First Frost

A crisp and bright morning saw me hopping on to the trusty X4 over to Oundle for a walk along the river. The first frost had turned the grass white in patches and it positively sparkled in the sunshine. Morning mist clung low to the surface of the river like dry ice and conditions were beautifully clear.

Top, a little known form, the Cattle Mallard and a sudberg.

While I set out with a vague hope of seeing Otters I had to be content with altogether less exciting fare. Only the usual water birds could be found with a Kingfisher being the best and several Herons. Some sort of spill had occurred around Ashton lock and little floating islands of soapy like suds resembling mini icebergs were drifting down river. I hope that whatever caused this does not cause any damage to the delicate ecosystem.

Mute Swan.

While water birds were somewhat lacking there was some passerine activity to enjoy. Around Ashton Mill a flock of Fieldfares, the first of several, passed noisily over and I also saw some Redwings during the day. Both Bullfinches and Goldfinches almost gleamed in the bright conditions and there were a few mixed flocks of tits feeding in riverside vegetation. A little closer to Oundle a Redpoll flew over, there were a few little groups of Siskins passing too. Other birds on the move included Starlings, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits.

Well it wasn't that exciting.

Barnwell CP was busy, I thought it was half term last week but the battalions of squealing sprogs suggested otherwise. Despite this there was some stuff to enjoy, two Wigeon on Mill Lake were unusual and a couple of Tufted Duck were also noted. Five Mandarins were in their favoured spot and as usual they were well concealed in a mass of twigs and leaf litter.

Some of the birds seen from Lowlands Hide.

The feeders at Lowlands Hide were doing a roaring trade with a good variety of species visiting. On occasion the birds would flush as dog walkers passed. I wonder if dog walking makes you deaf as many seem to converse at louder than normal volumes, the kiddies were quiet by comparison! A trio of ravenous squirrels took over the feeders so I retreated and grabbed a couple of pints of Hobgoblin in town before catching the bus home.

Barnwell looking nice in the sunshine.

Only one insect of note seen during the day and that was a Red Admiral in Oundle town centre.

Whooping for Joy

With British Summertime now over I blagged a lift over to Blatherwycke Lake for the first time in ages with a view to walking back to the village here in Corby. Last time I was here in the Spring an Osprey surprised me, passing as it did before my gear had left the bag. Today it was the turn of seven Whooper Swans, four adults and three immatures which took off and headed SE, but at least I had my bins to hand if not my camera. I think that these may be my first self found Whoops in Northants for longer than I care to remember so they went down very well indeed.

Blatherwycke Lake, home of the Mandarins.

Swans aside there was a reasonable selection of the usual wildfowl which included at least half a dozen Mandarins, this is the go to site for this species in Northants. Up to four Little Egrets were in the general area and these included two that really seemed to hate each other as both went to great lengths to have a fight. Three Black Swans were swimming amongst the many Mutes, there always seems to be Blacks in this area and on the subject of dodgy wildfowl one of the Chinese Geese was honking very loudly.

Weird and wonderful.

When I'm in this neck of the woods I always like to have a peek over the fence of a property which has a varying collection of exotic fauna. On this occasion I could only see one Red-necked Wallaby and no Rheas, I hope that the animals have been sold on and have not expired but please under no circumstances mention the prospect of dierhea. What was a surprise here though was at least two Capybaras, they look like furry Pygmy Hippos! This place always adds a much needed injection of weird into my day and long may it continue.  I'm not given to counting stuff as a rule but a flock of forty one Collared Doves in the village was noteworthy.

Two of three Whoopers near Bulwick.

Walking on towards Bulwick I was saddened to find my first Hedgehog of the year, a fresh road casualty, it's sad when you consider how rare they've become. This and several equally dead rabbits may help to explain the number of kites in the area, at least fifty between Blatherwycke and Deene with rather a lot of Buzzards keeping them company. Approaching Bulwick I saw three swans flying towards me, I thought that they may be Mutes commuting between Deene and Blatherwycke lakes but a sudden bout of calling revealed them to be more Whoopers. Dodgy record shots taken as they headed in a similar direction to the previous birds. On the outskirts of the village a trio of Fieldfares were my first of the Autumn.

G'day cobber.

A Redpoll passed over as I reached Deene Lake while on the main water a selection of the commoner ducks included Shoveller. The two Egyptian Geese from my previous visit were still here and so too were the Black Swans, I don't know if this little part of Northants resembles Australia but they seem to like it here. The inflow had two Green Sands and a Snipe at the WBT where a Grey Wagtail was also seen. Plenty of Teal in the area but despite much checking no Green-wingeds.

