Last Post (Well For This Year At Least)

 Alan Shorrock and I spent the last day of 2023 wandering around the dam and the surrounding area at Rutland Water. The weather followed the recent pattern with some brightness, some gusty wind and of course some rain. I'm hoping that 2024 brings some dryer conditions but having just seen the forecast on Countryfile it's not looking likely.

Goldeneyes and Wigeon

In truth there were not that many birds in the area, Alan found three Goosander but they flew off down the reservoir. Among the other ducks present there were a few Goldeneye but both numbers and variety were unimpressive. We failed to find the Slavonian Grebe but did see two Great Northern Divers. They were often distant and spent much of the time underwater but we had fairly prolonged scope views of both. When one did get close it spent so little time above the water that  we struggled to get any pictures of it before it eventually drifted away. Not much else to report other than a couple of Ravens but those divers made the trip worthwhile. Happy New Year everyone, I hope it's a productive, healthy and enjoyable one.

Great Northern Divers

Egret

 It's that flat time before the New Year when it can be a little difficult to summon up enough motivation to venture out and it's particularly so when the weather's as poor as it was this morning. Despite these unpromising conditions I decided to head over to Kettering on the X4 where I wanted to take a stroll around Wicksteed Park. My day's birding began at Wicksteed Water Meadows where I hoped to catch up with the long staying Cattle Egret again.

Cattle Egret

Arriving in a shower of light rain I trudged down towards the meadow where the egret initially played hard to get. After a muddy trek alongside the Ise I eventually found it keeping company with a small group of four cows. It was fairly flighty and proved difficult to photograph at first but after a while I managed to get a few decent shots. In the same area a female Stonechat was noted while there were a few Siskins around too. Once I'd seen enough of the bird I crossed the road and took a stroll around the park itself.

Stonechat and Grey Heron

I didn't manage to see any Yellow-legged Gulls on the lake but there were a few things of note. More Siskins were seen in alders next to the Ise and a Cetti's Warbler was singing at the fishing lake. Also in this area was a Kingfisher which I saw speeding away from me towards the main lake. Wildfowl numbers remain low here and I couldn't find anything of interest among them. Deciding to head into town I kept an eye and ear open for any Waxwings as I walked though without any positive results. Kettering's Peregrines proved more obliging however and I was lucky enough to see two before I boarded my return bus home.

Peregrines

Waxwings

 Today I took a brief break from some weapon's grade calorie consumption to enjoy a last day off before returning to work tomorrow. I set off with Alan Shorrock to look for the Waxwings that had been reported in Higham Ferrers on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself. Today's weather was fairly obliging with the morning in particular being bright and sunny and the light conditions were very good indeed.

Waxwings

We arrived at Higham just before nine and spent a little time walking around the residential streets in search of our glamourous targets. Luck favoured us, a pair of birds that I spotted in the top of a birch tree turned out to be the Waxwings. They treated us to some good views for the next twenty minutes or so before we decided to leave them and a couple of their admirers to it. A quick check on the local Peregrines failed to produce any sightings and we journeyed over to Summer Leys soon after.

Summer Leys sightings.

Summer Leys was a bit on the quiet side, there were a few diving duck on the main lake but the scrape was quiet. Waders included at least nine Snipe and Alan picked out four Golden Plovers though only one decided to land. A Great White Egret was also present on the main lake but there was not much else to report and the lure of a Boxing Day pint was sufficient to bring our birding day to a close.

Christmas Eve

 I awoke with the self-satisfied smirk of someone who had completed their Christmas shopping and who didn't have to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Tescolian or Asdarian hordes. With some free time available to me I decided to pop out and do a spot of birding before preparations for the big day commanded my attention. It was a blustery morning for the most part with the wind sending clouds scudding across the sky, there was the odd bright spell and the occasional showery interval which made for some varied weather conditions if nothing else.

