Ginger Dunlin at Tynemouth

We went looking for the mandarin at Tynemouth today. We didn't see it but we got another surprise. A dunlin flew in from the sea and landed on the grass. It had a lovely plumage and I had been looking forward to the dunlin returning. This marks the start of the wader season! Dunlin

2 surprises in 1 hour! 15/7/10

The Med Gull at Brier Dene car park has returned after only being away for 3 months! I photographed it in March and then again yesterday after the breeding season. After photographing it for a while we went onto Gosforth Park reserve. Amazingly, as soon as we got to the hide, there was a kingfisher sitting just outside it about 5 metres away! The luck was definitely on our side! While we sat there watching the kingfisher and the tern colony, there was a reed warbler feeding chicks very near the hide which were very photogenic. Some nice surprises which some great pictures to show for them.

Kingfisher at Gosforth Park Med Gull at Brier Dene. Top - July 2010, Bottom - March 2010 Reed Warbler