WBT waders, Green Sand and Snipe.

Deenethorpe village had Siskins mixed in with the Goldfinches but I didn't hang around long here. The nearby airfield was alive with many of the open country species that seem so much scarcer than they used to be. Plenty of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits were joined by Yellowhammers and Linnets. A female Stonechat was again present, she seems to be fond of a bramble from which to sally forth in search of bugs. Another Redpoll passed over and a couple of Lapwings were observed.

Shaggy Ink Cap fungus and Stonechat.

The public footpath that runs from the A427 to Bears Lane yielded more Lapwings, at least fifty, which were feeding with a large flock of Starlings. Plenty of gulls, the five commoner species were found in the area, I searched through them but couldn't find a Med. Sheltered spots along the hedgerows proved to be attractive to Common Darters, at least five were active. Strange to have Whooper Swans and dragonflies in the same post but that's nature for you. A quick look in Laundimer Wood produced more Siskins but little else.

Yes I know I've included them a lot recently but it could be ages before we see any more Admirals or Darters.

I finished my day in the Weldon area where six or seven Red Admirals were seen which included at least three feeding on the fast disappearing Ivy flowers. A hawker sp was glimpsed and was likely to have been a Migrant but I can't be sure, either way it had been a jolly good day.

Not Bad for October

The weather as the title suggests really was pretty decent for the time of year with lots of sunshine and cracking blue skies. Couldn't resist the chance to have a quick look at the pond near Eurohub on the way to buy some essentials (beer mostly) in Tesco.

Common Darters.

More Siskins passing overhead which hints that this winter will be much better for them than last. Buzzards seem to be active at the moment too, I don't know if it's wandering immatures looking for a territory or perhaps there's some migration going on. Away from birds at least half a dozen darters were active around the pond, well I say active they were mainly basking, and I'm hoping that I may get some county November records. It would be nice if this weather continued but the forecast seems to say that Sunday is going to be a little on the chilly side.

Demoiselles Bow Out but Darters Dally

I really had to have one more peek at the stream in Weldon just in case any Demoiselles were holding on. Unfortunately, and that despite some prolonged searching, I couldn't find any despite the bright and warm sunshine. So their season ran from May the 7th until October the 15th, a pretty good show when all said and done. I've always enjoyed seeing this species and that I believe stems from my first view of them many years ago at Barnwell CP. It seemed hard to believe at the time that such a gorgeous insect could have escaped my attention up until that moment but rest assured they don't now. Another relative may have some claims to the moniker but I've always thought that this species is beautiful.

Darter Gallery.

Dragons were still represented today with at least ten Common Darters about, many were basking on any suitable surface and posed for photographs. Two Migrant Hawkers were busy feeding and did not settle during the time I was there.

Autumn Colour.

It wasn't all about the dragonflies however as the sun worked its magic on the butterflies too and three species were seen. A brief glimpse of a Small Torty was my first in a while and there were rather a lot of Red Admirals and two Commas on view. At least four of the former in company with one of the latter were feeding on Ivy flowers and showed well. Another patch of Ivy held a Hornet which appeared to be on the look out for something tasty which was likely to have been bad news for any wasps, bees or hoverflies.

Long-tailed Tit.

Not much bird life about, a few Buzzards, a Kite and some Siskins as well as a large and noisy flock of Long-tailed Tits.

Spanish Birding 4 - Not birds at all!

The last little section dealing with my trip to Spain and focussing as the title suggests on non birdy matters. Mammals as is normal were as elusive as ever with only a single Rabbit being seen in the hilly country near the Fuengirola Hippodrome. Malaga Bay, as seen from the Guadahorce reserve, provided several brief views of the only other mammal, several large dolphins with rather tall sickle shaped dorsal fins. My meagre experience of cetaceans leads me to think that they were Bottle-nosed.

European Pond and Stripe-necked Terrapins.

