White-fronts

 A cold and grey morning with the occasional rainy spell which looked far from promising but as it was my only day off this weekend I still decided to venture out nonetheless. My stepson was good enough to give me a lift over to Blatherwycke and I spent several hours wandering around the area on the lookout for something interesting. My session began in the north eastern corner of the lake before I opted to walk back towards the village and along to the churchyard and beyond.

Pintails and Grey Heron

The lake is still partially frozen but there was enough open water to attract a variety of wildfowl. Three drake Pintails were the early highlights, they're quite scarce here. A Great White Egret fed in the shallows and I saw a couple of Egyptian Geese but there was not much else on offer. As I walked along the road towards the village hundreds of Fieldfares and Redwings were flushed from the hedgerows and there was a large mixed flock of corvids too. I couldn't find much from either the bridge or in and around the churchyard and walked towards the south eastern part of the lake. As I was going through the gathered birds a large and noisy flock of geese arrived though they landed on the western side of the lake and were out of sight. Anxious to check through them I retraced my steps and headed back through the village.

White-fronted Geese

Good numbers of Greylags were seen on the lake with others on the southern bank. A check through the mixed gaggle of Canadas and Greylags on the northern bank produced sightings of at least seven White-fronted Geese. Further checking of the flock did not add anything else of note and I wandered back towards the village to rendez-vous with my return lift. Before I left there was time to take a sneaky peak into a garden where at least one wallaby and three Rheas were present. Two noisy Ravens were the final highlight before my lift arrived.

Exotic pets

Snow On The Horizon

 English Snow Geese are a bit like tomatoes in that they're best taken with a pinch of salt, at one time we had quite a few feral birds knocking about locally but they seem to have disappeared. When one turned up at Tongue End in Lincolnshire last year I didn't  pay it any attention assuming that it had the same dodgy provenance. It then moved to Deeping Lakes which was also about the time when I learnt that the bird had arrived with Whooper Swans and was being treated as a genuine wild bird by many. With a lieu day off and a window of time before the arrival of Storm Goretti Alan and I took a journey over there this morning for the proverbial wild goose chase.

Bewick's and Whooper Swans

The latest bird news suggested that the goose had left the east lake on the reserve at about half eight in the company of Whooper and Bewick's Swans and was heading out into nearby fields to feed. We headed along Crowland Road and soon encountered a large flock of swans in a beet field. Having found a safe spot to park we began to check through them hoping to find their smaller associate. Neither we nor a newly arrived Lee Evans could find the goose though five Bewick's provided some compensation. Another birder told us that the goose and a number of Whoopers had continued flying along the River Welland before being lost to view. Our small band of birders split up to scour the surrounding countryside.

The smaller white blob is a Snow Goose!

We left the Crowland Road and turned onto the Welland Bank heading in the vague direction of Spalding. A small group of swans in a roadside field proved to be Mutes and Whoopers but beyond them and someway more distant was a much larger group. We drove as close to them as we could though it's possible they were still in a different postcode to us! Initial scans revealed them to be more Whoopers though at first there was no sign of our quarry.  Whilst counting the swans (200+ if you're interested) Shozzer found the goose which given the distance and some mist was quite an achievement! After watching it for a while and having taken the poorest of pics we headed for the main Spalding Road to see if we could get closer to this new species for me. No such luck attended those efforts and we headed into Market Deeping for a pint and some lunch arriving back in Corby before the forecast rain and snow did.

Two Little Ducks

 Yesterday was spent catching up with old work mates and I didn't venture out into the wilds of the county. Today was a different matter however and I popped over to Thrapston in the company of Mr Shorrock for a bit of parasite birding. Both Ring-necked Duck and American Wigeon are still showing on a regular basis here and I wanted to join the growing numbers of birders who've paid them a call recently.

