I'm due to start a new job tomorrow and so put my last day of freedom to good use before getting back to the old grindstone. Beautiful weather this morning eventually gave way to some greyer but still dry stuff a little later on. It was a game of two halves with the birding too with this morning being spent at Barnwell CP and the afternoon at Duston for another peek at the Dartford Warbler.
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| Nene sunrise and Dabchick |
Barnwell CP did not produce anything other than the usual sort of stuff, there were no Kingfishers or Otters on parade. A singing Cetti's Warbler was probably the highlight though I appreciated good views of birds such as Marsh Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker too. Small numbers of Siskin were present as well as a few Redwings hunting for worms on the mown areas of grass.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker, Marsh Tit and Redwing |
Checking the church did not result in any Peregrine sighting, in fairness I'm not sure if one has been present this winter. Encouraging signs of the approaching spring were visible however as both crocus and Winter Aconite flowers were in bloom. While looking at a patch of the aconites I noticed a couple of Drone and one Marmalade Fly nectaring on the blooms. Both species of hoverfly hibernate as adults so hopefully they can go back to sleep when the weather takes a turn for the worst.
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| Marmalade Fly and Drone Fly on Winter Aconite |
My brother fancied a look at Northampton's celebrity visitor so I joined him for an after work (for him) excursion over to Duston. A group of birders and photographers were already in place and it wasn't long before we managed to see the Dartford Warbler. Keeping company once again with the pair of Stonechats we had distant but fairly good views. Unlike on Sunday I did manage a few record shots of this county scarcity though they're not going to win any awards!
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| Dartford Warbler (and Stonechat) |
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