A Little Taste of Spring

I'm currently half way through a week off that I gave myself as a birthday present but don't worry, my wife and I are heading over to Bratislava so you won't have anything else from me for a bit. Today I went over to Wicksteed Park and enjoyed a walk in the oh so dreary dull and grey conditions that are becoming so familiar.

This Carrion Crow has found itself a handy perch.

If you're a frequent visitor to the park or have read any of my posts you will have a good idea what to expect, The main lake had its usual collection of birds which included a few of the larger gulls, mainly Herring but at least one immature Great Black too. A good sized flock of Tufted Ducks were present and a couple of Great Crested Grebes were bobbing around with them. The fishing lake was fairly busy with a decent total of seventeen Pochards feeding with more Tufties. About ten Shovellers were feeding too along with examples of Gadwall, Mallards and Teal. It looked as if just a whiff of Spring was in the air as the drakes were starting to get tetchy with each other, the Shovellers in particular seemed feisty.

Herring Gulls

A walk around the Arboretum produced sightings of Jay, Goldcrests and several Mistle Thrushes, with at least one of the latter singing. The most interesting thing here was a group of Little Egrets feeding in a field, four at first but the numbers rose to an impressive total of ten. They looked as if they were feeding on worms and other invertebrates, behaviour I associate more with Cattle Egrets. Rest assured that I checked every one of them just to be sure but they were all Littles. I think that this is the highest total that I've seen feeding together in the county, not bad for late January.

Two of ten Little Egrets and a pair of Gadwall.

Not a great deal else to add, a Grey Wagtail was seen nest to the boating pond and further hints of Spring came with some blossom out in the Arboretum and both Daffodils and Snowdrops in bloom in Kettering.

Cherry Blossom and King Arthur.