A Lady at Shibdon

Lamesley water meadows - a fine summer plumage Black-tailed Godwit this evening - feeding along water's edge easily viewable from hide.
Shibdon Pond - Green Sandpiper , Snipe,Redshank , Oystercatcher , Lapwing and Water Rail in front of hide.  Green-veined White , Large White , Comma , Small Skipper ,  Small copper , Meadow brown and Painted Lady.  Common Darter on the wing today.

Painted Lady at Shibdon [George Simpson]

Some late Newts

Late News

Saturday
Cowen Road, Blaydon - 1 Small Tortoiseshell

18th May
Dykeheads - Great-crested Newt and Smooth Newt at the back of a house

Great-crested Newt [Christine Wisher]

Smooth Newt [Christine Wisher]

Purple Hairstreak and Green Sandpipers

Shibdon Pond - 1 Green Sandpiper, Redshank and Common Snipe. The 2nd year Mediterranean  Gull again present.

Westfield Pasture - Purple Hairstreak noted

Purple Hairstreak at Westfield [Brian Pollinger]

Lamesley Water Meadows- 2 Green Sandpiper

Bits & pieces at Shibdon

Shibdon Pond - Single Little Egret, Green Sandpiper, Common Snipe and Redshank. Red Kite nearby over Blaydon cemetery.

The Little Egret with his rings [Carl Jewitt]

Late News

Kibblesworth brickworks pools - 2 Grayling and 5 Purple Hairstreak.

Grayling at Kibblesworth [Michael Eccles]

Colour-ringed Little Egret and a Pinion-streaked Snout

Friday 26th
Shibdon Pond - Single Snipe, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Lapwing and a Little Egret with coloured leg rings [ Left Yellow ring "V" : Right Red ring "B1"]. Juvenile Common Terns taking their first flights. Butterflies seen today were  Small, Large and Green-veined White, Small Tortoiseshell and Small Skipper.
Greenside - A Pinion-streaked Snout, the first for Gateshead and very few ever having been recorded in the county was trapped overnight.

The Pinion-streaked Snout [Brian Pollinger]

Winlaton Mill - White-Letter Hairstreak noted in a private garden, the first of the year and like Grayling none were seen last year.

Greenside Folly reclaimed landfill site - Lesser Whitethroat this evening, plus 2 reeling Grasshopper Warbler (showing very well for the last 2 weeks), Common Whitethroat, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, numerous Goldfinch, 100+ Swallow and House Martin. This site good for commoner species of butterflies at the moment, including literally hundreds of Meadow Browns.

Yesterday
Dyke Heads - 3 Grey Partridge, something of a rarity these days.
Low Greenside -Tawny Owl on overhead wires.

Shibdon Pond today

Shibdon Pond - The 2nd summer Mediterrean Gull,  2 Redshank, 1Common Snipe, 1 juvenile Water Rail in front of hide and the 'speckled' Moorhen. Also Large White, Small White, Green veined White, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Small Skipper butterflies, Shaded Broadbar  Straw Dot and Udea lutealis moths on the wing.

Juvenile Water Rail [Bill Jackson[

Comma [top] and Small Skipper at Shibdon [Gerorge Simpson]

Cowen Road, Blaydon - 2 Large White, 2 Common Skipper and a Meadow Brown  

Egrets and Speckled Moorhens

Shibdon Pond - Little Egret present the last two mornings about 5.45 am (it is probably visiting here during high tide on the Tyne). Also a partial albino Moorhen.

The partial albino Moorhen [George Simpson]

Autumn passage

Shibdon Pond - 1 summer plumaged Dunlin and a Common Snipe

Dunlin and Common Snipe at Shibdon [George Simpson]

Among moths seen include a Light Emerald on a window at Blaydon and a Large Twin-spot carpet trapped overnight at Greenside

Reed Bunting at Far Pasture [Paul Davidson]

Egrets gone

Shibdon pond - No sign of any Little Egret today. 4+ juvenile Common Tern on platforms
Bradley Hall pond - Now 2 Green Sandpiper

Quiet in the heat

Today 
 Bradley Hall - Green Sandpiper on the lake.

As mentioned the other day, the Little Egret was wandering around with the Canada Geese. Here is George Simpson's video to prove it

Yesterday - 19th

Ryton - 1 White-letter Hairstreak at Church Dene 
Shibdon Pond - Now 3 Little Egret present and Water Rail seen in front of hide.

Team Valley trading Estate - Brimstone & Swallow-tailed moths seen  

Thornley Woods - 2 Southern and 1 Common Hawker around the pond with a few Common Darter and Red-eyed (oops)  Large Red Damselfly and many Azure Damselfly.

18th

Cowen Road, Blaydon - 2 Small Skippers, 1Ringlet , 1 M.Brown and a Ruby-tailed Wasp

Swallow-tail Moth [Lee Harris]

As mentioned the other day, the Little Egret was wandering around with the Canada Geese. Here is George Simpson's video to prove it

Egrets, Graylings & Demoiselles

Shibdon Pond - Little Egret still present, now walking around on grass with Canada Geese!
Milkwellburn Woods - 2 Crossbill. 5 Broad-bodied Chaser on the pool together with Large Red and Azure Damselfly and both Southern and Common Hawker nearby. Also 1 Stoat seen
Gibside Estate - Young Roe Deer seen


Yesterday
Kibblesworth brickworks pools - mating pair of Black-tailed Skimmer

Pair of mating Black-tailed Skimmer [John Atkinson]

Shibdon Pond - Little Egret still present on the island.
Far Pasture NR - Broad-bodied Chaser
Near Birtley reed beds - 5 Grayling, first of the year and good news as none were seen last year though probably mainly due to the weather.

