Northants Again

A drizzly start to my Northants wanderings though it stopped soon after I left Upper Benefield. On the fringes of the village Tree Sparrows were seen as they so often are. Walking along towards Deenethorpe there seemed to be rather a lot of activity in the hedgerows with tits and Goldcrests in particular being noted. A few Lapwings were found feeding in the fields and at least one Golden Plover passed over.

Teal.

At the barns near Burn Coppice the largest flock of Fieldfares that I've seen so far this winter were feeding in the company of some Redwings. A group of Yellowhammers and Chaffinches were checked but I couldn't find anything else. I had nice views of a Treecreeper as I walked back towards the road, it's always nice to see this unobtrusive but attractive species.

Move over WBT, it's time for the Snipe Stump.

Lots of Pheasants and partridges were feeding in the general area, I can only think that the shooting season has yet to hit its stride. I'm no fan of Pheasants, I've had too many "Pass the Andrex" moments due to late flushing birds for that but I really don't like the sheer waste involved in rearing so many birds for "sport". It's not even the ones reduced to bloody ruin by a single shot that bothers me so much, no it's the wounded birds that fall unretrieved and left to die a lingering and painful death. Quite how anyone with any regard for animal welfare can endorse this bloody pursuit is beyond my power to comprehend.

Fallow Deer.

Deenethorpe had several Grey Wagtails, the first of several seen during the day while the inflow at Deene Lake had a Green Sandpiper. Members of the thriving Deene birding scene know only too well that the Wheelie Bin Triangle exerts an almost magnetic attraction for Snipe but perhaps things are about to change. True the WBT did have three Snipe snoozing close by but the Snipe Stump had the grand total of seven sitting on or around it. This is where all of the previous Snipe this Autumn and even the Jack Snipe were recorded so clearly this bit has some appeal too. Plenty of Teal were feeding here too while the WBT redeemed itself somewhat with a Kingfisher hunting in the area.

Red Kite looking suitably Autumnal.

In a field across the road from the church a Fallow Deer showed well, I don't think that I've seen one here before.The main lake had little to report though the churchyard held a lot of thrushes including a few Mistles. One of these was also heard singing on my return walk through Deenethorpe village. At the nearby airfield there was the usual selection of birdlife though the Stonechat eluded me. Lots of kites and buzzards on the wing here and also three Kestrels.

Kestrel.

Bears Lane had rather a large flock of finches and buntings feeding close to the A427 and a close inspection of them revealed at least one Brambling among them. No pictures, even ones of hazy Twite quality but hopefully it may hang around.

Apache over Weldon.

For anyone sick of looking at pictures of Common Darters I have some good news, despite some fairly intense searching in sheltered and sunny spots I couldn't find any. I can't write off this species totally as they can last into December but it's not looking good with cold conditions forecast for the days ahead.