Dipping After Work.

I'd read on the Northants Birds News web site that a Black Redstart had been seen at Crucible Road, Corby which is only a five or ten  minute walk from my house. Although after work jaunts in January are normally off menu I thought that this was a chance that was too good to miss. Black Reds are pretty scarce birds in this neck of the woods, I've only seen three previous ones in many years of local birding.

Weather conditions were pretty grotty with grey and miserable being the order of the day. Having made my way to the site I was struck by just how plain yucky it was. With rubbish festooning many of the bushes and numerous parked vehicles along the verges I found what looked to be the best vantage point and began to scan. My vantage point proved to be a bad choice as a chap bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Easter Island heads soon arrived to tell me that I'd strayed on to a patch of private land. Making my apologies I moved on to a public patch and continued my search.

There was a lot of disturbance in the yard where the bird had been reported and a sighting seemed even more unlikely when a large articulated lorry arrived and began a lengthy series of manoeuvres. Deciding that my chances here were slim I had a short walk to the nearby balancing pond to see if the bird had been drawn to either here or perhaps to the neighbouring stream in its hunt for food. Sadly for me the bird did not appear and I was left with views of several kites and a passing Cormorant as scant consolation for my efforts. No pictures from today but here's a January Black Redstart taken in Bratislava in 2018.

Black Redstart, Bratislava, 2018.

Oundle Outing

After a couple of fairly decent days out it was back to more mundane fare today as I made one of my regular trips over to Barnwell CP. Not for the first time the otters and kingfishers failed to put in an appearance but the weather was too nice to let a tiny detail like that bother me.

Good numbers of Redwing were present early in the day, they may well roost in the park before heading out to feed in the nearby fields. Siskins were also showing well today, I was lucky enough to watch a flock of about fifteen birds feeding close to one of the paths. It seems as if Reed Buntings are growing in numbers, they've probably been forced to seek additional food as natural supplies dwindle. Plenty of the commoner passerines were showing well but there was little else of interest.

Nuthatch and Siskin

A scan of the church tower from beside the Nene produced a distant view of the Peregrine, sadly it had gone by the time I arrived back in town but it was nice to see it anyway. Elsewhere along the river the floods continue to host Wigeon, Shoveller and Teal while the flock of Lapwings appears to have grown, I estimated a flock of about six hundred birds was circling the floodwater. Little else of note today though memories of the blue skies should sustain me through any periods of murkier weather.

Stock Dove, Lapwings and Red Kite.

Morning at Stanwick

Reports of a Ferruginous Duck at Stanwick were intriguing enough to tempt Alan Shorrock and I over towards Stanwick Lakes this morning. Although there was a chance that the bird was a hybrid and an equal chance that it may have been an escape we decided that it was worth taking a trip over anyway. It all turned out to be academic anyway as the bird whatever its lineage or origins didn't show.

Female Scaup and drake Goosander.

Despite the ducky dip we managed to see enough birds to make it a worthwhile visit and the star today was another duck. A female Scaup has been in residence on the main lake for quite a while now and we were lucky enough to get some good views of her before she swam off out of view. Goosanders are some of my favourite ducks and happily for me there were quite a few spread around the lakes, I counted at least fourteen but there may have been more.

Tufted Ducks and Gadwalls.

Ducks were not the only point of interest as we had both Golden Plover and five Redshanks as we walked around as well as the almost obligatory Great White Egret. A singing Cetti's Warbler was my first for a while and a Water Rail squealed from the same bed of reeds. The promise of rain and some prior appointments meant that time was limited and so we left a little after noon.

Great White Egret.

Many Happy Returns

It was the start of an altogether different year list today as I celebrated my birthday by heading over to Wellingborough. My intention was to repeat my walk along the Nene from the town's Embankment and just see what I could find.

