Heron Hunting

 After a couple of out of county experiences it was time to knuckle down and get back to the nitty gritty of Northants birding. My brother David wanted to see the local Cattle Egrets and so we made an early morning visit to Stanwick Lakes in the hope of catching up with them. Happily for us it was a pleasantly warm sunny morning though clouds began to move in soon after noon.

Record shot dross - Cattle Egret and Garganey

Our Cattle Egret search yielded a couple of rather distant individuals with one near the main lake and another near the roadside pit. Neither was in view for too long but we were able to get reasonable views through the scope. Second highlight of our visit was a Garganey seen on the A45 lay-by pit which was again rather distant and often sleeping too. Rubbishy record shots of both were taken and I present them here for your enjoyment. Not much else to report birdwise though a Common Sandpiper was present and three Snipe were noted. Interesting insects included Commas and Speckled Woods while the odes were represented by Migrant and Southern Hawker as well as Common Blue Damsel.

Great White and Little Egrets

From Stanwick we moved on to Summer Leys where a Bittern was the main attraction. Two juvenile Ruffs were seen from the Rotary Hide as they fed on the opposite shore while David had nice views of a Kingfisher hovering. A short walk took us to Pioneer Hide where a small group of expectant Bittern fans had gathered and were waiting for a glimpse. Far more obliging than its elusive cousin was a Great White Egret feeding in the middle of the scrape. After a shortish period of time the Bittern did indeed show though it was always obscured by reeds and did not give any opportunities for photography. I didn't mind too much as it was my first sighting in the county ( though I have heard booming before) and took my day total of herons up to a healthy five. I'm not sure that I've seen five herons in any one day in the UK before never mind in Northamptonshire, oh how the times are a changing! We did stick around for a little bit hoping for some better views but in the end rumbling bellies led to a pre lunch departure.

Rough Ruff record shot and Comma.