Half Day at Oundle

Given that work were good enough to let me escape early I thought that it might be rude to waste it and so hopped on the X4 and headed off to Oundle. Learning from yesterday's mistake I made sure that my camera came with me and happily there were a few things to photograph.

River view and my favourite flowers - hops!

An adult Common Tern was flying around the marina when I arrived while numbers of both Blackcap and Sedge Warbler were feeding in waterside vegetation. As clouds were the dominant feature of today's weather it was not too surprising that insects were only present in small numbers though there were some decent species on offer. Small Coppers are always a treat for me as I never see anywhere near as many as I would like so one today was welcome. Two each of both Common Blue and Small Heath were found though they were outnumbered by Speckled Woods and both Small and Large Whites. A single Green-veined completed the butterfly list for today.

Small Copper, Common Blue and Speckled Wood.

Blue-tailed Damselflies seem to be one of the more cloud tolerant species and they were certainly the most numerous species today and the presence of several tenerals suggests that they' will be around for quite a bit more. A species seemingly on the way out around here are Banded Demoiselles with only a few on view though perhaps that was due to the weather. The only other damsel seen today was a teneral Common Blue. Not too many dragons around though double figures of Migrant Hawkers were observed with most being hunting males. Singles of Brown Hawker and Common Darter were also recorded. While watching out for damsels a large flock of Lapwings flew over, at least fifty individuals must have been involved.

Blue-tailed and Common Blue damselflies.

At Barnwell CP it was a case of avoiding the numerous screeching brats as they ran around enjoying the last week of their holidays. Despite the noise there were a few birds about with the highlight being half a dozen Mandarin ducks. Plenty of tits were moving through and their flocks contained several Chiffchaffs in their number. A sign of the approaching autumn was a large flock of Swallows twittering from the tops of several bushes before they all took off together and headed off to feed. That seemed like a very good idea to me though I favoured a late liquid lunch and so set off into town for a couple of pints.

Sedge Warbler, Mandarin and Goldfinch.

Waders and Willow

Bank Holiday saw me taking a trip out of the county in the company of two friends as we headed over to Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire. A Stilt Sandpiper had arrived there last week and we hoped to catch up with this extremely rare visitor from North America. Clearly other people had shared the same thought as the car park was full to overflowing when we arrived and we found ourselves parking in a neighbouring field.

Avocet.

Our target was not too difficult to find as it fed amongst hundreds of Black-tailed Godwits on the lagoon next  to the visitor centre. No photos as the bird was always fairly distant and also because for the first time since I began this blog I forgot my camera. We saw the bird from several other view points and had plenty of good scope view of what was only my second example of this species. There was not a large variety of waders today, apart from the many Black-tailed Godwits there were a few Ruff, a Redshank, plenty of Lapwings and an Avocet.

Ruff and Black-tailed Godwit.

While the weather was nowhere near as awful as yesterday's it was still not great but there was just enough sunshine to tempt us into looking for a reported Willow Emerald damselfly. It had been seen and photographed on the pond near the visitor centre where they conduct a certain activity (I'm not using the D word) involving nets and buckets. We looked for quite a while and it was beginning to look a little like I'd bought my Northants luck with me. Happily one of our gang picked one out, a female, perching on a reed. She flew up to grab what looked like a pretty large prey item before landing again to eat it. I was able to get my scope on her and we were able to note the diagnostic pale pterostigmas as she munched her way through her substantial meal. Once finished she disappeared but I'd enjoyed seeing what was only my second ever Willow Emerald and Lincolnshire's fourth I believe. Other species seen around the pond included Migrant Hawker, Common Darter and Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Whooper Swan from today courtesy of Alan Shorrock.

On our way back to the car we found the reported Whooper Swan and as it was with last week's Great Northern Diver at Rutland Water it was good to see a winter species in much nicer conditions than normal.

Willow Emerald from last year at Finedon.

As I can't show pictures of my own from today I've put a few in from previous outings to provide a splash of colour. Alan Shorrock was kind enough to allow me to add a couple of his from Frampton.


Alan Shorrock's record shot of today's Willow Emerald.

