Oundle Has Me 'Grinning

 Reports of a Northern Treecreeper at Summer Leys seems to have attracted quite a lot of attention from county birders. While I'm happy to give a respectful tip of the titfer in the direction of the finder I don't think I'll be creeping around the Leys looking for this nationally rare subby. Instead I revived last Sunday's plan though with more success as I actually got to Oundle. With a blocker wind still blowing from the north west I did not anticipate too much in the way of migration but I did look forward to a sunny stroll along the river.

Small Tortoiseshell and Bee-fly

I walked straight past Barnwell CP today as a sunny Mothering Sunday was always likely to bring the masses out. From the bridge near Oundle Mill I had good though typically brief views of a Kingfisher before it sped off along the Nene. In a sheltered spot near Lower Barnwell Lock some Blackthorn blossom had attracted my first Small Tortoiseshell of the year. This species had a very poor 2024 so I was really pleased to see this one, another a bit further along gives me hope that torties might have a better year this time around. As I was watching the tort a male Brimstone fluttered by but did not linger as it continued its search for a female. A White Wagtail had been reported from the A605 floods earlier today but it had either gone by the time I got there or I just didn't manage to find it, two Redshanks provided the only sighting of interest. On my way back to town I saw another Brimstone and the Small Tortie that I mentioned earlier.

Redshank and Peacock

The sunshine once again tempted me to have a look around the churchyard for butterflies, I hoped that there might be a few warm spots sheltered from the wind. My search was delayed somewhat by the sight of two vocal Peregrines flying around the church. I have seen the occasional singleton here before but this is the first time that I've seen two. I spent some time watching the falcons before I went off on my butterfly hunt. Three or four male Brimstones were flitting around but not settling while my first Peacock of the year was seen nectaring on a daffodil. After a pint in the Rose and Crown I headed back to Corby where a female Brimstone was seen flying around the shrubs in my neighbours garden.

Peregrine

Putting The Brakes On

 A mostly sunny day today though with a cool north westerly wind which seemed to all but put a block on migration. Alan Shorrock and I were left wondering what to do in these challenging conditions, a possible pub crawl around Wellingborough had plenty of appeal but in the end we settled for some local mooching around.

Ringed Plover and Skylark

Our day began in Corby where we checked out a local site for plovers, Shozzer had already seen Little Ringed here this spring and we hoped to catch up with them again. A chorus line of Skylarks provided a very agreeable soundtrack to proceedings as we searched quite a large area for the birds. Persistence eventually paid off as we saw two plovers though these were Ringed rather than Little Ringed and were my first of the year. At the same site a pair of Lapwings were also in situ so potentially we could have three different species of plover breeding in the same area. From here we drove to Priors Hall where Sand Martins were feeding over the Quarry Lake, two Ravens appeared to be collecting nesting material and a pair of site scarce Great Crested Grebes were snoozing.

Greenfinch and Great Crested Grebes

Deene Lake was our next port of call and we checked the inflow out first before moving on to the main lake. A skittish Green Sandpiper was flying around the first while on the second there were three Shelduck and several Egyptian Geese. One sighting of interest was a territorial squabble between two pairs of fairly vocal Black Swans. Where else in Northamptonshire could you witness such Antipodean aggro? Our final birding stop of the day was at Blatherwycke Lake where the long staying female Scaup provided the only highlight, a pint in the Cross Keys ensured that the day ended on a good note.

Black Swans and Scaup

That's Better

 I was going to pop over to Oundle today once I'd finished doing some stuff around the house but Stagecoach threw a spanner into the works. When I checked their timetable it said that the X4 was going to come through the village which is where I waited for it, imagine my joy then when I learnt that said bus had actually passed along the bypass. Muttering expletives and inwardly cursing a certain bus company I returned home to consider my options. A call to Shozzer retrieved what could have been a bit of a duff day as we soon found ourselves on the way to Eyebrook where several good birds had been reported.

Little Egret and Yellow-legged Gull

It was a mild but grey afternoon which thankfully stayed dry while a weak northerly breeze did little to stop a trickle of birds from moving through. Our first sighting of note was of an Avocet feeding at the sharp end, this bird had been reported yesterday and followed on from an earlier sighting on Monday of three which Alan had been lucky enough to see. Before we moved on Al picked out an Osprey circling fairly high overhead with several kites before it was lost to view. A brief stop at the bridge did not add much to our day list and we made our way to the viewing area that overlooks the inflow. There was a constant flow of gulls moving through, mostly Common but there was a third year Yellow-legged Gull amongst them which had been picked out by the county recorder. While I was trying to get a picture of the Avocet the Osprey passed by once again as it flew down the reservoir. Satisfied that we had seen all that the sharp end had to offer we moved on towards the island.

Avocet

Our journey was interrupted when the Osprey was spotting fishing in the bay north of the island prompting Shozzer to stop the car pretty sharpishly. We had good views of the bird before constant harassment from gulls made it move on. From the island bunker the Slavonian Grebe showed on and off and the Osprey with attendant gull groupies made yet another pass. While looking at the grebe Alan picked out a Swallow moving northwards, further viewing revealed another four and also a brace of Sand Martins which constituted my first hirundines of the year. I still had a Sunday dinner to cook so we didn't hang around for much longer, perhaps Stagecoach did me a favour after all as plan B seemed to work out very nicely indeed!

Osprey, Kestrel and Slavonian Grebe

Probably Should Have Gone To Whiston!

 The weather forecast looked fairly favourable for migration today with showers  predicted as well as an easterly wind. Alan Shorrock and I were persuaded to visit Summer Leys where it was hoped some migrants might arrive to provide some entertainment. Sadly things did not quite work out that way and we spent a quiet few unproductive hours strolling around the reserve.

