Whoopers On The Move

 I spent the morning of my one day weekend wandering around the Blatherwycke Lake area having blagged a lift there with my step son. My session began at the eastern end of the lake from a gateway on the King's Cliffe road. Little of interest was seen on this  part of the lake and I made my way towards the village. A Snipe called as it flew overhead and there was a small selection of wildfowl on view as I continued on my way.

Whooper Swans

Progress was brought to a halt by the sound of Whooper Swans calling, nine spiralled down on to the lake and began to feed and drink. Minutes later another group of nine arrived and joined the others as I attempted to get some pictures. A further count several minutes later revealed twenty birds in total which was my largest flock in the county to date. Sixteen adults and four immatures were involved and they became increasingly restless until they left and flew eastwards calling as they went. A memorable encounter with one of my favourite birds.

Grey Wag, Black Swan and nesting Coot

Once the swans had departed there was not much else to report, a Grey Wagtail and Black Swan were at the bridge and several Siskins and a  Raven were heard near the church. The Merlin app suggested that several cracking quackers may have been lurking in the neighbourhood but you can't always put too much faith into technology!

Merlin mythology!

Pitstop

 I can barely believe it but my back shift week has arrived with indecent haste which means that I get a lieu day off instead of Saturday. Today was that day and I joined forces with Alan for a trip over to Pitsford. Our main target was the Slavonian Grebe which has been present for a few days, the American or as I prefer to call it South Canadian Wigeon  being a hoped for bonus.

Dunlins and Ringed Plover

In unseasonably warm weather we arrived at the reservoir and parked along the old road a little to the west of the causeway. There are plenty of ducks north of the causeway and we spent some time sifting through in search of the wigeon. I found a drake that looked like a promising candidate, it was a drab looking specimen which suggested a drake coming out of eclipse but the views were distant and brief and the birds all flew before I could get any kind of confirmation. Another birder then gave us up to date gen on the Slavonian and we set off to look for it in Holcot Bay .

Dreadful Slav record shot and GWE

On our way we saw two Dunlins and an immature Ringed Plover on the western bank just north of the causeway, Alan had earlier found a Green Sandpiper in Scaldwell Bay. Plenty of Great White Egrets were found north of the causeway, it's hard to believe how rare this bird used to be in even relatively recent times. Shozzer picked out the grebe and we enjoyed some distant views for the next hour or so, the grebe spent much of its time underwater. Some truly dreadful record shots were attempted with Al's proving to be slightly less offemive than mine! Having decided to call it quits we headed back towards Corby, a stop at the Royal Oak in Walgrave providing some much needed refreshment.

Spitfire and Alan's attempt at a Slav record pic.

The Call Of The Wild

 My brief period of liberty is almost over and I'm now facing the prospect of returning to the banal world of my day to day work life. Before that unpleasantness ensues however I took the chance to join up with Shozzer and make the short cross border hop to Eyebrook. The weather was glorious with blue skies and plenty of sunshine with just the hint of a breeze blowing in from the west.

Lapwing, Snipe and Dunlin

We began at the car park where we scanned the shoreline in search of waders or Rock Pipits but neither obliged. A short trip took us to the sharp end where things picked up to quite a significant degree. An impressive total of at least thirty Snipes were noted and up to nine Dunlin were seen too. Best wader was a Spotted Redshank which gave some great views as it fed in the shallows on the Leics bank. A Black-tailed Godwit and four Ringed Plovers were also present as well as a flock of Lapwings. Our next stop was at the fence on the Leicestershire side where we had even better views of the Spotshank but not a great deal else.

Spotted Redshank

Further travels around the res took us to Hollyoaks from where a total of five drake and four duck Red crested Pochards were distantly noted feeding off the plantation shore.  Little of any interest aside from ten plus Pintails were seen from either the island or from Sam's Dyke and we opted to return to the inflow. A male Stonechat was new for the day while Ravens continued to soundtrack our visit, we heard at least two pairs calling throughout our stay. As we were preparing to leave a familiar and welcome call alerted us to the arrival of eight Whooper Swans. In the bright October sunshine they all looked to be adults as they landed between the tern rafts and Stoke Dry. Further investigation revealed that there were four immatures as well as four adults, my first migrant Whoopers of the autumn. Time was by now pressing on and we packed up the gear and headed backed to Corby by way of the spoons.

Whooper Swans

A New Face At Wicksteed

 A very nice October morning saw me reacquainting myself with my erratic friend the X4 for a journey over to Wicksteed Park. The bus was fairly punctual and I managed to arrive there before the Saturday park run had begun. Not a great day by any means but as nice a way of spending Saturday morning as anything else I could think of.

