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Southern Coast of Northumberland (Day Trip)
Tour Code: GBR138A birdwatching tour of Northumberland's southern rich coastline, featuring seabirds, numerous waders, ducks and geese and the possibility of exciting migrants.
£60 (land only)
Highlights
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Summary
The Northumberland coast is a fantastic place all year round.
With rocky shores for Turnstone and Purple Sandpiper and extensive, pristine beaches for scuttling Sanderling, Dunlin and Ringed Plover.
Out to sea the rich feeding conditions attract various seaduck, divers and grebes while the off-shore islands are famous for their breeding colonies of terns, including the rare Roseate, Guillemot, Razorbills and the ever-popular Puffin.
The mixture of sand dunes, lakes, areas of scrub and woodland are a magnet for all sorts of migrants both in autumn and spring, while in the summer the dunes in particular become a kaleidoscope of colour – featuring the deep red of Northumberland’s county flower the beautiful Bloody Cranesbill.
Whatever the season, whatever the weather Northumberland’s coast is irresistible.
Please look at the detailed information below to read about the highlights of this Day Trip in each of the seasons.
We will start our day at St Mary’s Island car park (please note that parking charges apply) near to the lighthouse, where we’ll spend the first part of the morning before driving around 30 minutes to spend the rest of the day around Cresswell, Druridge Pools and Chevington. Walking will be mostly over flat ground, covering around 6 miles.
- Migrating seabirds, skuas, divers, ducks and geese
- Waders feeding along the shore and roosting in inland fields
- Searching for exciting migrants among the bushes, low trees and sand dunes
- Look for such mammals as porpoise, dolphin, deer and otter
Spring
In early spring, waders are still present and getting their beautiful breeding plumage. Dunlins with their black bellies may just be going a few miles to the North Pennines to breed while the harlequin Ruddy Turnstone has a much longer journey to Arctic Scandinavia and Russia. Out to sea we may still see divers, seaduck and grebes while Shag and Great Cormorant, which breed nearby, are in their smart summer plumage.
The shores, inland pools and wet grassland provide homes for numerous waders and in the sand dunes and fields one can find Linnet, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Stonechat. The smaller migrants are starting to appear now and Chiff-Chaff, Wheatear and Sand Martin provide anticipation of the summer to come.
Along the sandy shore at Druridge Bay a seam of peat, laid down thousands of years ago when this area was a swamp, runs the length of the bay. As the tide regresses we can see trunks of perfectly preserved trees up to 4,000 years old buried in the peat.
Late Spring/Summer
Throughout the rest of the spring and into the summer months the stunning Northumberland coast bustles with activity, as breeding seabirds on the cliffs and islands constantly fly to and fro in search of food. Common, Arctic, Sandwich, Little and even the rare Roseate Tern can all be found feeding offshore; Gannets from Bass Rock plunge into the sea and Cormorant, Puffin, Guillemot and Razorbill bob up and down with the waves. With luck a piratical Skua may be heading northwards taking the opportunity to steal a meal from the terns or gulls.
Swallows, House and Sand Martins scoop up flies over the sand dunes and the songs of Sedge, Grasshopper and Willow Warblers are constant companions.
Looking out to sea there may be Harbour Porpoise, Bottlenose Dolphin or even rarer cetaceans. Grey Seals are common here while terrestrial mammals such as Roe Deer and sometimes Otter can be seen.
From June we will also find Northumberland’s national flower – Bloody Cranesbill.
Autumn & Winter
In the early autumn terns and auks are still feeding on shoals of Sand Eels, sometimes with accompanying cetaceans. Skuas, including Arctic, Great (Bonxie), Pomarine, and even occasional Long-tailed, can be seen in hot pursuit of terns, gulls and gannets. The seas can hold Red-throated, and sometimes Black-throated, Diver as well as Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, various grebes, auks and cormorants.
The shores, inland pools and wet grassland provide homes for numerous waders, Pink-footed Geese as well as cavorting Otters. The sand dunes support Linnets, Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Stonechats and winter specialities like Snow Bunting and Shore Lark are a possibility later in the year. Slightly inland the low trees and bushes are a magnet for tired migrants, Fieldfare and Redwing.