Snoozing Scaup and Ring-necked Duck

It was a cold morning and parts of Thrapston's Town Lake were frozen but a tip off from another birder put Shozzer and I on the right track. From the path that runs past the sea cadet's building we managed to find both of the reported Scaup, a drake and a duck, and the former at least gave us some decent views. Not too far from the drake Scaup was the Ring-necked Duck and he gave us some good views as he fed in the company of some Tufted Ducks. We watched him on and off for about half an hour before moving on.

American Wigeon

On our way to where the Wigeon had been reported from we passed the Elinor trout lake where a large gaggle of geese were grazing. We checked them thoroughly but did not manage to find anything interesting among them. Some up to date info put us on to the American Wigeon and we were once gain treated to good views of him even though he was often distant.. Eventually after we had had our fill of the Wigeon we headed back to Corby though not before taking a diversion to the Dukes in Woodford for a pint of good beer.

Another view of today's star turns

Here We Go Again

 Birders up and down the country will have been out in force today working on their brand new year lists, I don't bother myself but I still like to get out and see what's about. In Northants at least it turned out to be mainly bright though a westerly breeze helped to keep temperatures down. Not for the first time I joined up with Alan and we began our day and year with a trip to Blatherwycke.

Peregrines and Pheasant

Sadly for us things were very quiet here, very few geese were on view and there was no sign of the Black-necked Grebe. We decided to cut our losses and head over to Eyebrook, Thrapston was considered but I thought it might be busy with county listers and so we left it for another day. On the way to Eyebrook we called in on our local Peregrines and were delighted to find the pair at one of their favourite spots.

White-fronted Geese

From Stoke Dry car park we had distant views of the White-fronted Geese which had been reported earlier. A small gaggle of thirteen were feeding with Greylags in a field next to Hollyoaks Lane. Also on view were a drake and redhead Smew though the light was not optimum and they were distant too. Having decided that staring into the westerly breeze was someway removed from being fun we moved on to the bridge where several Siskins were noted. A short trip to the inflow viewing bunker provided sightings of a male Stonechat and also about one hundred Golden Plovers. The White-fronted Geese left their field and flew down on to the reservoir giving me some good views as I wandered past. From the gate at Hollyoaks we saw seven Smew which included five adult and one immature drake as well as a redhead. South of the island at least six Scaup and one Red Crested Pochard were seen feeding close to the dam, not the best views but nice to see nonetheless. Our final act of the day was to head to the Samuel Lloyd and raise a toast to the New Year.

Adult drake and redhead Smew

On a different note it seems as if one unfortunate birder had their car broken into at the Aldwinckle car park and lost some expensive gear as a result of the crime. It's always best not to leave expensive stuff in the motor just in case opportunistic scumbags are on the prowl, it's a mercifully rare occurrence but devastating for any victims. Don't buy any gear when the price seems too good to be true as the price paid by victims of theft is often higher than that of money alone.

Immature drake Smew

That Damn Fine Yankee

 Yesterday Nick Parker found a drake American Wigeon at his regular patch of Titchmarsh LNR prompting quite a county twitch. I've not seen one in the county for over forty years and this coupled with my Eyebrook dip a few weeks ago gave me reason enough to pop over this morning with the hope of catching up with it.

My best efforts - sorry!

Alan Shorrock and I arrived in grey and rather dank conditions and squelched our way along the muddy path towards Peter Scott Hide. Another birder was already present and had seen the bird but it had since been lost to view. I opted to head towards the screen and try my luck from there and though it took a while finally managed to see the bird. He kept drifting in and out of view though more arriving birders got the occasional glimpse as he fed with other ducks on the water. Alan chose to move to North Hide while I stayed put at the screen. More brief sightings ensued but then Shozz called to say that the bird was showing distantly but consistently from where he was. I walked around and it was just as Al had claimed, distant but in view for most of the time. While Alan decided to stay on and have lunch I went back to the screen. After a relatively brief wait the bird appeared again and I grabbed some rubbish record shots. By now time was pressing and with stuff to do at both home and at the shops I had to leave. Alan managed to see the Sanderling from North Hide but I missed this and also the drake Ring-necked Duck which was found a little later on. If I can face slopping through the mud again I may come back for another visit.

