Stewart
@stewchat.bsky.social
Northumbrian Birder, Naturalist, fan of Ennion, RARichardson, Busby, Jarvis, McCanch, Wallace, Watkins-Pitchford and rarest of all, Notebook users... Local Patcher on the Northumberland coast.
Pinned
Stewart
@stewchat.bsky.social
· 20d
A bit late with the 2025 #NotebookAnnual this time.
Anyway, here are a few from my #Sketchbook from across the year. My only new bird, was the fantastic Pechora Pipit at South Shields.What will 2026 bring...
#birdart #Northumberland ##FieldNotes #Sketchbooks
Anyway, here are a few from my #Sketchbook from across the year. My only new bird, was the fantastic Pechora Pipit at South Shields.What will 2026 bring...
#birdart #Northumberland ##FieldNotes #Sketchbooks
Our village used to be a top spot for Red Squirrels. I once caught one trying to get in to an active Tree Sparrow nestbox in the garden! But, when Greys arrived they didn't last long. My last here was December 2019. I don't suppose I'll see a return...
#RedSquirrelDay #Northumberland
#RedSquirrelDay #Northumberland
January 21, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Our village used to be a top spot for Red Squirrels. I once caught one trying to get in to an active Tree Sparrow nestbox in the garden! But, when Greys arrived they didn't last long. My last here was December 2019. I don't suppose I'll see a return...
#RedSquirrelDay #Northumberland
#RedSquirrelDay #Northumberland
Reposted by Stewart
Reposted by Stewart
Killdeer in Hampshire this afternoon, new bird for me! #rarebirdsuk
January 21, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Killdeer in Hampshire this afternoon, new bird for me! #rarebirdsuk
Reposted by Stewart
Here you go (again). Just maybe, sometimes the way to go is just to use the original notebook sketch....?
collapsedbirder.blogspot.com?m=0
#UKRares
#rarebirdsUK
#UKbirding
collapsedbirder.blogspot.com?m=0
#UKRares
#rarebirdsUK
#UKbirding
January 19, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Here you go (again). Just maybe, sometimes the way to go is just to use the original notebook sketch....?
collapsedbirder.blogspot.com?m=0
#UKRares
#rarebirdsUK
#UKbirding
collapsedbirder.blogspot.com?m=0
#UKRares
#rarebirdsUK
#UKbirding
Drake Ring necked Duck at Hedgely was looking very dapper yesterday despite the mist and overcast skies.
#Northumberland #Birdart #BirdNotes #LowCarbonBirding #BirdingUK
#Northumberland #Birdart #BirdNotes #LowCarbonBirding #BirdingUK
January 19, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Drake Ring necked Duck at Hedgely was looking very dapper yesterday despite the mist and overcast skies.
#Northumberland #Birdart #BirdNotes #LowCarbonBirding #BirdingUK
#Northumberland #Birdart #BirdNotes #LowCarbonBirding #BirdingUK
Looks like Americans are posting weird #shortbeak #birdoftheday photos.
Our tiny Long tailed Tit says Hold my coat.....😊
Our tiny Long tailed Tit says Hold my coat.....😊
January 17, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Looks like Americans are posting weird #shortbeak #birdoftheday photos.
Our tiny Long tailed Tit says Hold my coat.....😊
Our tiny Long tailed Tit says Hold my coat.....😊
Reposted by Stewart
One I completed before I got ill.
Finished page of artwork of the @flamboroughbird.bsky.social Song Sparrow from last year.
Finished page of artwork of the @flamboroughbird.bsky.social Song Sparrow from last year.
January 14, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Whitebird still present on #LocalPatch today but very elusive, fleeing at slightest movement.
#Lowcarbonbirding #Northumberland
#Lowcarbonbirding #Northumberland
January 14, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Whitebird still present on #LocalPatch today but very elusive, fleeing at slightest movement.
#Lowcarbonbirding #Northumberland
#Lowcarbonbirding #Northumberland
Reposted by Stewart
Can’t be that many of these around in the UK in January ??
#NEBirding
After adding RLP, this takes our local inland #FootIt year list to 100 species 🎯
@durhambirdclub.bsky.social
#NEBirding
After adding RLP, this takes our local inland #FootIt year list to 100 species 🎯
@durhambirdclub.bsky.social
January 13, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Can’t be that many of these around in the UK in January ??
