January Durham Run

After having spent Christmas with us, our eldest daughter asked me if I could give her a lift back up to Durham at the start of January. With not much happening I felt that a change of scenery would help to shake off the January blues so I agreed. As usual I spent the week prior to our trip looking to see what might be around in the North East but, as is often the case at this time of year, there was nothing particular tempting to be seen. So in the end I decided to keep it fairly low key and stress free, choosing just to enjoy some of the local specialities.

Rather than our usual 8am start on Saturday we had a more leisurely departure at 10am, arriving at my daughter's house that she shares with her boyfriend, after an uneventful run at around 2pm. After a coffee and our packed lunch I proposed a local walk along the River Wear so I wouldn't have to do any more driving that afternoon. It was cold but sunny and I had a specific target in mind of wanting to see a Dipper which I'd not seen for a quite a while now. Having described the sort of shallow runs that they like, my daughter, who regularly walked along the river, took me to some ideal habitat where sure enough there was the sought after distant bobbing bird. With the addition of a couple of Goosander, a Grey Wagtail and some Little Grebes it was a very pleasant afternoon's walk.

Distant Dipper

Back at home I pootled about for a bit before we ordered some takeaway from my favourite Durham Thai restaurant - my treat for having done the drive. Then, after watching some Netflix Korean dramas in the evening (I have become obsessed!) it was time to turn in for the night.

The next day I was up reasonable early and out the door before my daughter was even up. I'd picked out a couple of local birds to try and see with the first being at the unlikely sounding location of a Morrison's carpark at Doxford Park in Sunderland where a third winter Iceland Gull was supposed to be hanging out. I arrived to a deserted car park (it was late opening on Sunday) and at first glance it seemed completely empty with not a gull to be seen. Indeed I had already started programming my next destination into my sat nav when I thought I'd better just chuck a few pieces of bread out to make sure. Low and behold within a few seconds I was surrounded by a couple of dozen Black-headed Gulls. This was more like it! A short while later the first larger gulls started to arrive and finally the Iceland Gull itself showed up. It had a liking for sitting on a roof top right in the corner and as I didn't have a great deal of bread to hand I had to use it sparingly at the right moment to entice it down to the ground but eventually it obliged.

The carpark Iceland Gull

Having got some reasonable photos I then decided to head on to my second destination, namely South Shields. It was not somewhere that I'd been to before but various reports of Snow Buntings just south of the pier had tempted me to go and take a look. I arrived and eventually managed to put together enough coins to pay for the parking - no contactless payment for some reason! I then wandered down to the dune area just south of the pier. On a sunny Sunday morning the area was full of people walking their dogs and at first glance it seemed fairly hopeless. 

Looking north towards South Shields pier

 

Looking around the only areas which were quieter were in the dune areas between the beach and the fairground so I had a little explore but there was nothing to see. Back towards the pier I encountered a fellow birder who turned out to be a chatty local. He told me that the flock of 20 or so Snow Buntings were normally right next to the pier where we were standing but that they'd not been seen today in two hours of searching. He said that by the steps people put seed out so I went over to take a look and there was a woman quietly watching a single Snow Bunting sitting on a rock. Relieved to have at least one to look at I relayed this information back to my new companion and set about taking a few snaps.

Like most Snow Buntings, it was very approachable and just sat there

Having finally seen my target I decided to have a wander along the pier to see what was about. 

Looking east at the start of the pier with the River Tyne on the left

 On the calm sea south of the pier there were a couple of Red-throated Divers fishing close in.

Along the pier itself there was a mixed flock of waders roosting on the rocks at the base of the pier, a mix of Dunlin, Redshank, Sanderling and a Ringed Plover.

 

On the sea at the end of the pier there were a few Guillemots fishing and on the River Tyne iteself there was a single Eider duck. With Turnstones and Rock Pipits also about it was nice to add some coastal species to my year list.

A Tyne Eider

A winter Guillemot

The small lighthouse at the end of the pier

It was very pleasant in the sunshine to wander about and enjoy the different surroundings and some different birds. Eventually though I realised it was time to start heading back so I retraced my steps and fired up the Gnome mobile. The journey southwards was long but uneventful. I punctuated it with a couple of quick stops for some tea from my flask and with Radio 4 for company I got back safely at tea time. It had been an enjoyable albeit low key trip up to the North East.