Pintails And Peregrines

After yesterday's excellent day it was always going to be something of a struggle to match it and I decided not to bother. Today's travels took me only as far as Oundle where I took in Barnwell CP as well as a walk along the Nene. The first day of meteorological spring delivered a pleasantly mild and sometimes sunny morning, I managed to avoid the rain.

Pintails

Barnwell was a bit quiet with just a singing Chiffchaff and a Siskin to report. Close by at the South Bridge a female Mandarin was present on the floods which covered an adjacent field while a Redpoll flew over. I tried to walk along the river but floodwater halted my progress and I was unable to reach the A605 floods. Plan B took me back into town and I did eventually manage to get to a spot which overlooked the flooded area. About forty Pintail were mixed in with the more usual dabblers and this is by some margin the largest number of this elegant duck that I've seen in the county so far. Aside from the numerous Wigeon and Shovellers there were lesser numbers of Teal and Mallards as well as two Great White Egrets.

Wigeon and Shovellers

A little later on I paid a visit to the local Peregrines where the female was present and showing reasonably well. I watched her for a while before she was joined by the male who made the briefest of visits before heading off again. The female departed soon after and I followed her example by heading to the bus stop where a tardy X4 eventually arrived to take me home.

Peregrine

That Will Take Some Beating!

 Although today's weather was far from ideal at times it's fair to say that the birding more than made up for any unpleasantness. Alan and I decided to begin our day at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead where several good birds have appeared over the last week or so. Pick of the bunch was a Red-necked Grebe which was first found last weekend but had the decency to stay until today at least.

Red-necked Grebe

We arrived in rather moist conditions but our waterproofs proved up to the task as we made our way towards the boardwalk from where the grebe has been seen most often. True to form the bird showed well and we watched it for some time while waiting for the rain to ease and when it did I managed to get off a few record shots of my first in the county for several years. A check of the rest of the lake produced distant views of the reported Ring-necked Duck, we had better views later on from the bank closest to the car park. Other birds seen in the general area included a drake Goosander while I heard my first singing Chiffchaff of the year too.

Ring-necked Duck, Bean and White-fronted Geese

Next stop on our Nene Valley tour was at Denford or rather a lay by just out of the village on the Thrapston road. A flock of White-fronted Geese in company with a Tundra Bean have been showing here for some days now and we were keen to catch up with them. Fortune favoured us and the birds showed fairly well as they fed in a flooded field close to the river. From here we moved on to Summer Leys where the Glossy Ibis showed very well from the screen hide and provided the perfect end to what had been a very good day. A celebratory pint followed in the Coach and Horses in Wellingborough before we set off for Corby and home.

Glossy Ibis

Spring's On The Way

 A pleasantly mild and sunny morning which had a distinctly springlike feel to it that tempted me into risking the vagaries of the Stagecoach timetable and popping along to Wellingborough. My riverside stroll took me along the Nene as far as Chester House Lake and if the birding didn't deliver much of note at least I enjoyed the exercise.

Reed Bunting.

I knew the Glossy Ibis was favouring Summer Leys but hoped that the Cattle Egret might put in one of its occasional appearances to the area - it didn't! Reed Buntings were in good voice as I walked along the Embankment and were joined by at least one Cetti's Warbler. A male Stonechat showed briefly before disappearing from view, I didn't see anymore on my travels. In fact very little else of note was recorded apart from the regular Great White Egret and I made my way back into town where I caught the bus back to Corby.

American Wigeon...Eventually!

 Alan Shorrock and I were planning to pop over to Ravensthorpe Res to see the Slav Grebe and Red-throated Diver but the former didn't seem to hang around and the latter was seen flying off early this morning. We were then left to decide between the Clifford Hill Lesser Scaup and the Eyebrook American Wigeon, after some deliberation we chose to try for the wigeon. Unusually for recent excursions it stayed dry for the most part and the sun even put in an appearance or two making for a much pleasanter experience.

Scaup and Smew

An early report confirmed that the wigeon was still present but it managed to defy the combined efforts of both Shozzer, I and other hopefuls to find it. At least six Smew and eleven Scaup did show and while they were distant at first we did get closer views of both a little later on. The inflow provided sightings of the now long staying immature Whooper Swan and also the trio of Pink-footed Geese as well as a pair of Pintail.  We then had another look for the wigeon but eventually decided that it was going to elude us and headed for the 'spoons instead.

