Better Than Yesterday

 There was enough sunshine once I'd finished work to persuade me to chance a trip down to Weldon. My attempts to add to this year's ode list came to nothing as I couldn't find any along the stream or around the pond at the woodland park. Unlike yesterday I did see a couple of things that were at least vaguely interesting and I even took a couple of pictures. 

Tadpoles, G-v White and Green Carpet.

A Sedge Warbler was singing from the reeds at the pond where there were also good numbers of tadpoles in the shallows, I heard a Kingfisher too but didn't manage to catch a glimpse. It was quite breezy and this may have explained why I didn't see many butterflies, two Green-veined Whites were all that I managed to find. One final sighting of note was a Green Carpet moth, apparently they're a common species but I  can't remember seeing one before and they're a very attractive species too

Dire

With the morning being so damp and dreary I took the opportunity to do a few bits and bobs at home as well as a bit of shopping whilst hoping conditions might get better. By noon they had improved enough to suggest that a local foray might be worth making, how I wish that I'd stayed at home!

My walk took me along to Willowbrook and then Priors Hall before I walked on to Weldon and my return bus home. Willowbrook was poor, a few Fallow Deer were the only things on view. The plover site was lacking in plovers and anything else for that matter and I began to rue my decision to leave the house. Neither of the gullets at Priors Hall could lighten the mood, all I can remember were dog walkers who were letting their poochy pals run free off the lead. Away from the mutts and the quarry lake failed to produce too, the Great Crested Grebes appear to have moved on and I didn't even see any Sand Martins. After what must have been one of my worst sorties ever I threw the towel in and headed for home.

I've just learnt that Pioneer Hide at Summer Leys has been subjected to an attack by vandals and may be closed for some time. I'm angered and saddened by the antics of whichever slack jawed and knuckle dragging morons were responsible but not surprised, we're living in a time when idiotic behaviour is becoming almost the norm. In our age of throwaway tech and fashions it seems as if little has any lasting value, if we break it then what the hell - why not get another? I'm sure that the people responsible, who were probably young adults rather than kids, will not give the matter another thought. People are apt to call this sort of behaviour mindless but it's not, all actions require a certain amount of thought it's just that the thought processes involved are alien to most of us. It would be nice to think that the arseholes involved might suffer some sort of punishment but I doubt whether the police would do anything even if they caught them. My heart goes out to the wildlife trust and the reserve volunteers and to all those people (including myself) that use the hide, hopefully they can fix it without breaking the bank.

I didn't take any pictures today so here's a few more shots from Majorca.

Passing Through

 It felt more like winter today at Summer Leys with a cold wind, grey skies and rain making for an unpleasant experience. On my first trip out since my holiday I joined Alan Shorrock on a walk around part of the reserve. If the weather seemed a little unseasonal then the birding did not with plenty of migrants on site including more than a few year firsts.

Common Sandpiper and Sedge Warbler

From Rotary Hide we saw plenty of hirundines feeding low over the water, most were Swallows and Sand Martins though there were a few House Martins mixed in with them too. A Common Sandpiper was noted from here and what I presume was the same bird was seen at various other spots on the reserve during our walk. The scrubby area near the car park hosted a Sedge Warbler as well as a couple of Garden Warblers while the best from Pioneer was a Little Ringed Plover. On the walk between Pioneer and Paul Britten Hide I heard both Cuckoo and Lesser Whitethroat.

Little and Ringed Plovers and Black-tailed Godwits

Paul Britten Hide delivered some good birding, Alan picked out several Yellow and also a White Wagtail while I found a Black-tailed Godwit. A few Swifts were feeding above the lakes and there was a good number of Common Terns too. While sitting in the hide we watched as a flock of seven more Black-tailed Godwits landed briefly on Gull Island before heading off over Great Doddington. If the godwits stay was brief then that of four Whimbrels, also on Gull Island, was even shorter, there was just enough time to identify them before they set off again on their travels northwards. Another wader noted from the hide was a Ringed Plover which also appeared to favour Gull Island. Once we had left the hide we didn't manage to add much more to our list with the only other bird of note on the reserve itself being Reed Warbler. Having got back to the car in Mary's Lane we were about to stow the gear when a Peregrine delayed matters. First a male and then an immature female were seen causing more than a little alarm amongst the local bird population. On the way home we popped into Wellingborough for a pint, it was nice to have a decent beer after swigging too much lager in Majorca.

Yellow Wagtail, Sand Martin and Peregrine

That's Not A Siberian Hamster!

 As I mentioned in my previous post our hotel was home to a variety of interesting wildlife but one incident above all others sticks in my mind and that for all the wrong reasons too. I thought that if you don't mind I might share my experience with you now. It does not feature one of the most interesting or even one of the most appealing of animals but it certainly provided more than a little excitement!

My wife and I had returned to our room after an evening meal and were sitting at the dining table chatting away and enjoying a drink whilst playing a few hands of cards. Our friendly competition was however brought to an abrupt halt when the skittering sound of claws drew our attention to a scuttling rat making its way from the bathroom and into the kitchen. The reaction of my wife went from being stunned, or perhaps it was more horrified, before provoking an unrepeatable and absolutely unprintable outburst. I hastily grabbed my shoes and set off to find some staff, I'm no fan of UB40 and I'm fairly certain too that I wouldn't be looking for rat recipes even if I was!

