a mile but all we could find were Common Scoters. We gave it up as a bad job but had lost a lot of time in the process and it was already getting to mid-afternoon but then reports of the Diver was that it was still at East Chevington anyway, there had been some Shore Lark on the beach there this morning so we thought we go and see them, we got back to East Chevington and walked out to the beach to find the Shore Larks hadn’t been seen since this morning but a small flock of Twite coming down to some seed were good value, we then took a last distant look at the Diver and talking with some other birders found out it had returned to Ladyburn Lake around mid-day for half an hour and shown well to a lucky few then flown back to East Chevington.

distant Pacific Diver on East Chevington Lake

some of the Pinkfeet flying over

Waders on the beach at East Chevington late afternoon

plus a flock of Twite

which showed rather well

also a few Pied Wags