Here Comes the Summer*

* Summer Leys that is!

A day off work was enough to set me off spotting again and this time I chose to broaden my horizons by grabbing the faithful old X4 and heading off to Summer Leys. It was raining as I walked up to the town centre to catch my bus but the rest of the day was thankfully mostly dry.

Foal with mum.

Spring is lambing season and while the little beggars are undeniably cute it was good to see a new foal amongst the ponies at Earls Barton. One of the local dog walkers told me that it was around five days old and the sprightly little blighter certainly had more energy than I do! Mill Lane had the usual Skylarks singing while close to the mill itself both Snipe and Teal were flushed from a watery ditch. Cormorant Lake (not sure what other people call it) had a good selection of ducks and the total included good numbers of both Pochard and Shoveller.

Great White Egret.

Not much else until I got to the reserve where a Great White Egret was the first bird of note, they may not be that rare these days but they're still nice to see. On the main lake a good number of Goldeneyes were seen though there was not much else of note out on the water. Around at the feeding station an impressive number of Reed Buntings were present as well as plenty of the usual visitors. My favourites here were two Bramblings, the female was very obliging. Having enjoyed a chat with the fellow that keeps the feeders stocked (good work matey!) I continued on around the site passing a rather quiet Mary's Lake on the way.

A selection from the feeders.

On the margins of the main lake I watched a Little Egret struggling with a Perch. It kept picking it up and dropping it and was possibly a case of biting off more than it could chew. After numerous attempts to eat it the Egret appeared to give up and the fish was left on the bank, no doubt some other opportunist will benefit!

A couple of views of Little Egret with Perch.

Walking back along to the village a pair of Oystercatchers and another Great White Egret were at Hardwater Lake until flushed by a fisherman. The Oiks didn't go too far but the Egret headed off up river. Nothing else to report though a pint of Blue Moon wheat beer in the Old Swan as I waited for my bus was pretty good.

Oystercatcher.