Whooper Swan and Pink-footed Geese

We were sitting in the pub and enjoying a beer when news came through that the American Wigeon had been found north of the island. Pints were duly sunk and a hasty return took us back to the res where we managed to catch up with the exotic American visitor. By now the light was failing but the wigeon showed well enough, several duff record shots were taken before the arrival of the rain. Having had more than enough of the wet stuff recently we waved the white flag at this point and headed back to Corby content with our day's haul.

American Wigeon record shots.

Rain Again

Yesterday while I was at work there was sunshine and blue skies, fast forward twenty four hours and today I awoke to yet more rain on my day off. Hoping that the weather would not be as dire as the forecast suggested I blagged a lift over to Blatherwycke where the conditions were if anything actually worse! Unlike on Friday there were no good birds to lift the mood and I spent several hours wandering around with nothing but a Great White Egret to show for my efforts. The rain turned to sleet and at this point I decided that it was not going to be my day and headed home. No photos as my camera stayed dry in my bag, I wish that I'd stayed in the dry too!

Monsoon Madness

 I'm having to do one of my contractual back shifts this week which always entails me having to work the Saturday too. Something to offset the awfulness of this however comes in the shape of a lieu day which happily for me fell today. News of a Red-throated Diver at Ravensthorpe Reservoir earlier in the week had me offering silent prayers up to the birding gods and luckily those pleas seem to have been heard as the bird was still present yesterday evening. I managed to convince Alan that seeing the diver would be a jolly fine thing and we found ourselves heading over there this morning.

Stonechat and Ring-necked Duck

When I was praying to those birding gods I should perhaps have copied the weather gods in too as conditions were far from ideal when we arrived at the closed off car park next to the causeway. With a steady rain falling we scanned the res from the area without positive result and took the path towards the dam. Squelching our way along the path turned quagmire we stopped at regular intervals to look for the diver but with no result. A look from one side of the dam did finally deliver the goods and we had some distant but pretty good views before it disappeared from view. From halfway along the dam the diver reappeared momentarily before once again becoming invisible. More prolonged views of the bird bathing and preening came from the scant shelter offered by a Yew tree next to the fishing lodge though the weather remained too foul to risk my camera in. About forty-five minutes later we opted to throw in the soggy towel and head back towards the car.

Red-necked Wallaby and Great Northern Diver

The return walk/wade produced further distant views of the diver as it moved around the res presumably making serious inroads into the local crayfish population. At no point did the rain stop so photos were very much out of the question but just seeing my first Red-throat in the county was enough to justify our visit. We decided to resist the urge to pop in on the Common Scoters at neighbouring Hollowell in the belief that lunch in the 'spoons might better serve our immediate needs. My next day off is on Sunday which is looking like yet another brolly day so whether I choose birding or pub is yet to be confirmed. Today's pics come from a previous outing.

Glossy Ibis

Red-necked And Pink-feet

 I didn't bother going out yesterday, there were things to do and some ex work mates to catch up with, but today I joined Alan in taking a trip over to Rutland Water. Our main target was a Red-necked Grebe which has recently been reported from the south shore near the dam. The weather forecast was promising in that it looked as if it might stay dry and it was pretty mild too..

Red-necked Grebe

With little or no wind the surface of the reservoir was calm and this coupled with some up to date info from another birder meant that finding the grebe was quite straightforward. We and a trickle of other birders had reasonable views of it feeding some way off the shore and I managed to get a couple of record shots. Other birds seen or heard in the general area included Curlew, Oystercatcher and Raven though sadly it looks as if the Great Northern Diver(s) has departed. After a while we opted to move on and head towards Eyebrook.

Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swan

The first birds of note here were a trio of Pink-footed Geese which were initially on the res but later flew up into a field on the northern side. At the inflow the long staying immature Whooper Swan was noted as it fed in the stream. From the gate near Hollyoaks I had distant views of four Smew off the plantation shore, two adult and one immature drake and a redhead, just north of the island another redhead was feeding and she was much closer. A check from the island viewing bunker did not produce any sightings of Scaup though I did find a pair of Pintails. I had a lunch date at the George in Weldon with my wife so couldn't hang around and we left a little after one.

Smews