WE HADN’T managed many birdwatching outings in December or most of January, mainly because of the weather. Variable? Appalling most days is more like! So it was a pleasure to get a sunny, dry cold day in the middle of January. We hadn’t set out to go birdwatching. In fact we were out for lunch at one of our frequently visited Italian restaurants. However, it is in Newbiggin, so we had packed both pairs of binoculars “just in case”, though I did not have the new scope with me.
The weather held and after lunch we decided to explore north, along the rough path skirting the golf course, rather than south along the prom. There is more variety this way, with exposed rocks and sandy areas, than southward where it