Patchwork Guilt

Knowing that oodles of rain was forecast for today decided my plan for me this morning. Not wanting to get too wet meant a short walk was in order and where better than my neglected old patch? This used to be a regular stomping ground for me but nowadays rarely gets a visit which is the source of some irrational guilt on my part. An hour and a half's wander was more than enough to remind me why I don't call in so often these days!

Patch views

Robins are beginning to sing again albeit a little hesitantly at the moment while Wrens never stopped pouring forth that loud song of theirs. Small parties of tits including Marsh were moving through the trees while the harsh calls of Jays could be heard. There seems to be a lot of fruits and berries around this year and the elder bushes in particular are drawing in Sylvia warblers as they fatten up for their forthcoming long migration. Both Blackcaps and Whitethroats were seen and they may well be joined by further species before too long. Very little else was seen though I enjoyed watching familt parties of Goldfinches feeding on teasel seeds.

Autumn's bounty.

With grey skies being the order of the morning no interesting insects were observed and as the first drops of rain began to fall I turned for home, hopefully tomorrow's weather will be more pleasant.

Further Failure at Finedon

I had another chance to visit Finedon Pocket Park today and so once the boring business of work had been concluded a friend and I set off in that direction. Unfortunately our luck was not in today and we failed to catch up with any Willow Emeralds, they're certainly proving to be elusive this year.

Dragonfly activity was much reduced from my last visit and the only hawkers on view were several Migrants while I only managed to see a single Common Darter. A female Emerald Damselfly had me going for a little while but I couldn't turn it into anything else more interesting. It may be that slightly cooler conditions had an adverse effect on dragon activity but either way it looks as if I may have to return again.

Female Emerald Damselfly.

A few of the commoner butterflies were seen though once again it was Holly Blues that provided most of the interest. As was also the case on Wednesday it was an aeroplane that provided the most interesting sighting as the world's only flying Bristol Blenheim passed over, it was certainly the rarest thing in the air.

With tomorrow's weather forecast to be grim it's unlikely that I'll see that much but my Willow search will continue when the weather conditions improve, they've surely got to be present at other sites too.

Dip Purple

No smoke on the water at Rutland Water today and sadly no Purple Heron next to it either. My brother had called expressing an interest in catching up with the long staying juvenile so we set off after work to have a gander.

We gave its favoured area around Burley Fishponds a good grilling  but sadly failed to see it, two other observers appeared to have the same idea but seemed to be having the same sort of luck. A family party of Yellow Wagtails was nice to see while on one of the bunds there was an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a couple of Egyptian Geese. Knowing that there was an unseasonal Great Northern Diver present in the north arm we put the search to one side for a bit and headed off to the point.

Record shot of Yellow-legged Gull.

Searching through numerous eclipse ducks is not one of my birding highlights but I did at least find a female Red Crested Pochard amongst them so it wasn't a waste of time. We managed to find the Great Northern Diver too and how nice it was to see one while wearing T-shirts when normally we're wrapped up like eskimos. Another adult Yellow-legged Gull was found and I managed some distant record shots but by then we had decided to have another peek for the heron.

A slightly worse picture of the Yellow-legged Gull.

One of the other watchers had now joined us and she had bought some gripping news, the heron had showed several minutes ago. The bad news unfortunately was that it had flown out of cover, spiralled upwards and then drifted off to the south, perhaps its long sojourn is finally over. Disappointing though this news was it was still an enjoyable hours birding and worth the trip.

Dip Willow, Dip Willow, Dip Willow.

The emergence of the Willow Emeralds at their only Northants site on Monday was justification enough for four of us to set out from Corby on our way to Finedon Pocket Park. As the title of this post may already have hinted at the results I will waste no more time and say only that at least we tried!  As I later learned that two other observers did strike lucky it seems that we were either unfortunate or may have to book an appointment with our opticians. Whatever other conclusions that we arrive at one thing is clear, another visit may be called for.

Veteran Ruddy and handy Common Darters.

