Peregrine To Begin But Butterflies Steal The Show

 Just a local sortie today that saw me journey no further than the Welland Valley near Gretton, The weather was similar to yesterday's offering though the wind had veered round to a brisk northwesterly. Braving the showers I headed first to check on my local Peregrines, I met with some success as a single bird was present. Brookfield Plantation was quiet with just a Nuthatch and a small herd of Fallow Deer on view.

Peregrine

I encountered what was probably that same herd of Fallows as I walked towards the escarpment that overlooks the Welland Valley,  sadly they bounded off out of view before I could raise my camera. A croaking Raven was my first of two noted today, the second was in the valley itself. From the escarpment I could see that there was still some water in the valley which meant that I'd have to head down towards the road to check it out. How I wished that I hadn't, the water was devoid of birds and the slope seemed much steeper as I gasped my way back up to the top of the ridge. Once I'd recovered my breath a little I set off towards Brookfield as I made my way home.

Red Admiral

While there were still no birds of note in the wood a Red Admiral was only my second butterfly of the year. It flew up and down one of the rides before settling and I was able to grab a few pictures. Walking through Willowbrook Industrial Estate added a third butterfly to my year list in the lovely shape of a male Brimstone. He settled for a teasingly short time before fluttering away just as my camera was focusing. Don't you just love it when they do that! My day ended as a heavy shower rolled in leading to a quick march home and a chance to dry off.

Pied Wagtail

The Season Kicks Off

 Alan Shorrock and I spent much of the day in the Nene Valley starting at Stanwick Lakes. For much of the morning it was sunny if somewhat blustery though by the afternoon several squally showers blew through bringing some heavy rain with them. Birding was far from brilliant though we did see a few interesting bits of which an early Willow Warbler was perhaps the highlight.

Most of a Willow Warbler and Chaffinch.

An Otter showed briefly on the A45 pit where the usual squawking horde of Black-headed Gulls were in residence. The main lake had a couple of Redshanks as well as a brace of Snipe, a group of ten plus Sand Martins were noted a little further on from the bridge that bears their name. Alan picked out a Swallow amongst them but I just couldn't get on to it. Kingfisher Bridge provided good views of a female Goosander fishing in the river, we watched her catch a large fish before she flew off down river with her prey.  Having failed to identify a butterfly at Deenethorpe Airfield at the end of February it was good to see a Small Tortoiseshell which settled briefly allowing me the chance to get a picture. It's always nice to get the season up and running even if it is a bit later than usual.

GSW, Reed Bunting and Small Tortoiseshell

Yesterday a Ring-necked Duck was reported from Kinewell Lake at Ringstead and that was reason enough to call in on our way past. This is far from being my favourite spot for birding as views of the lake are limited by waterside trees. It didn't matter today as there were very few birds of any sort on the lake and certainly no sign of any Ring-necked Ducks! Highlight was a couple of female Goosanders though a Goldcrest provided me with my best ever photos as it actually paused for a minute or so. Normally these hyperactive little blighters are too fast for me to track with the camera. Deciding that we'd suffered enough and with the call of the Dukes at Woodford singing a siren song in our ears we headed off for a compensatory pint.

Goosander and Goldcrest

Willowbrook Wheatears

 Having got back from Norfolk with a bit of time to spare I decided to repeat Sunday's walk and so headed along to Weldon on the X4. On the A43 pond Tufted Duck numbers have risen to eighteen and a newly arrived pair of Mute Swans means that the pair of Canada Geese that looked to be settling in will be forced to move on.  Passerine interest was provided by a Grey Wagtail and a Chiffchaff.

Ringed Plovers

I then moved on to check on the Ringed Plovers and bumped into Alan Shorrock as I did so. We had views of a pair which were quite distant from us and I also saw a Brown Hare there too. Leaving Shozzer and the plovers behind I set off for Willowbrook Industrial to check for Wheatears. Luck favoured me today as I found five without too much effort, they may have been grounded by one of the many heavy showers. Good though quite distant views were obtained before I headed along to Priors Hall.

Wheatears

The North Gullet is still paying host to the pair of Stonechats though they didn't show well or for long before they disappeared. Also present again was a songflighting Meadow Pipit, it will be nice if this one sticks around as they're a scarce breeding species in the county. The South Gullet was quieter with just a few Sand Martins and a small herd of Fallow Deer to report. The weather was beginning to look a little more threatening and I opted to head back to Weldon where a few pints in the George made my wait for the bus quite enjoyable.