#NEBirding
After adding RLP, this takes our local inland #FootIt year list to 100 species 🎯
@durhambirdclub.bsky.social
#NEBirding
After adding RLP, this takes our local inland #FootIt year list to 100 species 🎯
@durhambirdclub.bsky.social
The white Blackbird was present at first light this morning but not seen at lunchtime.
#fieldnotes #fieldsketches #birdart #Northumberland
#fieldnotes #fieldsketches #birdart #Northumberland
January 12, 2026 at 2:23 PM
The white Blackbird was present at first light this morning but not seen at lunchtime.
#fieldnotes #fieldsketches #birdart #Northumberland
#fieldnotes #fieldsketches #birdart #Northumberland
Reposted by Stewart
You have to do something on wet days www.grahamcatley.com/blog-1/2026-...
2026 what to do birding wise and reflections on bird finding — Graham Catley Photography
More of the same I guess is what springs to mind immediately but as we all are very much aware birding is not what it was 50 years ago or even 30 years ago for so many diverse reasons. My addiction to...
www.grahamcatley.com
January 11, 2026 at 2:50 PM
You have to do something on wet days www.grahamcatley.com/blog-1/2026-...
Reposted by Stewart
So close! Snowfinch in Le Havre. Link in ALT
January 11, 2026 at 7:45 PM
So close! Snowfinch in Le Havre. Link in ALT
A Robin in Canada.... and not the one that sits on Mary Poppins finger either...
ABA Birds and Birding | 1st Canadian record of European Robin | Facebook
1st Canadian record of European Robin. First found on Jan 7th by Sabrina Jacob, in Montreal, Quebec. Not a new lifer for us but a new North American bird. Although we live in Montreal, the European...
www.facebook.com
January 11, 2026 at 4:25 PM
A Robin in Canada.... and not the one that sits on Mary Poppins finger either...
A new arrival in our village this afternoon. It's unlikely this Blackbird could go unnoticed in 18 houses, so I fancy it's in off the continent off this harsh weather. Nice.
#Lowcarbonbirding #Northumberland #LocalPatch
#Lowcarbonbirding #Northumberland #LocalPatch
January 11, 2026 at 2:30 PM
A new arrival in our village this afternoon. It's unlikely this Blackbird could go unnoticed in 18 houses, so I fancy it's in off the continent off this harsh weather. Nice.
#Lowcarbonbirding #Northumberland #LocalPatch
#Lowcarbonbirding #Northumberland #LocalPatch
2026 appears to be the year when Green Woodpecker became twitchable in #Northumberland. Birders heading for a lone bird at Mitford this week. Never 'common' but used to be found at many widespread sites...a sad start to the year. #fieldnotes #BirdNotes #BirdSketches #BirdArt
January 11, 2026 at 8:51 AM
2026 appears to be the year when Green Woodpecker became twitchable in #Northumberland. Birders heading for a lone bird at Mitford this week. Never 'common' but used to be found at many widespread sites...a sad start to the year. #fieldnotes #BirdNotes #BirdSketches #BirdArt
Reposted by Stewart
Went to see this interesting gull found in Cork city yesterday by Alex Lynch. It seems most likely to be an adult Black-headed x Bonaparte's Gull, a very rare pairing and not conclusively proven anywhere as yet, as far as I can see, but with two strong candidates from Spain and France.
January 1, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Went to see this interesting gull found in Cork city yesterday by Alex Lynch. It seems most likely to be an adult Black-headed x Bonaparte's Gull, a very rare pairing and not conclusively proven anywhere as yet, as far as I can see, but with two strong candidates from Spain and France.
Why did Faraaz not say, at the table, that he saw Amanda go and speak to Rachel? Didn't matter, I've never been more pleased than to see Fiona given the boot...
#TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUK
#TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUK
January 10, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Why did Faraaz not say, at the table, that he saw Amanda go and speak to Rachel? Didn't matter, I've never been more pleased than to see Fiona given the boot...
#TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUK
#TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUK
Last night 7pm -1.5° I counted 9+ geometers on the wing on an exposed stretch of farmland road. . By midnight the temp had risen to 3.5°. It wonder if they could sense it was on the up?