Day Trip Location
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Andy Bunten
Andy Bunten has been an obsessive enthusiast about wildlife ever since he can remember. Educated at Cambridge, Newcastle and Imperial College, he then embarked on a career in nature conservation. He has worked for local government, wildlife trusts and, for 26 years, the RSPB. He initially worked in RSPB Scotland then headed south to be the Regional Director for the South East of England for 5 years before, in 1991, moving to the North of England to take up the reins of Director there. An experienced lecturer, Andy has cruised extensively completing over 20 trips ranging from South America to the Philippines and from Argentina to Svalbard. Now an Environmental Consultant, Andy is an enthusiastic traveller and has led wildlife groups to numerous places around the world including the Seychelles, France, Egypt, Costa Rica, Panama, Borneo, Norway and Spitsbergen. Over the last few years, he has led Naturetrek holidays in France, Romania, Hungary, Sweden, Spain and Scotland. He loves leading trips!
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We are delighted to offer a series of Naturetrek Day Trips which visit a wonderful selection of reserves and habitats across the UK, each guided by one of our expert naturalist tour leaders, many of whom are leading our Day Trips on their own ‘local patch’! Meeting at around 9am, and exploring largely on foot until around 5pm (though note that specific Day Trip timings do vary slightly by location and season), these trips are designed to spend a full day out in the fresh air, in search of a wide range of special British wildlife.
Whether you would like to explore a new area in the company of a local, expert naturalist tour leader, try a guided wildlife day out for the very first time, or perhaps you simply wish to spend the day learning more about your own local wildlife, you will find yourself most welcome on one of our Naturetrek Day Trips. We also offer days out specifically aimed at beginner birders and amateur wildlife photographers, and some trips even extend after sunset to allow us to take you on a guided tour of the night skies above. Whatever the trip focus – be it birds, botany, fungi, photography, butterflies, dragonflies, geology or a mix of just about everything – your leader will take you to the very best places to search for wildlife, and will share their knowledge generously along the way.
Our Day Trips have been fully risk assessed, and all activities are carried out in line with UK government and industry Covid-19 guidance. Most Day Trips from 17th May 2021 onwards will have a maximum number of 7 people, with a handful, such as cruises with a slightly higher number. We have also been certified as 'Good to Go'; the domestic tourism industry standard mark for Covid-19 protocols. Your safety is paramount, and we will be complying fully with UK government guidance throughout all of our Day Trips.
How to Book
The price for all our standard Naturetrek Day Trips is £50 per person and payment is by debit card only. You can book online, or you are very welcome to book over the phone by calling us on 01962 733051. Some Day Trips operate seasonally, and we are continuing to add additional departure dates for our fully booked Day Trips, so if you would like to be added to our wait list for any of these trips please just email info@naturetrek.co.uk or register your interest via the tour page.
Joining Instructions for Day Trips
If you, or someone that you have been in close contact with, has displayed symptoms of Covid-19 in the 14 days prior to the Day Trip, or if you receive an alert from NHS Track and Trace, you MUST NOT JOIN the Day Trip. Please let us know in the Naturetrek office as soon as possible and we will be happy to refund you in full.
- Upon booking we will email you with a designated meeting point and confirmed timings, along with contact details for your tour leader.
- During some Day Trips we will each use our own vehicle to move the short distances in between sites (group transport is not provided).
- Please do not bring your dog, or other pets, as they may disturb the wildlife!
- Please bring your own lunch.
- Please bring plenty of water, snacks, hand sanitiser, tissues, your own face covering (this will not be compulsory whilst we are out in the fresh air and wide open spaces throughout during the day but may be required to enter toilets, visitor centres, etc.) along with anything else that you might need for the day. You will need to be able to carry everything yourself. Suitable footwear (walking shoes or walking boots) will be essential, along with sensible layers and waterproofs plus sun hat and sun cream or woolly hat and gloves etc., depending on the weather forecast.
- Wherever possible, we will try to arrange comfort breaks during the day. On some of our more remote Day Trips this isn’t always possible, and on those occasions you will need to be prepared for the odd ‘bush stop’! If this is likely, we will alert you in the joining instructions beforehand. Please be stringent with hygiene when using public facilities.
