I Don't Hate Mondays

 Apologies to the Boomtown Rats but this was one Monday that did not suck at all! I was glad that no one was sitting opposite me when I was checking the local bird news during my break at work as otherwise they would have had to endure a salad shower. Pictures and reports of an American Pipit at Clifford Hill found by many a county birder's new best friend Tyler Atkinson had me swearing and choking at the same time. An overwhelming sense of FOMO gripped me and my mind raced trying to think of ways that would allow me to connect with this county first. I abandoned my lunch and went to talk to the boss explaining that an ornithological emergency had occurred which required my immediate attention. Miraculously my boss, clearly an intelligent and accommodating sort, agreed to let me leave early which meant that I now needed to find a lift.

American Pipit

Phil Rogers was almost as keen I was to see the bird and after suffering a double whammy of disappointment at the hands of both the NHS and Stagecoach earlier in the day arrived to pick me up just after four. Rush hour traffic, particularly in Northampton itself, had this decidedly atheist birder offering up silent prayers to the birding gods. We arrived at Clifford Hill as the sky was beginning to turn pink on the western horizon and I marched towards a small crowd of birders gathered on the southern shore. Sheep scattered as I strolled purposefully towards the group, rather shame facedly I'd left Phil in my wake. When I got to the spot several helpful birders put me on to the bird which fed pretty close to where the birders were gathered. Good views were had and I even managed to get a few pics. Phil arrived and also got decent views before the pipit departed westwards possibly off to roost.

More pipit shots.

The walk back to the car was somewhat more relaxed, it's always nicer when the bird is in the bag. This was my second sighting of this species in my lifetime though my previous bird was then called a Buff-bellied Pipit when I saw it way back in 1988 on the Isles of Scilly. I don't think that Orange Donny forced the name change, it was probably a taxonomic shift that prompted it. I know some local birders had been hoping for a good yankee migrant this autumn but I feel that people were expecting it to be a wader and certainly not a passerine. We left as the dusk descended and picked up Cheryl on our way through Corby before heading to the spoons where a meal and celebratory pint were enjoyed.

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.