Little Ringed Plover and Snipe

Very little of note was seen from Rotary Hide as much of the winter wildfowl appears to have moved on. The situation from Pioneer was a little better and I saw my first Little Ringed Plovers of the year. Sharing an island with the plovers was a single Dunlin which moved on shortly afterwards. Paul Britten Hide was similarly quiet though from this vantage point we did see five Great White Egrets spread around the reserve. Snipe featured strongly from here as a total of at least twenty five were seen at one point though most soon disappeared into cover. The screen  was a little dull but Mary's Lake bucked the day's trend a little by delivering distant views of the reported drake Scaup. A check of the railway line failed to produce views of the Glossy Ibis and I was left wishing that we had visited the new gravel workings near Whiston instead where half a dozen Little Gulls and a brace of Avocets had been reported. A pint in the Coach and Horses arguably provided one of the few highlights of the day

Redshank and Lapwing

Slavonian In The Showers

 A busy day today with plenty of cooking and chores to do around the house but of course you don't want to read about my domestic drudgery. A small window of opportunity and the chance of a lift saw me escaping for a while and heading towards Eyebrook for a little twitchy excursion. My aim was to see the Slavonian Grebe found here during the week and which had been reported again this morning. The weather was a very mixed bag of cloud, showers with the occasional sunny spell while a cool breeze meant that my gloves came in very handy.

Slavonian Grebe

I found the grebe south of the island which appears to be its favourite spot and it showed fairly well from the island bunker. Unusually for recent Slavs this one was actually in the same postcode as me and I got some decent views of it as it fed not too far off the shore. I wasn't at the reservoir for long and didn't venture any further than the island so didn't manage to see much else, two Dunlins were the only other birds of note.

Duck Dipping, Goose Gazing

 I was looking after my wife last weekend following her knee replacement surgery and so did not have time to venture out. It wasn't a total blank however as I still managed to see my first butterfly of the year when a male Brimstone flew through my garden on the Saturday. This week Sandra had recovered enough to allow me to take a trip out in the company of regular birding pal Shozzer. After some thought and a little deliberation we decided to head over to Titchmarsh where the drake Ring-necked Duck had been present for most of the previous week on Heronry Lake.  There was plenty of sunshine but a cool northerly breeze kept the temperatures down.

White-fronted Geese and Pink-feet

The first of several Chiffchaffs was singing at the car park, we heard quite a few Cetti's too. From North Hide we were treated to distant views of three adult White-fronted Geese as well as pairs of both Oystercatcher and Redshank. A little further on  and a scan of the margins of the main lake revealed a Pink-footed Goose which we watched preening before it swam off out of view. Unfortunately the Ring-necked Duck was either being shy or had done a bunk and we dipped on it again for the second time, we weren't its only victims though as it looks as if no one else saw it today either. We completed our walk around the reserve managing to see what was probably a second Pink-footed Goose as two had been reported earlier, this one appeared to have a limp and the first one did not. Happy with the geese if not with the duck we left Titchmarsh and headed to Blatherwycke.

Egret trio

At the lake it was a case of catching up with old friends as first the long staying Cattle Egret and then the even longer staying Scaup were seen. The egret was playing mini me next to a Great White and completed a hattrick of egrets as we'd already seen a Little at the bridge. It took some time to find the Scaup but find her I did as she snoozed in the middle of the lake on the Blatherwycke side of the bund. Eventually she did wake up for a brief moment but the effort clearly tired her out as she soon dropped off again! There was not much else to report and we headed to the Cross Keys in King's Cliffe for a pint. 

Scaup

Limited Rail Service

 It was another gloriously sunny early spring day and I chose to head over to Oundle to try and find the Barnwell CP Water Rail. Frost whitened grass greeted me on my arrival but the sunshine soon put paid to this and the rest of the morning spoke more of the coming spring rather than the departing winter. My wander did not produce any rarities but I saw more than enough to justify the trip.

Teal and Mandarins

A singing Chiffchaff was my first of the spring and as always was a welcome reminder of better days to come. I sat myself down in Lowlands Hide and waited to see what might appear. I saw the Water Rail swim across at the back of the pond and looked forward to better and more prolonged sightings. My optimism was sadly misplaced however as I did not catch even a glimpse of it again, looks like I may have to return. Some compensation came in the shape of a pair of Teal, they're quite scarce here and it's always good to get a good view of this attractive duck. No food had been put out for the birds here but a small trickle of passerines did come down on the off chance and these included a Nuthatch in their number. Rebecca from work, a keen wildlife photographer, joined me at this point and we headed towards Kingfisher Hide.

Robin and Moorhen

The regular pair of Mandarins were sitting on their favourite log but the Kingfishers did not show at all. On North Lake a Great Crested Grebe was new in and showed well, with a bit of luck it will attract a mate. Another drake Mandarin was noted on our travels and we also noted a good selection of passerines. I left my work buddy to continue with her photography and set off along the river.

Great Crested Grebe and Red Kite

Things were fairly quiet at first though the local Red Kites put on a pretty good show as they circled overhead. At the A605 floods it was obvious that the wildfowl numbers are dropping, Shovellers in particular seem to have moved on with just a low double figure count remaining. I looked for an early Garganey but my efforts came to nothing. More encouraging were sightings of a Redshank and an Oystercatcher which were my first waders other than Lapwings here this year, hopefully more will follow. I had hoped to see a butterfly on my way back to town but failed though I did see a few bees buzzing around the churchyard. With chores, shopping and a family meal on today's agenda I couldn't hang around any longer and caught my bus home.

Oystercatcher, Redshank and bee.