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