Fallow Deer

Hunstanton Break

 My wife Sandra and I have just returned from a three night stay in Hunstanton, Norfolk. While it wasn't a birding trip I did take a couple of walks during which I managed to see a few birds. Strong south westerlies are not the best recipe for birding success in Norfolk and I didn't manage to catch up with any incoming migrants. That's not to say that nothing was on the move however and three species passing in good numbers were Red-breasted Merganser, Meadow Pipit and Wood Pigeon. The mergansers put in a best ever Norfolk performance for me with perhaps as many as fifty present between Heacham and Hunstanton.

Wader selection.

Not too many waders were seen and Oystercatcher and Turnstone were the commonest with lesser numbers of Sanderling, Curlew, Ringed Plover and Redshank making up the rest of the list. One of the Turnstones was wearing a combination of colour rings, I'll have to do a spot of research to find out where it came from. Other birding highlights included the regular Fulmars, a pair of Grey Partridges and my first Hunstanton Red Kite. Not too much in the way of other wildlife on view other than Brown Hares and a Muntjac.

Merganser record shot, Fulmars and Grey Partridge

More Summer Arrivals

 My first stop on today's walk was the A43 pond at Weldon where a selection of common waterfowl included a double figure count of Tufted Ducks, several Siskins were also present  From there I moved on checking a local site for returning Ringed Plovers as I went. It took a couple of minutes of peering through the bins but I did find one and hear another, good news as this is currently their only breeding location in the county. Nearby at Willowbrook Industrial Estate I saw several herds of Fallow Deer but couldn't find any of the hoped for Wheatears. There was plenty of singing going on with Skylarks, at least one song flighting Meadow Pipit and several Chiffchaffs joining in. It seems as if these little warblers are now well established as I heard them at other spots too.

Ringed Plover and Fallow Deer

On the CBA playing field at Priors Hall a trio of Brown Hares were showing, I don't normally reveal locations for hares nowadays due to the unfortunate actions of coursers but this seems to be a secure enough site. A pair of Stonechats graced the North Gullet, the male was much showier than the female and gave some good views. Next door at the South Gullet half a dozen Sand Martins were there to gawp at as they fed near their colony. Mother's Day commitments brought my spotting to an early close and I had to head back towards Weldon to catch my bus home.

Brown Hare, Skylark, Sand Martin and Stonechat

Summer Comes To The Leys

 My day started with an early morning walk to the town centre so that I could grab the first bus to Earls Barton from where I took a stroll along the Nene to Summer Leys. For the duration of my wander the weather stayed dry if mostly grey and it felt fairly mild too. My visit was marked by sightings of some arriving Summer visitors and I'd imagine that the next few weeks will bring in many more.

LRP record shot and female Pintail.

Around Mill Lake many Cetti's Warblers were singing while on the lake itself there was a good number of Shoveller though not much else. On neighbouring Hardwater there were two hundred plus Wigeon which I checked through in case they had been joined by one of their American cousins - they hadn't! Heading to the reserve I could hear many Chiffchaffs singing, I suspected that they may have been newly arrived migrants though can't be sure. From Rotary hide I didn't see too much though things improved somewhat from Pioneer. Another birder put me on to a Little Ringed Plover on one of the islands as well as a female Pintail. News that a pair of Garganeys had been seen from Paul Britten hide saw me making my way along there pretty sharpish.

Distant drake Garganey and Redshank

On arrival I learnt that the Garganeys hadn't been seen on the scrape but rather on the opposite bank of the main lake. Worse still they hadn't been noted for a while though I didn't have much time to contemplate  dipping as another birder found them soon afterwards. Although distant they looked nice enough through the scope and were not surprisingly my first of the year. Summer Leys seems to be one of the most reliable spots for Garganeys and I'm glad that record looks set to continue. I didn't see much else from the hide other than a wisp of twelve Snipe and four Great White Egrets.

Snipe and Wigeon

The rest of my circuit of the reserve did not add much to my day list and I headed back along the river. Sadly the Saxon Tavern was closed but the Old Swan delivered a couple of very nice pints to help my wait for the bus pass pleasantly enough.

One of several new grass cutters!