Reptiles too were rather scarce and it was two species of terrapin that provided all of the records. At the Rio Fuengirola (near the large Dunnes store) both European Pond and Stripe-necked were seen while the former was also seen at the Guadahorce reserve. Their habit of hauling themselves out onto banksides or any other sort of suitable site makes them fairly easy to find. Also in the same area of the Rio Fuengirola there were rather a lot of frogs present, possibly Marsh and Pool frogs but my froggy ID skills are rudimentary at best. They were basking on a range of things, from the bloated bodies of rats drowned in the storm, fish corpses or even floating rubbish. On the subject of fishes there were many here which seemed to be struggling to breathe after the storm and unfortunately subsequently many died. I think they may have been Barbel or a similar species but if they're not in a Bird's Eye box I'm useless with fishes.

Barbels?

Marsh and Pool Frogs (?)

When the sun finally decided to shine for the last three and a half days a few dragonflies appeared. At the Rio Fuengirola a few Emperors and Blue-tailed Damsels were active. A large puddle near El Pinillo was attracting many Red-veined Darters which as well as fighting amongst themselves had to contend with a few Common Darters and also what I take to have been Epaulette Skimmers. While all this argy bargy was going on several Migrant Hawkers were sweeping through trying to catch something unawares and grab themselves a meal.

Red-veined and Common Darters, Epaulette Skimmer.

Finally time to mention the butterflies and while the numbers of species were fairly low the quality was high. Least impressive of them all perhaps were the African Grass Blues and Lang's Short-tailed Blues which were fairly common though also rather dull. Small numbers of both Speckled Wood and Wall were recorded and higher numbers of Small Whites. Other whites included an example of a Bath White and several Clouded Yellows while I also saw two female Brimstones. A single Small Copper was as welcome as ever though had to concede bragging rites to a Swallowtail, always an impressive sight. Also welcome were at least three Spanish Festoons, I always thought that they were a Spring species but I have seen them at least once in the Autumn before. Either way they're a cracking species to watch. It's not been a vintage year in the UK for Painted Ladies but at least three were on view here.

Spanish Festoon, Swallowtail, Bath White and Clouded Yellow.

That brings us to the end of my report, if nothing else it may provide some hope for any wildlife watchers finding themselves stuck on the Costa Del Sol, oh and another important point, you can toast any good sightings with any amount of cheap plonk, cheers!

Spanish Birding 3 - Guadahorce

Or to give them their full name Les Desembocaduras de Guadahorce (please excuse my spelling) which is the glorious title for a small but excellent reserve on the western edge of Malaga. I took the train to the station at Plaza Mayor and from there had a bit of a trek to the site.

Cormorant against stormy skies and rubbish picture of White-headed Duck.

Not much to report on the outward journey, it was the night after some dreadful thunderstorms and the light quality was rather gloomy and poor. Birding picked up at the reserve where the expected White-headed Ducks were on view, rather fewer than usual but most could have been out of sight. A small group of Pochards contained a sleeping female Red Crested while amongst the dabblers there was a Pintail joining the more usual Gadwalls, Teals and Shovellers. From here I walked to the Laguna Grande where an adult Greater Flammingo was as elegant as ever. This lake was otherwise rather bird free with a large group of Cormorants the most noteworthy feature amongst the others though patient searching found both Black-winged Stilts and Little Ringed Plover.

Black-winged Stilt and Greater Flamingos.

After this slightly disappointing stop I took a walk down towards the sea hoping for a change of fortune. The first hide with only Coots and Dabchicks showing on the water seemed unlikely to raise spirits but a scan of the background bushes revealed a Booted Eagle. This site is home to a small number of wintering birds so it was a welcome find rather than a surprise one.

Raptor royalty, Booted Eagle and Osprey.

From the next hide a large flock of stilts were dwarfed by a flock of eleven Greater Flamingos feeding. Most of the birds were the less than attractive immatures though there was one adult baby sitting them. A ringing tew tew call announced the arrival of a Greenshank which for once seemed rather short in this company.

Redshank and Ruff.

The tidal creek was host to a good number of waders with Dunlins being the commonest though their numbers were nearly matched by Ringed Plovers. The Ringeds were joined by a few of their Kentish cousins and there were also a small number of Sanderlings, most of which were sleeping, and an adult Little Stint. Singles of both Ruff and Redshank were feeding in the deeper water of the channel and they were joined here by more stilts. A single Osprey was found sitting in some bushes at the back.

Little Stint with Dunlin and Kentish Plovers. 

A quick peek at the sea revealed some Sandwich Terns and also something else but I will leave that for the last section of my report. Having decided it was time to head back for a late lunch with my wife I hiked backed to the train station picking up views of two more Booteds and also a Marsh Harrier on the way.

Little Ringed Plover and another shot of Booted Eagle.