Reality Check

 After yesterday's excitements today was always going to be something of an anticlimax, I'm not sure how you could go about topping a Northants Bee-eater even if it was a heard only job. In all fairness today was by my usual standards pretty good as I walked from Upper Benefield to Corby Old Village. This morning dawned frost free for a change and I enjoyed some pleasant spring conditions on my stroll.

Yellowhammer and skulking Tree Sparrow

The Tree Sparrow colony on the edge of Upper Benefield seems to be in good health and I saw quite a few in the large trees on the Glapthorn road. Several more were seen between here and Deenethorpe and I managed to get a record shot of one. Checking the sheep field a little way along the Deenethorpe road produced a distant Yellow Wagtail and not long afterwards I saw my first Whitethroat of the year.  With the sunshine by now becoming warm I expected to encounter a few butterflies and an Orange-tip near Deene Lake inflow was my first of the day. Few birds at the inflow other than a good number of Teal though there were four Shelducks on the main lake.

Orange-tip and Brimstone

My walk along the A43 was far from pleasant though it was made slightly less so by the sighting of a Common Lizard near the entrance to Priors Hall golf course. At Priors Hall itself a Reed warbler was singing from the reedbed at the largest pond. Snipe were flushed from three of the ponds though they could all perhaps have been the same unlucky bird. Redpoll was heard and there was a good sized population of Willow Warblers on site. An attempt to find a Large Red Damselfly sadly failed though I did manage to see four species of butterfly. Checking the quarry on my way past yielded some Sand Martins and a Little Ringed Plover.

Small White and Comma

While walking alongside the A43 towards Weldon I saw a Small White as well as Brimstones and Orange-tips. In the village itself I added Small Tortoiseshell to my day list though a search for Holly Blues drew a blank. There were greatly reduced numbers of both Gadwalls and Tufted Ducks at the A43 pond though a pair of Shovellers were a very welcome addition. Shovellers remain pretty rare in the Corby area and this was only my fourth sighting at this pond. On my way home I paused briefly near the STW where my search for Green Hairstreaks was as successful as my one for Holly Blues.

Shovellers