- We ask you to respect minimum social distancing AT ALL TIMES (currently 2m where possible between households at the time of writing, but could be updated at any time). To help ensure this, we ask group members and tour leaders not to share optics, field guides or any other equipment.
- Finally, please do share your photos and favourite wildlife sightings with us … we love seeing them! Tweet @naturetrektours, Instagram @naturetrek_wildlife_holidays or find us on facebook.com/naturetrekwildlifeholidays
Tailormade Day Trips
Should the dates we offer not suit you, or should you wish to have a private, tailored Day Trip, we will be delighted to arrange this for you. Please just call Georgie Head on 01962 733051, or fill out our quick enquiry form and we will get back to you. For inspiration for a Tailormade UK break, please see our Tailormade UK holidays.
Reviews:
'The Naturetrek £50 days out have been a lifesaver this year. What better way than to spend a day in the open with four other like minded people in the company of a brilliant guide who can tell you all about the geology, flors and fauna of the area. I’ve been on three of these days with more booked for the future. The days are full, meeting at 9.00am and not finishing until 5.00pm, maybe slightly earlier in the darker winter months, with about 45 minutes for our picnic lunch but never have I ever looked at my watch and wished the time would pass more quickly. Quite the opposite in fact, the time passed so quickly I was amazed when we found ourselves back at the car park. Value for money? Yes, definitely. Thank you Naturetrek.'
VB – The Naze and Walton Backwaters (Essex)
‘The Upper Teesdale Day Trip was brilliant and Andy Bunten was an exceptional guide. So very knowledgeable and an expert spotter, but equally important he had great communication skills so that no-one felt remotely patronised or afraid to ask the most basic of questions. The organisation of the day was impeccably planned too. This was my first Naturetrek outing but I have friends who regularly use you and have spoken of your trips in glowing terms. So I will certainly look at your website and I will hope to travel with you at some point in the future.’
KS – Teesdale
‘We had a lovely day on Monday; Matt was terrific - particularly with us being beginners at bird watching! The other attendees were very interesting and one in particular was extremely knowledgeable. So we learned a lot - just got to remember it now! We are looking at the other day trips available to see if we can do another one.’
Ashdown Forest
‘I wanted to write to thank you for organising your new Day Trips. It’s an excellent idea and something to give hope to many people, who are keen to get out and about, and to experience the beauty of nature closer to home. Our trip to the Ashdown Forest on Friday was excellent. The weather was kind to us, a lovely sunny, English summer day, but it was our guide, Matt Eade, who made it special. Quite how Matt managed to arrange Goshawk, two Honey-buzzards, Hobby, Treecreeper, and a whole host of other species was remarkable.
Spotted Flycatcher is the personal favourite of my husband Simon – and Matt knew where to find two of them. Simon was over the moon!
It was a top day. Matt was informative, very knowledgeable, engaging, encouraging, always happy to help, provide insights and share his knowledge and experiences. He paced the walk just right, thoughtful about short breaks where needed. I worked for 8 years as a Tour Director around Europe and I know how exceptionally hard it can be to keep everyone happy!’
Ashdown Forest
‘The trip exceeded our already high expectations. Andy Bunten was kind, humorous, thoughtful and his knowledge of the wildlife truly exceptional. It was a real pleasure and privilege to be in his company.’
KE – Teesdale
‘So nice to be on a Naturetrek trip again and had a thoroughly enjoyable day with Russ and our other companions. Everyone just got on even though we had not met before. Looking forward to our next day trip!’
LD – Smardale
‘We had a great day, thank you. Matthew Capper was an excellent guide, giving us a wealth of information about the ecology, conservation and social history of the area as well as the wildlife, and having an amazing ability to detect birdlife out of nowhere. The Lammergeier before we'd even left the meeting point was of course spectacular, but it was Matthew's commitment to searching for the birds and Mountain Hares which impressed me even more. We also appreciated his patience and good humour, and his determination to make sure that all 5 of us got to see everything. These day trips are a brilliant idea. We are really looking forward to our next Naturetrek Day in a couple of weeks.’
AB – Peak District
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Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
Enquire
Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!
