Northumbria - Berwick upon Tweed - 3/6-7/6/2019

MERGANSERS and SWANS on the river

 



The rugged coastline of Northumbria with its castles and bird drenched cliffs was the setting for a small holiday, a getaway from work and from other stuff in my life. I chose this location specifically to get some photos of birds on the Farne Islands, a bird mecca, an area that should be on every birders bucket list. But I was also able to visit inland mountains in the Cheviots and coastal pilgrimage sites like Lindisfarne, as well, for variety.
As I usually do for long journeys I took the train up, a journey that's not as long as you would think.The trains ran from Ipswich to Peterborough before joining the northern line to Berwick. I arrived at Berwick around half twelve, although I had been travelling for hours. I was staying just across the river from the town giving some amazing views over to Berwick, with its towers and hodgepodges of different architectural styles.
I'm not really a town person so it might be better to look up somewhere else, on the web, for a review of the place, maybe some tourist information site. However, of Berwick, I noticed there was lots of history, lots of ancient buildings, lots of tourist things, and lots of normal town things.
The Tweed was good for birds. The river was long and wide where it met the sea. At low tide a large amount of rocky mud was revealed, although because of the time of year there weren't many waders. There was a large herd of non-breeding MUTE SWANS, accompanied by a lost and forlorn WHOOPER SWAN, probably wondering where its brethren have gone to. Also on the river was a small group of EIDERS and RED BREASTED MERGANSERS, the first group made out of males the other of females.

 Walking into Berwick
 

People would sail their dinghies out on the river as SANDWHICH TERNS gracefully flew around dashing down to the water at the presence of fish.
Berwick has three picturesque bridges, a viaduct, a newer bridge and an old bridge, leading into town. I walked around the walls and battlements that surround the town, to protect it from either the English or the Scottish, which ever had control of the town. In one section of the wall HOUSE MARTINS were nesting, the surrounding flock bigger in number than the whole martin population of Ipswich. Plenty of HOUSE SPARROWS were using the nook and crannies of the wall to nest, as well. Urban areas like this, historical and characterful, are as much a bird habitat as, say, woodland, with its own special wildlife. However when urban areas are sprawls of generic housing estates they provide as much habitat as the prairie fields out in the country outside, which is none.
This is a site introduction, next post I will be posting up pictures of the Farne Islands. Be warned there are a lot of photos.