Bramblings

 Yesterday (the 19th) Alan Shorrock and I paid a call on Summer Leys after making a short visit to a site in Corby. Although it was clear and sunny for the most part a cool easterly wind insured that our jackets stayed on! Not too much evidence of spring migration today and indeed it was lingering winter visitors that provided the highlight.

Skylark and Ringed Plover

Our first stop at the Corby site provided views of two Ringed Plovers but no Wheatears which I'd hoped might have been brought in on those easterly winds. Plenty of Skylarks were singing though and there were a few Meadow Pipits too. We didn't hang around here too long before moving on to Summer Leys where things were a little on the quiet side.

Shoveller, Goosander, Wigeon and Lapwing.

A female Goosander was seen from Rotary Hide where a selection of commoner duck species were also noted. Alan picked out a distant Great White Egret which was our only one today, most will now be returning to breeding colonies elsewhere. There was not much to see on the scrape other than a couple of Redshanks, other waders on the reserve were Snipe, Lapwings and a Ruff. Walking around to the feeding station turned out to be a good move as we were treated to great views of four Bramblings coming down to food on the ground. I took far more pictures than I would normally but it's not often that I get such great views of these colourful species. We didn't manage to see much else other than a single Peacock butterfly braving the blowy conditions.

Bramblings