Cattle Egrets

Leaving the many Mute Swans that frequent the river beside the mill behind I started my walk along the muddy track next to the river. A selection of the usual wildfowl were noted and there was also a Snipe. Highlights though were once again a small flock of Cattle Egrets frequenting the area near the large pit next to the viaduct. Five birds were present today and although they always kept their distance I had good views through the scope. Joining the Cattles were at least one Great White and several Little Egrets. Having informed someone else about the egrets I moved along to the pits beyond the viaduct where a single Great White Egret was the only bird of note.

Great White Egret

Returning towards Wellingborough I bumped into Alan Shorrock who had responded to my call and wanted to see the egrets. An Oystercatcher was noted at the lake nearest the lock and was my first of the year. We managed to catch up with the Cattles again and enjoyed prolonged albeit distant views as they fed amongst the ponies. A wandering chap with what appeared to be a can of booze flushed the egrets and practically everything else signalling that it would be a good time to leave.

Oystercatcher.

Our journey home was broken by a stop at the Prologis Park near Kettering where there was a shortage of interesting wildlife today but plenty of potential for future visits. Apologies for the standard of the pictures but poor light and distance made for record shots of the distinctly dodgy variety!

A Walk in the Sunshine

Back to Barnwell CP and Oundle again today where despite the best efforts of the tardy X4 I managed to arrive in time to catch the sunrise. It was a lovely day once again as blue skies and sunshine continued to be the order of the day happily helping to take my mind off the lack of interesting wildlife.

Sunrise along the Nene.

There were two Barnwell scarcities on site in the shape of a drake Wigeon and a Coot as well as the usual selection of species. Two cock Pheasants having a bit of a barney on neighbouring flooded fields provided the most entertainment as both otters and kingfishers were once again AWOL. After I'd spent a little bit of time in both hides hoping for something to turn up I decided to head off along the Nene.

Fighting Pheasants.

Flooded fields near the marina once again held good numbers of Lapwing with some attendant Black-headed Gulls while small parties of Meadow Pipits and Starlings were noted. There is still a lot of water in the fields next to the river but I just about managed to take my usual route without getting my socks wet. The A605 floods held a high numbers of Wigeons and a double figure count of Shoveller but nothing else. I scanned the margins for any waders but didn't manage to find any. Returning to the town I checked the church for any signs of Peregrines but again drew a blank. Sometimes it's just nice to get out, any time that's not spent working is time well spent!

Little and large, Blue Tit and Red Kite.

Smews

January has been pretty kind to me so far and today continued that trend as Alan Shorrock and I made the relatively short trip over the border to Rutland Water. As well as enjoying beautiful winter sunshine there was also a decent selection of birds on view.

Smew.

We began by looking out over Lagoon 1 where the most obvious birds were the four Great White Egrets that were spread around the margins. Closer inspection of the other birds produced sightings of a Stonechat, a minimum of fourteen Goosander and a total of six Smews. None of the Smews came that close but I managed to get a few record shots including a few of the single male. Several Pintails were also seen amongst the commoner wildfowl before we decided to move on.

Great White Egret and Goosanders.

Lagoon 3 had many Shovellers and a few Shelducks as well as a further Great White while an impressive number of Pochard were also present. Perhaps as many as three Water Rails were heard calling from various points on the reserve though we didn't manage to catch a glimpse of any. A look out across the main reservoir from Lapwing Hide produced a bit of a surprise in the shape of two Black-necked Grebes, these normally frequent the North Arm. Some truly awful record shots were taken and I will of course share one here. Also seen from the hide were a few more Goosanders on Lagoon 2.

Lapwing and Teal, Shelduck and Shovellers.

The walk back towards the centre was fairly uneventful, a few more views of Smew and also a pair of Egyptian Geese were perhaps the highlights. We had enough time to pop back into the centre where a trio of Curlews were welcome additions to the earlier selection. With the lure of dinner proving too much to ignore we left at about two o'clock and headed back towards Corby.

Rubbish pic of Black-necked Grebes, Goldeneye and Coot.