Clearly I have no shame - another feeble effort.

Glossy No Show

 This morning I decided to head over to Wellingborough and have a look at the long staying Glossy Ibises which have been spending a lot of time feeding in a wet field close to the Embankment. Frost covered pavements sparkled in the streetlights as I made my way to the bus stop which is close to the train station. A pink blush on the horizon hinted at the dawn to come and Robins and Great Tits serenaded me as I waited for my bus. An unusually punctual X4 trundled off into the last vestiges of the waning night and brought me to Wellingborough a little over an hour later.

Egyptian Geese and Great White Egret

Sadly the frost which had beguiled me on my way to the station had frozen the puddles and pools in the ibises favourite field with the result that they did not put in an appearance, seemingly they spent the day in the Summer Leys area. Despite the dip I decided to make the most of things and headed off along the Nene towards Ditchford. There was a Great White Egret at Chester House Lake and others were scattered around Ditchford. A brownhead Goosander flew from the lake and headed towards the Nene, I saw it later on the stretch close to the footbridge near Chester House itself. Beyond the viaduct a cream-crowned Marsh Harrier was the highlight, I could find little else of note. On my way back into town I heard and then saw a Raven while a further pair of Goosanders were noted flying along the Nene. After a quick drink in the local 'spoons I caught my bus home  which once again defied its reputation by being on time.

Goosander and Marsh Harrier

Boxing Day At Blatherwycke

 Boxing Day dawned bright and sunny and with Christmas calories to work off I knew that I had to get out. I decided to join up with Shozzer and pay a call on Blatherwycke Lake, the lure of seeing the Black-necked Grebe in better light and the chance of catching up with the reported dozen White-fronted Geese from Christmas Eve being reason enough.

Black-necked Grebe

On the way we stopped off at Deene Lake to check whether any decent geese might be hanging around, the county has enjoyed an influx of White-fronts and several Tundra Beans in the last couple of days. A large flock of Greylags near the monument were thoroughly checked without result and we moved on to give the lake itself the once over. Seven Shelduck have arrived and numbers will probably build over the winter. Other duck numbers have risen too and ten plus Shoveller were the pick of the wild birds, two Black Swans also being present. Brief views of a Kingfisher and a singing Cetti's Warbler, only my second site record, were the pick of the others though we did hear Siskins too. Relatively content with our haul we chose to move on to Blatherwycke Lake.

White-fronted Geese

Having arrived we decided to walk past the church and continue on the public footpath towards the lake. From the south eastern corner I managed to pick out several White-fronted Geese among the Greylag hordes and between us we counted twelve. It took a while but patience and quite a lot of scope squinting finally produced views of the Black-necked Grebe which came fairly close at times and I enjoyed seeing it in much better light conditions. Eventually the grebe drifted off towards the dam and I decided to have another look at the geese. A scan along the shoreline produced a sighting of a Tundra Bean Goose on the water's edge. I alerted Alan  and we had some good if distant views of this very scarce visitor before it swam off in the company of two Greylags and was lost to view. Mr Shorrock alerted the wider birding community and we headed back to the car.

Distant Tundra Bean Goose...

Our plan was to check the lake from the King's Cliffe road and hopefully re-find the Tundra. Phil Rogers and Cheryl joined us and we found an additional two White-fronted Geese grazing on the bank near Home Farm and also a drake Goosander on the lake. We continued our walk along the road continually stopping to check any geese and our efforts did eventually pay dividends. The Tundra showed on the bank next to where the the channel between the east and west sides of the lake opens and gave some good views. We watched it for a while before moving on and had a further though more distant sighting of the Black-necked Grebe. Such a day of course requires celebration and the good people at the Samuel Lloyd were only too happy to help us out!

...slightly closer Tundra Bean Goose!