The Birds of Durham

Please follow the birdwatcher's code and make County Durham a great place to watch birds and wildlife.

Stretching 45 miles from the North Sea coast through farmland, woods & valleys, up onto England's backbone, the wild Pennine tops; few other counties cover such an impressive range of altitude & habitats, with its bird-life in the 36 miles between Tyne & Tees being just as rich & varied as its landscape. 

Co.Durham is dominated by its upland features with these wild and scenic moorlands rising to 790m/asl at Mickle Fell. These moors are some of the most important in Britain and come to life in spring with the sounds of their distinctive suite of breeding upland waders. Tumbling Lapwing, drumming Snipe & floating Curlew fill the air..., and when combined with Golden Plover, Oystercatcher, Dunlin & Redshank, the densities of birds are internationally significant. Other specialities of the western uplands include Ring Ouzel and Wheatear, their appearance heralding the arrival of spring, often long before the winter weather leaves us.  Nationally important numbers of breeding Wigeon are monitored. Every now & again something slightly different turns up like Rough-legged Buzzard or even Golden Eagle! 

Further down the Dales valleys we have remnants of open Sessile Oak woodlands, with their resident Green Woodpeckers and Nuthatch, joined in spring by singing Redstart & Pied Flycatchers with an accompaniment of display flying Tree Pipits & Wood Warblers. Declining numbers of some of these visitors are giving cause for concern over recent summers. Most of our established woodlands are located in riverine sites, with the Derwent Valley in the north west holding significant wooded areas. The last two years have seen these become home to the majestic Red Kites from Gateshead's Northern Kites Project. 

The demise of our farmland species have given us cause for concern and DBC conservation projects in the Wear Valley corridor & Bishop Middleham farms have gone some way to ensuring we retain core populations of Corn Bunting, Tree Sparrow & Yellow Wagtail.  These lowland areas hold a selection of water bodies - often as a result of our industrial past, and support ducks, grebes, waders & warblers. These lowland areas have a very rich diversity of breeding species, from Reed Warbler to Dabchick, Water Rail to Redshank - a great area. 

The coastal denes including Castle Eden have a diverse range of species with a healthy population of Marsh Tits. Durham is lucky enough to have several sites with all 6 titmice, Hawthorn Dene & Low Barns NR being two such sites where both Marsh & Willow Tits can be found together.  Large blocks of commercial coniferous woodland at Hamsterley Forest have a special mix with Siskin, Goldcrest & Crossbill all prominent.  The occasional Goshawk is noted with Buzzard now commonplace. Summer evenings sees the forest's other specialities emerge, such as the secretive Long-eared Owl on the forest edge, while Woodcock give out their amphibian like croaking calls, roding over in every direction during their displays.  The forest’s other special summer visitor, the Nightjar, now appears to be doing well. 

Hartlepool's headland juts out into the North Sea and this mix of terraced streets and greens is often decorated with weary migrants as birders rush about the gardens in search of Pallas's Warblers and the like.  South Tyneside is also home to many keen birders and the area has seen its fair share of rarities over the years, but whole coast has the ability to attract scarce migrants. A recent increase in coverage at Seaham in 2005 paid dividends with a bird seen for the first time ever in Western Europe - an Amur Wagtail, 1,000s of miles from home. Over the years a diverse range of more unusual birds have occurred, such as Red-flanked Bluetail, Surf Scoter, Citrine Wagtail, Red-eyed Vireo, Penduline Tit, Isabelline Shrike, Roller, Ross's Gull, Wilsons Phalarope, Baillon's Crake... 

The only notable seabird colonies are at Marsden, South Tyneside, where the cliffs hold well established but declining colonies of Fulmars, Cormorants, and Kittiwakes.  On the other hand the most recent additions, Shags and Razorbills, are slowly increasing each summer. Nearby is Whitburn Observatory where hardy souls spend countless hours logging our passing seabirds. If you chance upon the right day & weather conditions, the sea-watching experience here can be exhilarating as large numbers of birds speed up or down the coast. 

The south eastern corner of our recording area is well known, being recorded more assiduously by our neighbours at Teesmouth Bird Club. The pools and wetlands of the North Tees marshes offer an array of habitats for interesting breeding and passage species, many of them seen only very rarely. The construction of the RSPB Saltholme reserve, promises to bring us a host of new breeding species... Bittern, Avocet, Marsh Harrier & Bearded Tit are all expected in the coming years. 

But, the birding jewel in Durham's crown must surely be our Black Grouse population; dawn at a "white moor" Lek with its combatants sparring in a rushy meadow, are, once seen and heard, never forgotten. 

S.Evans, Feb 2006