Red Kite

My walk took me through the Willowbrook industrial estate where I hoped that the still berry laden bushes might have attracted some Waxwings. Sadly for me they had not but I'm still hopeful that they might do so before the winter ends. At Brookfield Plantation roaring gusts of wind caused the tree tops to sway and the air was filled with the creaks and groans of moving branches. A Grey Wagtail greeted me on arrival and rather a large flock of Redwings had been drawn to the hawthorns. Several Jays were screeching and their harsh calls were one of the few sounds audible above the wind. Small groups of Siskins were noted at several points, I got a few pics but the light was terrible. Any hopes that I had harboured of seeing Crossbills were not realised and I left without adding much to my meagre list.

Not one of my finest outings perhaps but even a poor day's birding is better than a good day's shopping! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all and I hope that the season brings you all that you want.

Never mid the Robins - have a festive Stonechat instead Merry Christmas!

Smews And Crossbills

 A mild and sunny morning saw Alan Shorrock and I make a cross border trip to Eyebrook reservoir. We had no particular targets in mind though at this time of year it's always great to catch up with the regular Smews. Happily for us they were fairly obliging and we were treated to some good views of at least five and perhaps as many as seven birds.

Smew

From the corral near the island I had a glimpse of two drake Smew though they disappeared soon after. As we progressed up the western side of the res we were treated to better and more prolonged views of others. Two drakes and two redheads were seen from near Hollyoaks while another distant drake was found off Stoke Dry car park. Leaving the Smew behind we failed to find the Red Crested Pochards that have been here for a while but did catch up with an Egyptian Goose. At the sharp end Pintail numbers had increased since our last visit and there were a reported eighty-eight present. On the mud a total of twenty one Dunlin were feeding and there was a single Golden Plover with the many Lapwings. Our last stop at the res was at the bridge where we were treated to good views of a small flock of Siskins.

Eyebrook highlights

After a pint and a spot of lunch we headed to Wakerley Wood where the target was the Crossbills which have been hanging out in the general neighbourhood for some time. While we couldn't find any near the car park we did catch up with some about a kilometre from there. At least fifteen were noted flying over one of the paths and one settled briefly on the top of a conifer. For the first time this winter I was able to grab a record shot before it flew off, I'm hoping I might get a few better ones as the winter progresses. We heard and saw more Crossbills in flight at least twice more before we left but there wasn't much else on view other than a few Siskins.

Crossbill and another Smew view.

At Least I Got A Pint Out Of It!

 A mixed sort of day weatherwise with sunny spells and showers being the order of the day. I managed to blag a day off work and decided to head over to Oundle on the X4. After a couple of decent days I suppose I was due a stinker and today duly obliged. 

Barnwell selection

My birding began at a busy Barnwell CP where there were plenty of dogs and quite a lot of children but not much in the way of wildlife to enjoy. A pair of Mandarin Ducks from the Kingfisher Hide and a flock of about twenty-five Siskins were the only things of note and I didn't spend too long here. My travels next took me along the Nene, the floodwaters have receded enough to allow you to follow the footpath though it's still quite squelchy! A look at the floods produced no surprises, there were several hundred Wigeon and lesser numbers of Shoveller, Teal and Mallard. Waders were confined to a few Lapwings, I looked for but couldn't see any Snipe. Deciding that this was not going to be one of my finer days I headed into town for a spot of lunch and a couple of beers in The Ship Inn.

Flood views.

Owling Mad Again

 Any trip to the wind magnet that is Eldernell always requires a look at the weather forecast beforehand, this is no place to visit when the wind is blowing in from the north. Today's forecast suggested  that the weather was coming from a south-westerly direction and Alan Shorrock and I took advantage of this seemingly promising situation and popped over to the Nene Washes this morning. Our journey was not that straightforward as recent rainfall meant that some of the roads around Whittlesey were closed by flooding while the washes themselves were inundated.