The pond and surrounding area were not totally lacking in interesting stuff to look at and both Migrant and Southern Hawkers were feeding along the wooded path, others were seen around the pond. At least one Brown Hawker frequented the same area while several Emerald Damselflies were seen too. Both species of the common darters were present in good numbers and they included one Common which sat on one of our group's hand.

Emerald Damselfly.

Butterflies included rather a lot of Speckled Woods and also a Holly Blue though the most interesting sightings of the day was of a Spitfire that made several passes overhead and a Shorts Tucano which did several low flypasts. No compensation for dipping on the Willows but interesting never the less.

Migrants Amongst the Masses.

At the moment I'm spending quite a lot of time looking for Willow Emeralds at likely looking areas within the county and it was for this reason that I braved the school holiday crowds over at Wicksteed Park. Once again I failed to find any of my targets but I will pop back again to give it another go.

Lake view.

A small selection of other dragons were seen with four species of damsel on view and three dragons. Commonest species around the lakes was Migrant Hawker, after a slowish start to their season they seem to be making up for it now. Large numbers of males were patrolling their territories and it was not unusual to see five or more tail chasing over the reeds. This species' habit of hovering in the same spot for seconds at a time meant that I actually managed a few flight shots, normally my camera doesn't like moving dragons but it can just about cope with Migrants.

Migrant Hawkers.

Butterflies were in rather short supply and Speckled Woods were the most numerous but even then less than ten individuals were involved. Perhaps the most interesting species was a Holly Blue, it seems to have been a good summer for this species.

Great Crested Grebes and Shoveller.

Not much of interest on the bird front with a Kingfisher being the best. A family party of Great Crested Grebes showed well and presumably what was the same Shoveller from my last visit was still here. Plenty of small birds moving through the park and these included several singing Willow Warblers

R.I.P Old Camera and Welcome to the New One

Yet another year when I managed to dodge the Birdfair over at Rutland Water, don't get me wrong I love the good work that it does but I don't want to rub shoulders with masses of bird nerds!

Speckled Wood and Gatekeeper.

For most of this morning's walk I may well have been better off traipsing around the stalls at that august enterprise but I saw just about enough to justify my absence. Priors Hall was my destination of choice and while the weather was not exactly promising I wanted to test my newest camera. My old one threw something of a wobbly on my last sortie out and I didn't feel that I could rely upon it anymore. After three years of excellent service I can't bring myself to chuck this trusty companion in the bin but nor can I take it out on any wildlife walks either. Happily I had foreseen this unfortunate event and had taken the liberty of buying another one last year.

Brown Argus joining Common Blues on the Ragwort restaurant.

Birdlife on the quarry lakes when I arrived was pretty much as it was last week and a Common Sandpiper was still the highlight. For the most part insects remained hidden away in cover but there was a selection of butterflies on view. Commonest were the Common Blues and Speckled Woods with many individuals of either on view. Brown Argus were present in good numbers too while there were also sightings of several Small Heaths, Large Whites and Small Whites while singles of Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper were seen too.

Female Emerald Damselfly.

I thought that I had found a much sought after Willow Emerald damselfly but sadly further inquiries proved that it was a female Emerald after all, still on the plus side I hadn't seen one for a while and I will now be better informed if a real one shows up. Commonest of the other species on view were Common Blue damselflies while there were several darters of both species present and also a Migrant Hawker.

Common Blue Damselfly and Common Hawker.

A Brown Hare and a well grown Fallow Deer fawn were the best of the other wildlife on site though everything was somewhat eclipsed on my way out towards Weldon when an Osprey was seen over the quarry, no pics but a good sighting nonetheless.

Slightly different view of Brown Argus.

Close Shave.

Today's weather was somewhat better than the dross of yesterday and I actually managed to catch a glimpse or two of the sun. Deciding that I fancied a walk along the river I headed over to Oundle where in the early part of my walk at least grey skies and light rain were the unwelcome order of the day.

Oundle views.

Although this early phase was no more interesting than parts of yesterday's walk I still enjoyed it. With little or no wind it was beautifully still and once I'd left the A605 behind all I could hear was the sounds of nature. As the morning drew on it began to brighten and the first few insects began to stir. A Brown Hawker was soon followed by the sighting of a Migrant and an increasing number of both Blue-tailed and Common Blue damselflies were seen. Large White was the first butterfly noted and small numbers of other species were also observed. Brown Argus is a species that appears to have done very well this year and it was consequently not a big surprise to find one here.

Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood.

Few birds of note were found though I enjoyed watching what looked like a family party of Buzzards around the once flooded area, their calls sounded almost wader like at times. Lots of warblers were feeding on elderberries, mainly sylvias but also some Reeds.

A very obliging Migrant Hawker.

Closer to Oundle a few more damsels showed and these included my first riverine Small Red-eyed Damselflies on lilies near the marina. Several Banded Demoiselles were also noted though numbers seem to be dwindling. From here it was on to Barnwell CP where a calling Kingfisher was the only bird of note. Red-eyed Damsels made their way on to the list while good numbers of Small Red-eyeds were present especially on the Mill Lake. A Migrant Hawker was behaving more like a darter or chaser as it kept returning to the same few perches after each flight. Happily this gave me an opportunity to take my first photos of the year of this attractive species.

Grey Heron and hopefully a Red Kite that lives to fly again.

Leaving the park I noticed a group of people gathered around what looked to be a road casualty. I wasn't entirely sure what it was until one of the park staff picked it up to reveal a young Red Kite. The chap seemed to think that the bird's injuries were minor and intended to pass it on to the RSPCA who will no doubt do their best to return it to the wild. Here's hoping that it survives its close shave and that I get to see it flapping around on later visits. After this it was time for a couple of Pedigrees and then the bus journey home.

Sandpiper Sunday

Not a classic by any means as grey and sometimes rainy conditions took hold which though good for walking proved not to be so good for nature spotting. I began by taking a bus journey over to Upper Benefield from where I walked back via Deenethorpe, Deene and Weldon.

Deenethorpe.

My opening part of the walk between Benefield and Deene Lake was absolutely dire, I'm a glass half full sort of chap but this particular glass was not only empty but smashed on the floor and reduced to fragments! Deene Lake inflow was a little better (it couldn't have been worse) and although the water levels were a little higher than on my last there was still some mud on view. Taking advantage of the conditions were six Green Sandpipers which were joined by a site tick Common Sandpiper. The latter showed well if rather distantly, plenty of Teal were dabbling in the shallow water as numbers begin to build. A family party of Grey Wagtails spent most of the time chasing each other around.

Green and Common Sandpiper and Grey Wagtail.

A low flying helicopter flushed many of the wildfowl on the main lake which revealed a large number of Gadwall. Two Black Swans, regulars at this site, seemed less inclined to fly and carried on with their business. The churchyard provided views of both Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral while the first kites and buzzards of the day showed here too.

Deene House.

Another uneventful stretch followed between Deene and Priors Hall as the threat of rain looked more imminent. Priors Hall added more insects to the list with singles of both Green-veined White and Gatekeeper. Other species were a little more common with Meadow Brown and Speckled Woods present in small numbers while Small Heath and Common Blue were seen rather more frequently. The first dragonflies of the day in the form of several Common Darters put in an appearance though the very light drizzle that had begun to fall seemed likely to put a very literal dampener on insect watching proceedings.

Common and Ruddy Darters.

Before the rain got heavy I managed to find a Ruddy Darter, Common Blue and Brown Argus but then had to seek shelter for half an hour as the rain began to pelt it down. Emerging a little later and more than a little soggier than before I made my way to the quarry lake. A flock of Black-headed Gulls contained several Common Gulls among them which were my first of the autumn. A Common Sandpiper and a single Lapwing were the only waders seen on site while a couple of Little Egrets were my first here for a while. Both Dabchick and Tufted Duck look as if they've had a successful breeding season.

Brown Argus and Banded Demoiselle.

Having enjoyed a couple of pints in the George I found myself with a little time to spare before my bus and took the chance to walk around the Woodland Park pond. Only a Southern Hawker showed at the pond itself though there were a dozen or so Banded Demoiselles along the stream. Despite this it seemed clear that the watching was going to be as dull as the weather so I called it quits and headed off to catch my bus.