Grayling [Steven Fryer]

River Derwent at Hagghill - 20+ on river

Banded Demoiselle [Steven Fryer]

Little Egret at Shibdon

Today

Shibdon Pond - 1 Little Egret still present

Little Egret at Shibdon [Steven Fryer]

Derwent Walk CP - 2 Painted Lady
Kibblesworth Brickworks Pool -  3 Common Hawker, 2 Black Tailed Skimmers, pair of Emperor, many Common Darter and Four-Spot Chasers

 Yesterday, 13th July

Cowen Road, Blaydon - 2 Small Skipper and a Meadow Brown in a garden, plus Shaded Broad-bar
Far Pasture - 2 Broad-bodied Chaser, 3 Four-Spot Chasers & 1 Emperor
Kibblesworth Brickworks Pool -  3 Black Tailed Skimmers, 1 Emperor, 20 Common Darter, 26 Four-Spot Chasers
Stargate - 1 Broad-bodied Chaser & 5 Common Darter
Shibdon Pond - Little Egret this evening showing well in front of hide

Male  Broad-bodied Chaser  [Derek Bilton]

Four-spotted   Chaser  [Derek Bilton]

Black-tailed Skimmer  [Derek Bilton]

Late news for 9th July
Shibdon Pond -  70 +Meadow Brown , 20 Small Skipper , Ringlets , Speckled Wood Small white and Common Darter
Lamesley Water Meadows - 1 Green Sandpiper

Dragonflies out in force

11th July
Shibdon Pond - Mediterranean Gull (2nd summer)
Far Pasture NR - 2 Male Broad-bodied Chasers and 3 Four-spotted chasers,

10th July
Saltwell Park - 1 Red Fox
Cowen Road, Blaydon - Meadow Brown and Large Red Damselfly
Shibdon Pond - Mediterranean Gull (2nd summer)

9th July
Kibblesworth brickworks pools - 3 Black-tailed Skimmer, 1 Emperor Dragonfly, 30+ Four-spotted Chasers, 30+ Common Darter, a Painted Lady butterfly, Small Skipper, Small Heath, Ringlet, Common Blue and Meadow Browns

Late news for 6th July
Shibdon Pond - Mediterranean Gull (2nd summer) also one Golden Plover


Nice to see a Med Gull in Gateshead during the summer but probably not as good as Sopley pigfields in Hampshire which currently is attracting up to 350 of them!

A few bits

Late News -  Spotted Flycatcher one was present at Bradley Fell on 18 June.

6th July
Milkwellburn Wood - 4 Broad-bodied Chasers now present

Yesterday, 7th July
Cowen Road, Blaydon - 1 Meadow Brown in a garden, also a Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet which now has a fine colony of Common Spotted and Bee Orchids

Mainly dragons and their predators

Thursday 4th
 Gibside - Spotted Flycatcher catching damselflies, first of year in Gateshead.

Yesterday,
East Bradley Fell - Adult Hobby 16:30hrs  this afternoon. Also Common Buzzard, Red Kite and several Tree Sparrow. Willow Tit and Curlew heard.

and today
Stargate - Emperor and Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonflies
Kibblesworth brickwork pools - Emperor and Black-tailed Skimmer Dragonflies, Common Darter and Emerald Damselfly

Kingfishers still showing well.

Far Pasture NR - Kingfishers still showing well. Also 2 Red Kite over

Kingfisher (still) at Far Pasture [David Hepworth]

 

More from Yesterday

Yesterday

Greenside - c10 Common Crossbill this evening in pines along bridleway between Barlow Lane and Folly reclaimed landfill site. Also reeling Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Lapwing, Kestrel, Common Whitethroat, several Meadow Pipit, family party of Long-tailed Tits, numerous Swallow and Sand Martin.
Dyke Heads - Tree Sparrow, Sparrowhawk, Yellowhammer and Linnet.

This weekend

Blaydon - Bee, Common Spotted and Northern Marsh Orchids at their best now.
Milkwellburn Wood - Tree Pipit, Broad-bodied Chasers on one of the ponds and a Common Hawker was hawking the woodland rides there, a male but quite a pale individual suggesting not long emerged

Female Broad-bodied Chaser at Milkwellburn Wood [Alan Mould]

Far Pasture NR - Male Broad-bodied Chaser.

Male Broad-bodied Chaser at Far Pasture [Alan Mould]

Also a family of Kingfishers has taken up residence and are active all around the pond including in front of the Hide. They have been there for three or four days. Usual Coots and Moorhens, Mallards one with two chicks Canada Geese with two Goslings, Reed Bunting, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, 2 Garden Warbler and a Red Kite.

Family of 4, adult and the pair of Kingfisher at Far Pasture [Bill Cowings]]

Bar-headed Goose at Lamesley [Steven Fryer]

Kibblesworth Brickwork Pools  - 2 Ringlet, 3 Meadow Brown butterflies

On Thursday 27th
Lamesley Water Meadows - a Bar headed goose was present today with Greylags

Grey Wagtail at  Gibside [Steven Fryer]

Gibside - Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher on the river and a pair of Great spotted Woodpeckers feeding young near the stables