That Wasn't Very Good

A bit of a stinker today with lots of miles walked but very little to show for it, it's getting to that point where Spring can't come soon enough. I began by walking to East Carlton Park and continuing on through the pretty little village of Pipewell before arriving back at Corby.

The walk through the town produced lots of bird sounds with Dunnock song in particular becoming more and more obvious. Green Woodpecker calls were heard from three different spots in the town and it seems as if we retain a decent population of Song Thrushes. My first wild Spring flowers of the year in the form of some Lesser Celandines were found on the verge of Cottingham Road. Leaving the town produced a selection of the commoner rural species but misty conditions made for difficult viewing. A singing Yellowhammer was nice as they don't seem to be that common around this area but I can't recall anything else of note.

St Mary's church, Pipewell.

East Carlton did not come up with the Hawfinch goods despite my checking around the hall and the Yews behind the visitor centre, I didn't linger here though because of the number of pooches running around. From here I headed along the lane towards Pipewell, it's been a couple of years since I last walked along here and to be honest it may be a few more years before I do it again! With a variety of rubbish lining the road verges, the odd bit of fly tipping to admire and the occasional dead Fox or Badger it was a far from pleasant experience. In the village itself I paused to gawp at the tiny St Mary's church, it must be one of the smallest ones in the county.

Pochard and Coot.

On the walk back towards Corby I caught a whiff of the Rushton tip but I did not fancy extending my walk to look for scarce gulls and instead walked as fast as I could to avoid any more of the speeding motors. I used to believe the national speed limit is a potential maximum and is not compulsory but now I'm not so sure!

At the boating lake the Coots and at least one drake Pochard had to share their space with a little flotilla of boats from Corby's Model Boat Club but they didn't seem too worried. As I walked through Hazel Woods I had to stop and chuckle at one of the information boards, check the picture below to find out why!

I'd like to find one of these in Corby!