Ravens Rule.

No real sunrise this morning with just a suffuse pink smudge on the horizon serving in its stead. My journey today took me over to East Carlton Park which in retrospect proved to be a bit of a tactical error and then through the Welland Valley and Brookfield Plantation.

Middleton Village.

An early morning walk through Corby did not produce much apart from several singing Song Thrushes and a very large population of Greylags at the boating lake. Passing out into the countryside produced views of a Marsh Tit near the Blackthorn Wood golf complex where a croaking Raven was my first of the year. Not much else from here onwards until I got to the fringes of East Carlton Park. A single Brambling was present in the gardens of the houses that line the park but proved to be the only one recorded today.

Red Kite and Buzzard.

It didn't take me long to realise why other Bramblings might be shunning the park despite what looks to have been a reasonable supply of beechmast and that reason was dogs!. It seems as if hundreds of the furry blighters were running around and the air was filled with shouts. Whether shouts of admonishment, encouragement or perhaps just of recognition it didn't matter as they were all as loud as each other. In addition conversations between owners were conducted at a volume that I would reserve for during the louder parts of a display by the Red Arrows and seemed to have a deterrent  affect on the local wildlife. I suspect that the park shows what may lay in store for green spaces in this neck of the woods as development continues at its present level. Obviously folks are entitled to walk their mutts but when they do so in such numbers it can be off putting.

Pied Wagtail and Wood Pigeon.

Having noted some of the commoner species in my brief visit I resolved to abandon ship as soon as possible and so headed off into the Welland Valley. Things were pretty quiet in the valley though I heard at least one Redpoll and saw a decent hedgerow bird in the attractive shape of a Nuthatch. Both buzzards and kites showed well and there was also a Kestrel. Leaving the valley and walking up the escarpment near Brookfield Plantation a pair of Ravens flew over cronking softly. Brookfield was rather quiet too with just a selection of the commoner birds and a couple of Fallow Deer to report.

Large toadstool with 10p piece for scale.