More Signs Of Spring

 A sunnier and slightly warmer day than yesterday which saw me head over towards Oundle on the trusty X4. A bus stop Cormorant and song flighting Greenfinches entertained me until my bus arrived. On reaching Oundle I walked the short distance to Barnwell CP where I hoped to see something of interest before the hordes arrived.

Nuthatch, Marsh Tit and Reed Bunting

Kingfisher Hide was very quiet and I gave it the elbow after a short space of time opting to head towards Lowlands Hide instead. There was a reasonable selection of the usual birds on view which included Marsh Tit and Nuthatch. A couple of other birders told me that the Mandarins were showing well so I popped along to see them. Three drakes and a duck showed well and I spent several minutes trying to get some snaps. Close to the Mandarins I heard a Willow Warbler singing though it's song was infrequent and neither I nor another birder could get a view. Before I left him to continue his search he told me that he'd heard Blackcaps close by and I decided to see if I could find any. Luck was with me as I saw both a male and a female and though views were poor it was good to hear the male's rich song. By now the park was getting a bit busy so I opted to leave and take a stroll along the river.

Blackcap, Mandarin and Carrion Crow

Several Swallows were seen at the paddocks opposite Oundle Mill where a female Kestrel also showed well. The A605 floods contain a lot of water at the moment and there were still rather a lot of ducks present. Commonest were Teal though decent quantities of both Wigeon and Shoveller remain. Also good to see was a pair of displaying Lapwing near Barnwell Lock, there were several more on the floods. A final highlight of my walk was a Peacock nectaring on Blackthorn blossom which was my forth butterfly species of the year so far.

Kestrel and Peacock