Monarch's rain

 There's no beating around the bush today, the weather was awful and it's pointless to pretend otherwise. I wanted to go out but did not want to get soaked in the process and that meant that I needed to find somewhere with hides. Eventually after some internal deliberation my thoughts settled on Barnwell CP and I boarded the X4. Currently there are roadworks and closures on the A427 so my bus took a detour via Thrapston before I finally reached Oundle.

Far but still a star, Kingfisher

In quite heavy rain I made my squelchy way to the Kingfisher Hide, there were a few dog walkers wandering about but the park was not unsurprisingly quiet. It didn't take too long before a Kingfisher flashed past but it didn't stay. Some minutes later I heard another and this one perched. Always far away and often obscured I was treated to distant and often obscured views of a male Kingfisher but I was grateful nonetheless. While waiting to see if a 'fisher might get closer I had a brief view of a Grey Wagtail though it didn't hang around for pics. The only other species of note from the hide was Mandarin Duck, at least eleven were noted.

Dunnock and juvenile Robin

A short stroll through the continuing monsoon took me to Lowlands Hide where I added a selection of the commoner species to my list of which Nuthatch was the star. I rather enjoyed chatting to a fellow wildlife enthusiast but blethering aside there was little to hold the interest. I decided to brave the rain once more and headed back into Oundle, the Rose and Crown kept me occupied until my bus arrived.

Mandarin, Treecreeper and Blue Tit