Saturday 19th May

A farly quiet week.  On Tuesday I took another run down the Derwent Valley but didn't see anything more exciting than the odd orange tip and specled wood.  I dropped in at the Thornley Woods hide the day after to check their sightings book but it seems that nothing more exotic than a nuthatch has been spotted so far in May.

On Thursday evening I walked along the river at West Wylam to try and identify an old fishing spot I used to visit 35 years ago.  The topography of the bankside has changed vastly including the addition of a tarmac cycle track but eventually I think I did nail it. On the way home a fox ambled casually across the road between Greenside and High Spen.

It can be amazing how long or how little time it can take to see something interesting.  On the Friday, with just 10 minutes to spare before catching a train at Prudhoe,  I took a quick walk on the river bank and saw a well-formed female orange tip settled on some greenery.  I got the camera out but it was then briefly disturbed by a male before returning so that, for once, I got the shot I wanted.

Female orange tip

Note of course the lack of any orange on the upper wings.

In the garden, the sparrows have come alive to the fact there is free food is on offer, but have not visited in the same numbers as these jackdaws.

Jackdaws

I realised after seeing them that I did not know the collective noun for a group of jackdaws.  Apparently there are in fact two - a clattering of jackdaws or a train of jackdaws.  Based on the behaviour they have exhibited so far, I would suggest that "clattering" seems more appropriate.