After last week's spirited rearguard by the Summer that barely was it was time once more for the cold grey fingers of Autumn to take the county in its wet and windy grasp. A pretty awful spell of weather did give way to the weatherman's favourite forecast of sunny with showers but a strong wind dominated proceedings and made for some challenging conditions. Hoping to avoid getting a good old fashioned drenching I sought shelter in the hides of Barnwell CP.
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| Pintail and Mandarin Duck |
My vigil from the Kingfisher Hide produced only one brief flight view of its namesake bird and while I heard others around the park I couldn't get any further sightings. Star performer here was a female Pintail which was my first at the site, it had joined a large flock of Mallards gathered on the lake.. These Mallards were far from friendly towards each other though as they bickered and fought amongst themselves, it had the atmosphere of an aquatic lek about it. Also present was a pair of Mandarin Ducks, it's good to see that the drake was in full plumage rather than the dowdy eclipse version. Not too many other birds were seen. a few Chiffchaffs were singing and a Grey wagtail was heard too.
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| Goldfinch and Brown Rat |
Sunny spells brought out a few dragonflies with Migrant Hawkers being the commonest. Only one other species was braving the blustery conditions and that was Common Darter, a few were found in the more sheltered spots. Very little other wildlife was on view other than a Brown Rat seen near Mill Lake.
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| Migrant Hawker and Common Darter. |
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