Hartlepool Birding

 

I am sitting in an apartment in the centre of Birmingham as I write this blog.

I am here for the wedding of one of my nieces tomorrow. The journey here was not brilliant, most of the way along the M1, one lane is closed.

So I decided to spend Thursday in the Hartlepool area, to see if I could add to my year list and charge up my batteries before heading for the 2nd city.

Hartlepool Headland, (photo above) was my first stop as I thought that I might stand a chance of seeing a skua and a shearwater. I did not have to wait too long. Sandwich terns were fishing quite close to the headland as it was high tide, and as they flew towards Redcar an arctic skua flew in and started chasing them. A while later a little tern from the Seaton Carew colony was also fishing close to the land.  An adult common tern and two young landed on the rocks, as the tide was now going out. Two more arctic terns flew past, it looked as if they were heading towards Seaton Snook.

I arrived at 0945 and had planned to leave at 1300. However having sat for a couple of hours. I had to go for a walk to stretch my legs, and I had only just returned to my chair and scanned the area towards the Redcar offshore wind farm when I saw a Manx shearwater skimming the waves. Year tick number 180.

I then went to RSPB Saltholme for lunch

 and then walked around the reserve until it was time to go to Greatham Creek for high tide. I added 27 birds to my day list as I visited the three hides.

I had just arrived at the viewing screen when a visitor cycled up. He was admiring the structure until such time as he wanted to see the seals and realised how difficult it was to look through.

Lots of seals, redshank, dunlin, curlew but no sign of a whimbrel.

A pleasant day.