Dodging Showers at Barnwell

Another long wait for the X4 this morning but I did eventually get over to Oundle where I took a short walk along the river. It was quite a mix of sun, clouds and showers but I managed to avoid getting wet.

River view and Kingfisher.

Not too much of interest along the river where there were plenty of winter thrushes and also a singing Song Thrush. At the Princess fishing lake near the marina five Mandarins were seen while a Kingfisher perched briefly next to the river. From here I walked over to Barnwell where with the sun now being out I hoped to find a late darter dragonfly but I couldn't find any, looks like the season is finally over.

Nuthatch and Dunnock.

Plenty of the commoner birds were active with lots of birds visiting the feeders at Lowlands Hide. Nuthatches showed very well today with at least two birds visiting. Most interesting species was a Chiffchaff moving through some willows, that's three within a week that I've found in the county. A pair of Teal were probably the best ducks, a female Mandarin was present too. Having enjoyed an enjoyable few hours watching I headed back into town for a thankfully stress free journey home.

One legged Chaffinch and Blue Tit.

Over the Border

A lunch date in Caldecott, Rutland shaped my plans for today and I picked a walk that would take me to the Plough Inn at the appointed hour. I began just after dawn with a walk through the town on my way to East Carlton Park.

Fog in the valley and East Carlton Hall.

Just the normal selection of birds were on view as I made my way with crows cawing confrontationally from assorted aerials and chimneys and Magpies looking out for any left over takeaway morsels. Both species of winter thrush were heard passing over, I heard many more throughout the day. As well as singing Robins and Wrens I also heard both Song and Mistle Thrush. At the boating lake there was nothing to report except that a Muscovy Duck appears to have joined the flock of Mallards and near Mallards.

Bucker Bestmann and Buzzard.

Not a great deal between the edge of Corby and East Carlton though the park itself had at least one Brambling with the Chaffinches close to the resident's entrance. Plenty of the commoner species around also and these included both Marsh Tit and Nuthatches. Heading out from the park and over the border into Leicestershire I was overflown by both a DH Chipmunk and an Egyptian built Bucker Bestmann, strange to see an aeroplane with black crosses in this neck of the woods! Few interesting birds to report though with Wigeons seen at two spots on either side of the border and views of Buzzard, Kites and a Kestrel.

Robin and Mistle Thrush.

I reached Caldecott about an hour early and so rather than hang around wandered down to the Welland for a peek. It looked as if I was going to have to settle for just enjoying the view until a look through the bins at a suspected Moorhen revealed a Water Rail swimming up the Northants side of the river. I've been birding this area for years and this is the first time that I've seen one here, how big a part does look play in birding? After this I headed back to the village and my appointment with lunch.

Jackdaw and the River Welland.

Final Fling

Back to work tomorrow and the dull grey conditions matched my mood, with some other stuff to do I restricted my nature spotting activity to a couple of hours. Brookfield Plantation was my chosen destination as it had been quite a while since my last visit though I set out with low expectations as conifer plantations in winter can be very quiet.

One of the rides in Brookfield.

My first impression was that it was going to be a bit of a struggle and it looked as if I'd bought a ticket to the Wood Pigeon show. Gradually other birds began to make their presence felt, the churr of a Wren being joined by the song of a Robin. Blackbirds and Redwings were feeding on the haws and a Mistle Thrush could be heard singing some distance away. As is often the case with this sort of wood many of my wildlife encounters were brief and opportunities  for photography were limited. Both species of the commoner woodpeckers were heard with several Greens showing too. Several mixed flocks moved through while I was there and these included Marsh Tits and plenty of Goldcrests. Bird highlight of my visit were three separate Woodcocks flushed from the sides of the rides, small numbers winter here every year. Hopefully they can avoid the guns of any shooters and make it back to their breeding grounds.

Fallow Deer running away.

Two small parties of Fallow Deer were seen briefly as they crashed through the undergrowth while a singleton showed briefly on one of the rides. These were one of three mammal species on view today and none of them were native with the others being Grey Squirrel and a Brown Rat near Asda, what would our countryside look like without all these introduced or escaped species?

Toadstool.

Not much else to report though there were several species of waxy looking toadstools and none of them looked remotely appetising even if they turned out to be edible species, I'll really have to try and learn a little more about them.

Swan Hat Trick

With more than a little trepidation I boarded the X4 again today and went over to Earls Barton but despite recent complaints about this erratic service today went OK. I arrived at the village at around about dawn and from there set out on my walk to Summer Leys.

Mill Lake and Whooper Swan.

Two Ravens flew over as I got to the end of Mill Lane, these or another pair were very vocal a little later on in trees near to Hardwater Mill. Having crossed over the bridge at Earls Barton Lock I began to check through the swans on Mill Lake. It took all of a second to pick out an adult Whooper amongst the many Mutes, it swam around the lake calling repeatedly, presumably trying to find a kindred soul amongst the hordes of its commoner cousins. In reeds on the lake shore a Water Rail squealed while waterside willows held my second Chiffchaff in as many days.

Raven and Magpie.

Plenty of winter thrushes were feeding in hawthorns around the reserve and were joined in this by many Blackbirds. A Great White Egret showed well though briefly on the opposite side of the road to the reserve but it took flight before I could get a picture. Several Cetti's Warblers were singing on site and I also heard another Chiffchaff calling. Plenty of ducks were on the reserve though there was nothing beyond the usual selection on view, half a dozen Goldeneyes were the pick.

Shoveller, Teal and Mute Swan.

