Busy Barnwell

 A sunny Sunday morning is perhaps not the best time to visit Barnwell CP if you want to avoid disturbance. Unfortunately I work during the week and so I found myself joining the bustling throng of people that descended on the park today. Despite the hordes I had an enjoyable time photographing a selection of common species from the two hides.

Mandarins, Marsh Tit and Nuthatch

Kingfisher Hide was rather quiet, some squabbling geese and not much else were my reward for visiting. Rather more pleasing were two pairs of Mandarin Ducks joining the Mallard flock near the bridge on North Lake. Lowlands Hide unlike Kingfisher provided views of quite a few birds as they were tempted down by food put there by photographers. The highlight was perhaps a Marsh Tit though I always enjoy good views of Nuthatch too. Coal and Long-tailed Tits are unusual visitors to the feeders here so I was glad to see examples of both. As the park was by now becoming busier I decided to call it quits and so set off for a stroll along the river.

Long-tailed, Coal and Blue Tits

On the floods near the A605 there were decent numbers of Teal and Wigeon as well as a few Shoveller and Gadwall. A flock of about a hundred Lapwings were also present before they took off and headed out along the valley. Water levels are dropping here so it may not be too long before other waders pay a visit. After my look at the floods I headed off into town for a pint before catching my return bus home.

Blackbird, Jackdaw and Lapwings

Not So Summery At The Leys

 A cold north easterly wind and the occasional shower gave things a wintery feel as Alan Shorrock and I walked around Summer Leys today. We're at that stage of Winter when things are beginning to get a little quieter though we did see one or two things to pique our interest.

Dabchick, Goosander and GWE

There wasn't a great deal to see from Rotary Hide other than a pair of obliging Dabchicks. The scrape briefly hosted a Great White Egret as well as a selection of ducks while a scan of the main lake from Paul Britten Hide revealed a drake Goosander and several hundred Golden Plovers. From the screen hide a first winter Caspian Gull showed well though distantly and a pair of Oystercatchers were noted too, a Redshank seen from here took our wader count to four. A Muntjac bounding away from us near Mary's Lake provided the only non avian interest of the visit. Final highlight of the day was a female Red Crested Pochard which showed reasonably well on the main lake.

Caspian Gull, Golden Plovers and Red Crested Pochard

Quick Return To Blatherwycke

 Blatherwycke Lake seems to be hitting a rich vein of form at the moment, after last week's gawp at a Scaup it was time for a Smew view or two today. A drake and a redhead had been reported yesterday and I scrounged a lift out there this morning hoping to catch up with them. Smew are scarcer in Northants than they are in Leicestershire or Rutland so it's always worth tracking them down if possible and particularly so when they're so close to home.

Smew record shots

A cold though sunny start gave way to some lovely Spring like conditions and I enjoyed my walk along the road next to the lake. Both Smews were found fairly quickly though they remained distant throughout my stay. Despite this I had great views through the scope of my first ever at this site. Eventually I had to pull myself away though not before noting a double figure count of Mandarin Ducks, an Egyptian Goose and a Kingfisher. Leaving Blatherwycke village on my way towards Deene I was surprised to see a wallaby warming itself in the morning sun. Clearly the little blighter had escaped from a garden in the village where they have a collection of such critters and I hope he returns there before the next bout of harsh weather.

Kingfisher and wallaby

My stroll along to Deene was mostly uneventful and Deene itself was a little dull too. The first Lesser Celandines of the year were a welcome sign that Winter may be on the way out and so too was a large bumblebee buzzing around near the lake. Best birds on the lake itself were a few Shelduck and a couple of Shovellers. Nearby Deenethorpe was quiet too though I did see my first butterfly of the year. Although it was probably a Peacock I couldn't quite rule out Red Admiral and so it has to go down as unconfirmed. With my walk to Weldon being similarly unexciting I popped into the pub before catching my bus home.