Nothing Cheesy About These Grins

A half day's holiday from work gave me the chance to enjoy the beautiful afternoon sunshine and the opportunity to check out the local Peregrines. Having failed to connect with any at their established spots at both Oundle or Kettering I hoped that the Corby birds at least might prove to be obliging.

Corby Peregrines it would seem are far more watcher friendly than their county cousins and I was lucky enough to see a pair of adults at one of their favourite lounging spots in the town. As is often the case the birds were seen distantly though well and I managed a few record shots. One of them decided to take flight and head off over Brookfield Plantation but the other stayed put and provided some sustained views.

Peregrines.

Nearby Brookfield was very quiet, I didn't encounter any mixed flocks and bird numbers seemed very low. Buzzard and Sparrowhawk were both noted and a fly over Yellowhammer was a little unusual for this site while several Siskins were also observed. Perhaps as many as four Fallow Deer were found during my visit though for the most part they provided only brief views as they ran across the rides. I was a little pressed for time this afternoon meaning that I couldn't stay too long and so had to head home soon afterwards. Hopefully I'll have a little more time to spare tomorrow.

Fallow Deer.

Still at Large

I popped over to Wicksteed Park this morning and was lucky enough to get there before the sunrise.  There was plenty of pleasant sunshine before clouds eventually took over and light rain showers became the order of the day.

Sunrise.

My early arrival meant that I beat the gulls to the park but eventually the squawking hoard did arrive, mostly Black-headeds with a few Common and Herrings. Duck numbers on the main lake seemed low though they did at least contain the best bird of the day amongst them in the shape of my site first Pintail. An immature drake was viewed distantly before then moving out of sight behind an island. Luckily I managed to catch up with him later achieving slightly better views as he enjoyed a nap in the company of some Teals and Shovellers. Mallards and Gadwalls were the commonest ducks though they were outnumbered by the many Coots.

Drake Pintail.

Away from the main lake there was little of note at the fishing lake and a walk along to the water meadow failed to produce any sightings of Stonechats. Things picked up when I heard and then saw a Ring-necked Parakeet which was presumably the same one from my last visit. It lead me on a bit of a song and dance as it flew amongst some conifers before settling briefly in an oak and allowing me to get a decent if brief view. As I mentioned last time it's difficult to know if this bird is a feral one or recently escaped but it doesn't act as if it's used to people.

Gulls and Coot.

Having left the park I had a quick look at the church to see whether any Peregrines were present, they weren't and I wonder if they're still using this site as a roost.

Ring-necked Parakeet.

Raven Bookends

I fancied another walk along the Nene today and so took the bus over to Earls Barton from where I walked along to Summer Leys and back. My day began well with a sighting of a Raven over Corby town centre, my first here and a bus tick too!

Stonechat and Gadwalls.

Mill Lake at Earls Barton GP held many Mute Swans and Tufted Duck with lesser numbers of Wigeon. Neighbouring Hardwater Lake had little on the water though a smashing male Stonechat showed well. Not much else to report until I got to the Leys where a fair selection of the commoner wildfowl were present. Pochard numbers seemed to have risen by quite a margin though this was offset by a lack of Teal.

Great White Egret, Wigeons and Mute Swan.

Rotary hide provided distant views of a Great White Egret, this is the third site that I've encountered them at in the county this year. My walk around the reserve had no further highlights apart from a calling Chiichaff until I reached the Screen Hide where a tip off helped me to get distant views of a drake Red Crested Pochard. Plenty of Shovellers from here too and a large number of Lapwings. A short stroll took me to the feeding station where I had to wait for a while before the reported female Brambling eventually showed. Across the road Mary's Lake seemed quiet though there were quite a few Goldeneyes including at least one displaying male.

Chaffinch, Brambling and Bullfinch.

From here I began my walk back getting closer views of the drake Red Crested Pochard though I couldn't find much else of interest. One final highlight did appear, a pair of vocal Ravens passed over Earls Barton as I waited for my bus, won't be long before they start nesting I would imagine.

Red Crested Pochard and friends.