Lots of activity around the feeding station where Goldfinches were certainly the noisiest diners if not the commonest. I checked through the many Chaffinches present but couldn't find any Bramblings, it doesn't look as if this is going to be a particularly good winter for them. Nothing much else of interest was seen during my visit so I headed off back to the village. If you're wondering what the third swan making up the hat trick was then I can reveal that it was the Old Swan where I enjoyed several pints of Sharp's Atlantic. Not tickable of course but then none too shoddy all the same.

Finch Folio.

Dreary Day at Wicksteed

I'm off for a few days and to kick things off I decided to head over to Wicksteed Park to see if the cold weather had brought some more wildfowl in. Unfortunately for me that meant a trip in the "wrong" direction on the X4. Now I'm a regular user of this service but sometimes I feel that the X stands for excrement and today was one of those days. A scheduled bus failed to arrive in the Old Village which resulted in a walk up to the town centre and the consequent loss of some time. Proving that this was not a fluke the return bus was at least quarter of an hour late too. Sometimes I think that the timetable should be regarded more as a very vague hint of what could conceivably happen rather than a genuine schedule of bus times. X4? more like the Vex 4.

A bit different to last week!

Once my ordeal was over I arrived at the park in rather sunny conditions though sadly this happy state of affairs was soon replaced by the gathering clouds and it was a dull and grey sky that hung over the rest of proceedings. Numbers of gulls were if anything lower than last week though that may be just as well considering last week's stringy escapades. Tufted Duck numbers seemed to have risen and they were joined by a few Pochards but other than this things were much as they were last week.

British rails, more reliable than the bus.

Around the fishing lake I found a Chiffchaff feeding in the waterside willows, perhaps it was the songster from last week. Attempts to get a photo were foiled by a loud altercation between two dog walkers which sent the Chiffy and just about everything else packing. One of the few other highlights around the lakes were several squealing Water Rails.

Colourful corvids.

While walking back towards the exit a Jay showed very well and allowed me to approach fairly closely, they normally fly off at first sight. Nearby a Mistle Thrush was keeping a close guard on a couple of Rowan trees and vanquished any Blackbirds foolish enough to try and steal some of its berries. At this point the threatened rain began to fall so I packed up my gear and headed off into town for some lunch.

Goose action and Mistle Thrush standing sentry.

A Bit of Rough

Something of a change to my usual Monday routine as Alan Shorrock and I headed over to the Great Fen in Cambridgeshire. Our quarry was a Rough-legged Buzzard which has been seen regularly in the area, there had been two but at the moment it looks as if one may have moved on.

Just the spot for a Rough-legged Buzzard.

We drove over to Holme Fen and parked up near the reserve at Tower and Froghall Farm. Setting out under some threatening looking skies I was struck by how few birds seemed to be about. Happily for us one of the few that did show was the Rough-legged and it treated us to distant but sustained views of over an hour's duration. At one point the bird was hassled by a Raven which is probably quite a scarce bird out here in the billiard table flat fens. A heavy shower sent us scurrying back to the car where we waited for the rain to stop.

Dodgy record shots of today's star.

Once the rain had stopped we took a walk around Holme Fen but aside from an attractive Fly Agaric toadstool there was little to report. From here we journeyed over to the coldest spot in Britain if not the world, Eldernell. A killer combination of a chilly easterly wind and some heavy showers made for an unpleasant experience and I spent most of the time in the car. Highlights here were several small parties of Whooper Swans and a distant Marsh Harrier while there was also a good sized flock of Fieldfares.

Holme Fen and Fly Agaric.

Most of the pictures today are of the duff record shot type category as most of the action took place at a distance.

Whoopers, Fieldfares and Kestrel.

Starting With a Bang.

Another lovely day which I spent relatively close to home walking from Weldon along public footpaths to Deenethorpe and then Deene before heading back via Priors Hall. I had considered a few other options but I'm glad to say that I think that I made the right choice.

Deenethorpe and Deene.

Having got off the bus on the edge of Weldon I had walked for all of two minutes when a Short-eared Owl passed in front of me crossing the A427. The owl flew parallel with the road for a brief stretch before heading out over the fields towards Deenethorpe. This was my first Shortie for several years in the county so was a most welcome sighting. Continuing on along Bears Lane a flock of about twenty five Golden Plovers flew over heading eastwards and were my first local ones of the winter. For the next little while things were quiet though many Skylarks were singing while kites drifted overhead.

Deene Lake birds.

At Deenethorpe airfield a Brown Hare shot off across the fields while a Kestrel hunted the remaining scrubby area. Several aeroplanes landed while I was there and although not big they were certainly bigger than the normal microlights. Deene Lake inflow held seven Snipe and a Green Sandpiper while numbers of Teal continue to build. Not much of interest on the main lake though a person walking along the dam had probably had an effect.

Auster aeroplane and a Comma.

Wandering down Kirby Lane I found a female Common Darter basking on a discarded pallet, it's nice to see them this late into the season but it turned out that she was more of an opening act rather than the main show. Priors Hall held another forty four (eighteen females, twenty five males and one that sped off before I could tell) and if the next period of weather didn't look so dross I'd be looking forward to December darters. These weren't the only insect act in town either as two Commas were found too, the first got away before I could take a pic but thankfully the second hung around for a bit.

Darters.

Lots of winter thrushes around and a few Siskins too while the quarry lake held a flock of twenty or so Teals and a collection of gulls.

Weldon's tribute to the fallen of the Great War.