Corn Buntings and Stonechats

On our way to the washes a road closure forced us to divert at one point but this turned out to be a stroke of luck. At a spot called Owl's Rest near the village of Eye Alan spotted several passerines sitting on telephone wires which on closer inspection turned out to be Corn Buntings. There were at least three present and I grabbed a record shot of two of them. We began our exploration of the washes at March Farmers where a drake American Wigeon had been reported. We had no luck finding the wigeon but were treated to a fly-by Bewick's Swan and at least forty Ruffs, several flocks of Golden Plover were noted too.

Tawny and Long-eared Owls

Our next stop was at Eldernell where there appeared to be more birds than at March Farmers. A Great White Egret was seen from the car park and we also noticed good numbers of Pintails on the flood waters. At least half a dozen Marsh Harriers were hunting the margins of the flood and all of them appeared to be female. One of the highlights was a Tawny Owl roosting in a tree, this is presumably the same bird that was here earlier in the year. Two Long-eared Owls roosting in the area were also presumed to be returning birds from last winter. Large numbers of Whooper Swans were noted, I estimated at least two hundred were present. Sadly we didn't catch up with the local Cranes and the only other birds of note were several Stonechats. Other wildlife included about ten Roe Deer, a couple of Muntjac and a Brown Hare. We ended our day at the Carpenters Arms in Coates where several pints and an open fire was just the ticket after a day out on the washes.

Great White Egret and Muntjacs.

Cattle Egret

 I'm no fan of the X4 journey to Kettering, it always seems to take ages and the results do not always reward the effort. Today was OK however as I managed to catch up with the Cattle Egret which has made Wicksteed Water Meadow its home over the last week or so. While Cattle Egrets are no longer the great county rarity that they once were it's still worth catching up with them whenever possible.

Cattle Egret

I wasn't sure whether the bird would be present when I set out as there had been no reports of it yesterday. Any doubts that I harboured were soon dispelled however as soon as I reached the site, the bird was associating with a small herd of cattle. Some disturbance from passers-by caused it to take flight but it didn't go far and I had some reasonable views of it over the next half an hour or so. Some further disturbance again caused it to fly off and I too decided to head for pastures new.

Yellow-legged Gull

Neighbouring Wicksteed Park was a little on the quiet side, there was a small selection of duck on the main lake but nothing too exciting. Best bird was an immature Yellow-legged Gull which was seen near the boardwalk. With little else to hold my attention I headed off into town where I managed to dip on the local Peregrines too. Several pints in the Earl of Dalkeith restored my spirits and also put me in the right frame of mind to tackle the journey home.

Smews And Other News

 December has been a pretty damp affair so far, last Sunday was rained off and so too was yesterday morning. A welcome break in the weather gave me the chance to hop on the X4 and ride over to Oundle and check out the floods between Barnwell Lock and the A605. Leaving the Saturday shoppers behind I walked along towards the river and was fairly surprised by the extent of the flooded area. Not much to report other than the usual common dabblers and masses of Lapwings but I'll be keeping an eye on the area just in case something else drops in.

The floods at Oundle yesterday.

Today at least started dry and Alan and I popped over to Eyebrook where an increasing number of Smew have been present since November. It didn't take long before we found our first with a drake showing well but quite distantly in the bay southwest of the island. Further searching produced views of another drake and two redheads, one of the other regular birders saw three drakes today which took the total to five. Eyebrook must be one of the best sites in the UK for Smew and I wonder how many more will arrive before the winter is over. Other birds showing around the reservoir today included at least two Great White Egrets and a pair of Red Crested Pochards. The latter showed close to the plantation shore and we got reasonable views of them before the arrival of the forecast rain sent us packing.

Smew and Great White Egret.

Lunch and a pint in the Samuel Lloyd kept us occupied until the rain began to ease which allowed us to visit Wakerley Wood. Although the wood was very quiet for the most part there was one notable and welcome exception. A large flock of Crossbills were heard and then seen flying over one of the paths, we estimated at least thirty five though there may well have been more. Attempts to relocate them failed but their continued presence here suggests that future visits may produce additional sightings. The sun was beginning to set by now and we packed up and set off for Corby and home.

Red Crested Pochards