Grey Heron and Great Black-backed Gull

I started at the water meadows where I checked the small herd of cattle in case they had one of their name sake egrets with them - they didn't. Crossing back into the park and I heard a Redwing flying over, I heard another this afternoon over my garden and it seems as if this species is now arriving in decent numbers. A Grey Wagtail also overflew me as I saw the horde of runners assembling ready to start the run. Wishing to avoid the throng I headed into the arboretum where a calling Raven was my first record for the site. I managed to track it down to the top of a poplar tree where it was facing off to two Carrion Crows, all three corvids flew before I could get a photo. A little later on I saw the first of two Common Darters which were the only insects that I saw on my wander.

Cormorant and Peregrine

The fishing lake was quiet apart from a Cetti's Warbler and several Chiffchaffs while the smell of bacon that one of the anglers was cooking set my stomach to rumbling. A reasonable selection of the commoner gulls were on view at the main lake though wildfowl numbers seemed low. I then headed off into town in search of some brekkie but diverted a little to look at the Ketrin Peregrines. An immature female was sheltering from the breeze and showed rather well, I enjoyed seeing her almost as much as I enjoyed eating two bacon butties in the 'spoons!

Shozzer's picture of one of yesterday's Rock Pipits

The Rocky Horrid Picture Show

 I teamed up with Alan Shorrock again this morning for a trip to the dam area at Rutland Water. While it was much drier than the weather forecast had suggested it was going to be the westerly breeze was strong and slightly uncomfortable. Our targets were Rock Pipits, they seem to have been moving through locally and the shore close to the dam here has been productive in the past. Braving the school traffic we managed to get to the res just before nine.

Rock Pipits - Honestly!

Rather surprisingly I managed to find a Rock Pipit within minutes of arrival, it's not often that my plans bear any fruit and I was smugly happy with the result. The bird disappeared soon after its discovery but we soon refound it and then realised that it had another for company. Both birds were watched for several minutes but disappeared from sight soon after, a bank angler may have hastened their departure. Due to a combination of distance and light my pictures were frightful but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to share them with you - sorry! We spent a lot of time trying to get further views but our efforts came to naught. Little else of note was seen, a small flock of Redwings flew over and a few Goosanders showed but overall it was pretty poor.

Goosander and Tufted Duck

A diversion to one of our favourite haunts, the Cross Key's in King's Cliffe, then followed where I enjoyed a couple of pints while Shozzer had his usual one. We stopped at Blatherwycke on the way back to Corby but did not find anything interesting.

Feeling Chilly

 I have three days off  though yesterday's travels took me no further than the pub, I didn't fancy squelching about in the rain. Today was a different matter with plenty of sunshine and clear blue skies though a brisk north westerly wind meant that it was the coldest day for many months. I wanted to see if any wildfowl might be on the move, Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans were my main targets.  My plan was to visit the north facing ridge that overlooks the Welland Valley a little to the west of Gretton and look from there.

Peregrine and Pheasant

Whilst hanging out the washing a Redwing, my first of the autumn, flew over my garden in Corby Old Village. On my way to Brookfield I stopped at the Peregrine site and managed to see one bird sheltering from the breeze. Things were quiet in the plantation, a small number of Siskins and a Grey Wagtail were the best birds while several Fallow Deer were also noted.  The large field between the wood and the Gretton road held an inquisitive herd of bullocks which followed my every move and I wasted no time in getting away from them.

Fallow Deer and Great Spotted Woodpecker

From the ridge I failed to see any migrating geese or swans but did get small numbers of Skylarks, Siskins, Chaffinches and Mipits heading south while Red Kites were hanging in the wind. My walk along the valley towards Rockingham was unproductive while my journey through the village reminded me of just how steep that blessed hill is! A pint in the spoons helped revive me and fortified me for the long stroll home.

Cetti's Double

 A lovely morning with plenty of autumnal sunshine saw me scrounge a lift over to Deene from my stepson. From there I took the familiar route home via Deenethorpe, Deenethorpe Airfield and Weldon. While it's true that I didn't see a great deal of interest I still enjoyed my ramble though I'm struggling to believe that it's October already!

Red Admiral and Black Swan cygnet.

A Cetti's Warbler was singing at the brook as I made my way towards the lake itself, this species appears to be establishing itself in the area. In the churchyard birds included Nuthatch while the most interesting insect was a Red Admiral nectaring on Ivy flowers. On the lake I saw the seemingly single Black Swan parent with its two cygnets and also another pair of adults. Brief views were had of a Kingfisher as it perched along one of the streams near the outflow but it didn't hang around and shot off for pastures new before I could get a picture. Another Cetti's was at the inflow where several Siskins were also heard. Most interesting insect here was a female Migrant Hawker that hung up in front of me, her tattered wings suggested that she had already led a full life.

Migrant Hawker and Stonechat

At Deenethorpe village another Red Admiral was noted but I couldn't find any odes along the Willowbrook. The nearby airfield hosted a female Stonechat and plenty of Meadow Pipits but they were the pick of the birds. Insects included at least three Speckled Woods, a Small Heath and a Small Copper while there were several Common Darters too. My stroll along the A427 towards Weldon did not produce much of note and it wasn't long before I caught my bus home.

Speckled Wood and Common Darter.