Pintails And A Peregrine

 The prospect of there being a decent amount of flooding in the Welland Valley decided my day for me today. I set off just after eight and headed towards Brookfield Plantation. A check on my local Peregrines initially drew a blank but a bird flew in several minutes later and I was treated to some decent enough views through the bins. Brookfield was fairly quiet, a few Siskins were noted and the wild song of a Mistle Thrush provided an atmospheric soundtrack to my walk but other than that it wasn't great.

Peregrine and Red Kite

Emerging from the wood I took the footpath to the escarpment that overlooks the valley. From here I could see that there was indeed a few flooded areas to investigate and so I wasted no time in heading down towards the road. Hundreds of gulls were milling about, mostly Common and Black-headed which I checked for goodies but couldn't find any Meds or anything else amongst them. Very few Lapwings were drawn to the floods, I wonder if many left the area during the recent snowy weather and have yet to return. Both Starlings and thrushes were feeding on the wet grass, there was one large flock of five hundred plus of the former near Rockingham. Six species of dabbling duck were noted on the floods of which Pintails were the most interesting, at least eleven including seven drakes were observed. I don't see too many of these elegant ducks in Northants so I was happy to catch up with them today. Once I reached Rockingham I began my ascent up the hill and headed for home, not one of my best days but I've had worse.

Pintail record shots

Dip At Lings, Squelchy Feet At Cogenhoe But It Wasn't All Bad!

The snow which fell during the week had for the most part thawed by the time this afternoon came around. Before that however Alan Shorrock and I popped into Lings Wood in Northampton in the hope of catching up with Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. With some pleasant sunshine on offer I was hopeful of seeing or at least hearing one but sadly there was no trace of any today. In fairness there was not a great deal else to report other than a few Siskins and a couple of Sparrowhawks and so conceding defeat we threw the Lings towel in and set off for Ecton SF.

Grey Wagtail and Mink

Parking at Mill Lane in Cogenhoe we set off towards bridge 121 where the Siberian Chiffchaffs were noted earlier in the year. At the lock Shozzer spotted a Mink wandering among the caravans parked next to the Nene, it didn't pose for any decent pics but it did provide some half decent views. Several Grey Wagtails were also seen while the flooded fields hosted plenty of Greylags and Black-headed Gulls. We set off across the waterlogged field towards the bridge that crosses the Nene. The normally muddy path was submerged and to such a depth that it seeped into my wellies leading to some uncomfortably damp and cold feet. Ignoring the discomfort Alan and I headed off to bridge 121 where we hoped the Siberian Chiffies would be more obliging than the Lings 'peckers.

Siberian Chiffchaffs

Luck was with us at Ecton as at least two Sibes were still present and feeding with some of their commoner cousins. One was a dishevelled looking character that vaguely resembled a Bonelli's Warbler while the other was the traditional milky coffee colour type more typical of tristis Chiffies. Both showed well at times which is more than can be said for the Cetti's Warbler which only popped out a couple of times. We spent quite a lot of time watching the Chiffchaffs feeding before heading back through the flood towards the car. Returning to the lock I paused to empty the water out of my wellies and while doing so heard some Ring-necked Parakeets calling. Alan scanned a nearby wood and managed to see one in flight, I saw a couple more a little later on. A group of four treated us to good views as they flew across the river to visit some feeders in the caravan gardens. We enjoyed some good views before they flew back to the woods, these were my first for several years. Our birding day was brought to a conclusion and it was time to head off for a couple of pints in Earls Barton's Saxon Tavern.

Furtive Cetti's and Ring-necked Parakeet

Mediocre March Meander

 A bout of stomach trouble forced the postponement of a proposed trip in search of displaying Goshawks and that brought about an abrupt change of plan. Left looking for an alternative place to visit Alan Shorrock and I settled on a walk around the nature reserve at Aldwincle. The weather was a bit on the dull side and so too was the birding, we seem to have hit the early March doldrums. It's looking cold and wintery for the next week or so but I'm hoping that Spring arrives sooner rather than later.

GWE and distant Stonechat

Wildfowl numbers seem to be on the decline now though there were still ten plus Goldeneyes and double that number of Pochards while a single drake Pintail added some class to the day. Two pairs of Oystercatcher provided a sign that Spring is on the way and so too did a singing Chiffchaff. Other interesting passerines included a female Stonechat and a displaying Raven as well as several singing Cetti's Warbler. A minimum of three Water Rails were heard but not seen, three Great White Egrets were more obliging. Having completed a circuit of the reserve we elected to knock the birding on the head and headed off to the Duke's Arms for some welcome liquid refreshment.

Duck duo and Raven