Lesser Celandines and Grey Herons

Bearded Beauty Doesn't Disappoint

 Bearded Tits are rather rare visitors to Northamptonshire and when they do appear they can be fairly elusive. Often on those occasions that they do pay us a call it's to either Stanwick Lakes or Stortons Pits and it was one at the former site that has been pulling in the admirers over the last week or so. A showy male has been pleasing photographers and birders alike for several days though those of us that have had to work have had to endure a nail biting and finger crossing time of it as we waited for the weekend to finally arrive. A negative report from yesterday did not deter Alan Shorrock and I from making the journey over there this morning even if the weather conditions were less than favourable.

Goldeneyes

Occasional light showers and sunny spells greeted us on arrival but so too did a stiff breeze and this was a potential fly in the ointment. Bearded Tits do not enjoy windy conditions and this coupled with my 100% dip record on county reedlings up until now created some cause for concern. Initial attempts were disappointing, we heard the bird call a couple of times but that was it as far as it went. Alan suggested taking a walk around the site and returning later and that was what we did.

Goosanders and Curlew

On the A45 pit a pair of Goosanders were probably the highlight though two Oystercatchers were my first county ones of the year. A Great White Egret was the first of two that we saw and we heard quite a few Cetti's Warblers and Water Rails around the lakes as we walked. Best bird that we found was a Curlew on the Roadside Pit, although distant we got good views through the scopes. By this point it felt as if the wind had subsided somewhat and so we headed back to the green causeway in the hope of seeing the Bearded Tit.

Bearded Tit

Luck was with us because after a short wait the bird was located feeding low down in the reedbed. I had great views of my first county Beardie through the bins but the still quite blustery conditions made photography difficult. Eventually I managed to get a couple of satisfactory shots of this beautiful bird and after half an hour of gawping Alan and I headed off to Woodford for a couple of celebratory pints in the Duke's Arms.

One more shot for the road!

Mallards

 I kept things local today with a walk around Willowbrook, Weldon and Priors Hall the extent of my travels. Weatherwise it was a dull and grey affair with not too much in the way of birds to brighten things up.

Mallard 'lek'

My first stop was at the A43 pond in Weldon where the usual collection of ducks were present. A good number of Mallards were gathered and I spent some time watching their antics. The drakes were in display mode and the whole thing had the air of some kind of aquatic lek about it. Males would mingle and begin by tipping their heads back slightly while on occasion one would rise out of the water and tower over its rivals. At least twice I saw several which almost seemed to curtsey with their heads tipped forwards and their tails lifted while showing the purple speculums to good effect. As the males  displayed a few non-plussed looking females swam around watching the spectacle, I'm not sure if any pairs formed today though. It's not often that I find Mallards interesting but I certainly enjoyed watching them today.

Fallow Deer

Having moved on to Willowbrook I stopped to look at a herd of Fallow Deer but there were not many birds about, a flock of about a hundred or so Lapwings being the best. Nearby at Priors Hall neither north nor south gullets produced much and it was a pair of Ravens near the steelworks that were probably the highlights.

Red Kite

Scaup

 Reports of a drake Scaup at Blatherwycke Lake decided my day's birding plans for me as Alan Shorrock and I set out this morning with a view to seeing it. Grey skies with just an occasional sunny spell to break the monotony were the order of the day though they did not prevent us from enjoying distant though still decent views of our main quarry.

Scaup

Aside from the Scaup there was a trio of Mandarin Ducks and an Egyptian Goose on view as well as a selection of the commoner wildfowl to see.  A stop at the church failed to produce any sightings of the hoped for Hawfinches though we did get reasonable views of a Nuthatch. A short drive to Deene Lake followed and produced sightings of at least eighteen Shelduck and five Black Swans but not much else. Last good bird of the day was a Grey Wagtail feeding along a stream in Weldon.

Little Egret and Black Swans

Tits

 After yesterday's travels I always suspected that today would be something of an anti-climax and so it proved. While the conditions were fine, blue skies and sunshine contrasting favourably with yesterday's dross, the birding was rather pedestrian. I took the bus over to Oundle from where I walked along to a very busy Barnwell CP before strolling along the Nene to the Lower Barnwell Lock floods. Very little to report, a selection of common species in the park and a few ducks on the flood. On the plus side I took a few nice pics before my wanderings took me to the pub and I'll post a few of them here.

Oundle selection.