One looked like a Winter Moth the others larger, more silvery? Maybe Early Moth or Northern Winter? #teammoth
One looked like a Winter Moth the others larger, more silvery? Maybe Early Moth or Northern Winter? #teammoth
January 9, 2026 at 9:52 AM
Last night 7pm -1.5° I counted 9+ geometers on the wing on an exposed stretch of farmland road. . By midnight the temp had risen to 3.5°. It wonder if they could sense it was on the up?
One looked like a Winter Moth the others larger, more silvery? Maybe Early Moth or Northern Winter? #teammoth
One looked like a Winter Moth the others larger, more silvery? Maybe Early Moth or Northern Winter? #teammoth
Loved the Siberia books. I got to see one of his Grey Plover skins in the Hancock back room some years back, complete with handwritten label from one of his Siberia expeditions. And birders on Shetland call it 'work'...😁
Indoor Meeting:
Weds 14th January 2026,
Author Paul Hobson takes us thro the life and time of pioneering Victorian ornithologist & Sheffield steel baron Henry Seebohm
7.15pm LT2 The Diamond
Weds 14th January 2026,
Author Paul Hobson takes us thro the life and time of pioneering Victorian ornithologist & Sheffield steel baron Henry Seebohm
7.15pm LT2 The Diamond
January 5, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Loved the Siberia books. I got to see one of his Grey Plover skins in the Hancock back room some years back, complete with handwritten label from one of his Siberia expeditions. And birders on Shetland call it 'work'...😁
Reposted by Stewart
Corncrake in a Herts reedbed in January? Hope we’re not missing a young Allen’s gallinule or something (2 v recently in Europe). Or maybe just a confused bird from Norfolk reintro program?
January 5, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Corncrake in a Herts reedbed in January? Hope we’re not missing a young Allen’s gallinule or something (2 v recently in Europe). Or maybe just a confused bird from Norfolk reintro program?
January 5, 2026 at 10:59 AM
The thing about birding in a freeze in Northumberland is that alot of birds move out. Things like Pipits, Wagtails, larks, snow bunts, Golden Plover, wildfowl etc head SW and don't come back til spring passage so the weeks after the freeze here are often quiet.
January 4, 2026 at 8:39 PM
The thing about birding in a freeze in Northumberland is that alot of birds move out. Things like Pipits, Wagtails, larks, snow bunts, Golden Plover, wildfowl etc head SW and don't come back til spring passage so the weeks after the freeze here are often quiet.
Reposted by Stewart
Hooded Mergansers at New Hythe lakes today. Female (left) = brown eye + yellow in bill; male (right) = yellow eye and black bill. Presumably frozen out of smaller lake/pond somewhere. Unringed, fully-winged and confiding... @rarebirder.bsky.social @kentishplover.bsky.social #KentBirding #UKRareBirds
January 4, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Hooded Mergansers at New Hythe lakes today. Female (left) = brown eye + yellow in bill; male (right) = yellow eye and black bill. Presumably frozen out of smaller lake/pond somewhere. Unringed, fully-winged and confiding... @rarebirder.bsky.social @kentishplover.bsky.social #KentBirding #UKRareBirds
Boulmer like the Arctic this morn. -2° with wind chill on top. Male Black Redstart out on the seaweed, a female Merlin didn't look too good as it hopped along the ground below a fence line , Little Egret S plus 21 Song Thrushes on 300 mtrs of beach.
#Lowcarbonbirding #LocalPatch #Northumberland
#Lowcarbonbirding #LocalPatch #Northumberland
January 4, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Boulmer like the Arctic this morn. -2° with wind chill on top. Male Black Redstart out on the seaweed, a female Merlin didn't look too good as it hopped along the ground below a fence line , Little Egret S plus 21 Song Thrushes on 300 mtrs of beach.
#Lowcarbonbirding #LocalPatch #Northumberland
#Lowcarbonbirding #LocalPatch #Northumberland
Reposted by Stewart
Just about to board a long haul flight and airline being difficult about the weight of my hand luggage which is mostly #birdinggear Makes me think I need a lightweight superzoom bridge camera to cut weight for such trips.
What’s the best option that balances weight:performance these days?
What’s the best option that balances weight:performance these days?
January 4, 2026 at 12:26 AM
Just about to board a long haul flight and airline being difficult about the weight of my hand luggage which is mostly #birdinggear Makes me think I need a lightweight superzoom bridge camera to cut weight for such trips.
What’s the best option that balances weight:performance these days?
What’s the best option that balances weight:performance these days?