The staff in the restaurant looked somewhat aghast when I reported my wildlife sighting and suggested a trip to reception might be in order which is where I duly headed. Another look of shock crossed the receptionist's face as I repeated my news. She informed me that a man would be dispatched with due haste and that I should return to the room and await his arrival. Now I was expecting at the very least a professional varmint vanquisher with a mouse trap in one hand and at least a small calibre pistol clutched in the other. What I didn't expect to see were two fellas that looked as if they were from the hotel's security team and who appeared to have no way whatsoever of dealing with any unwelcome rodent even if they managed to find it. With a certain amount of miming and a smattering of basic Spanish I showed them where the rat had run to and watched on as they set about their task. One moved the fridge rather speculatively while the other revealed way too much of his Calvin Kleins as he knelt down to peer under the cupboards. I suspect that it was with a sense of relief that they failed to find our visitor and they wasted no time in pointing out their discovery to me. Our would be rat routers seemed smugly satisfied with their feeble efforts and left to presumably report their achievements back to reception.

My wife unsurprisingly was unimpressed with the efforts of Los Chuckle Brothers and I was despatched once again to see reception, there was no way she was going to share her room with any cousin of Basil! I informed the same woman that our furry interloper was still at large and that we would require a change of accommodation. To her credit she arranged this with haste but at no point did she apologise for what I assumed (or rather hoped) was an isolated event. Within an hour of first spying ratty we were settled in our new and hopefully vermin free abode - I don't mind watching wildlife but it's no where near as much fun when it comes to pay you a house call!

Not A Load Of Bals!

 I've just returned from a week's holiday in the company of my non birding wife. We enjoyed some nice weather, plenty of food and drink and I managed to get out and about for a bit of nature spotting. Our holiday was based in Alcudia in the north east of the island and it's a great resort for birders as there are quite a few top sites nearby. Most of my wanderings were on foot though I did resort to public transport on one occasion.

Heron assortment

I paid two visits to the excellent Albufuera reserve and was rewarded on both occasions with some interesting wildlife. Although my efforts to see Moustached Warblers again were unsuccessful there was plenty of other good stuff to ease the pain of dipping. The reserve is an excellent spot for herons and the mixed heronry on the Grand Canal holds good numbers of Little and Cattle Egrets as well as Night Herons and a few Glossy Ibis. Elsewhere on the site I encountered Little Bittern and a Squacco Heron as well as more mundane fare in the shape of several Grey Herons. Matching the herons for stature though trouncing them in the flamboyance stakes were good numbers of Greater Flamingos. It's still a little early for the main rush of arctic waders yet but a small group of Little Stints had joined the resident Little Ringed and Kentish Plovers, sadly I didn't see the reported Collared Pratincole. Albufuera is home to a scheme to reintroduce  Crested Coots, Purple Gallinules and Red Crested Pochards to Majorca and I managed to see all three, it was hard to avoid the coots as they strolled around the feet of bemused birders. One more highlight worthy of mention was a flock of five Whiskered Terns that had stopped for a rest on their northward migration and showed well if a little distantly.

Waders

Another wetland reserve worthy of any birder's time is Albufereta situated between Alcudia and Puerto Pollenca. On this visit it was uncharacteristically a little dull, there was a small selection of waders but not much else. Good views of Corn Buntings were my main compensation for what was quite an arduous hike but this county rarity is always worth watching. A trip on one of the excellent local buses took me to the Boquer Valley where I hoped to find some Balearic Warblers as well as raptors. Not for the first time my quarry managed to stay hidden away though one sang long enough to increase my sense of frustration! Vultures saved the day from being a total bust as I saw three Griffons, my first on the island, and a single Black. A pair of Botted Eagles consisting of a dark and a pale phase bird was also memorable. My only Bee-eaters of the trip were also heard here as they passed overhead.

Majorcan miscellany.

When I wasn't gallivanting around premier birding sites I spent a bit of time walking around an open area interspersed with pine woods and farmland north of the almost bird free Lake Esperanza. A decent haul of birds was achieved with my favourite being a Wryneck calling from an old olive grove, some rubbish record shots were taken. Sharing the same tree was my only Woodchat Shrike of the trip - that was a very good five minute spell! With a soundtrack of calling Hoopoes and a chorus of Nightingales, Serins and Sardinian Warblers I enjoyed my wanders around the area. Our hotel was not without interest either as it was home to a small number of scrounging Audouin's and Yellow-legged Gulls. On one occasion while my wife Sandra and I were enjoying a lakeside drink our conversation was halted first by a passing male Hen Harrier and then a Cuckoo as both made their way northwards. My highlight however was a Long-eared Owl hunting around the grounds in the pre dawn gloom, I'm not sure who was more surprised - me or the local House Sparrows.

Hotel scrounger squad

Other wildlife proved to be quite elusive and it wasn't until the last few days before I encountered many butterflies. Small Whites and Speckled Woods were the commonest species and the former in particular was widespread. A single Red Admiral may have been a migrant though the other species were probably local. On my last day at Albufuera some sunny weather brought out Holly and Common Blues, a few Small Coppers and two Swallowtails. I spent quite a while standing next to the butterfly garden watching the latter chasing each other around. Not many dragonflies to report with just a single Lesser Emperor and a Black-tailed Skimmer on show. All in all it was a pretty good trip, Majorca is a great place for getting a spot of package holiday wildlife watching without breaking the bank.

Butterfly gallery.

First Of The Season

 I'm off to Majorca tomorrow and looking forward to some decent birding but in the meantime I kept myself amused today in the county. I split my time between Oundle and Priors Hall and enjoyed a pretty entertaining session. With the weather proving to be quite warm and with the sun shining I hoped to see a few interesting insects and it turned out that I wasn't to be disappointed.

Green Woodpecker, Grasshopper Warbler and Green-veined White

The floods near Lower Barnwell Lock look rather interesting and the water level looks promising for waders. I only saw Oystercatchers and Redshanks this morning but I'm sure that more species will be noted before the spring migration is over. If the waders were underwhelming it was left to warblers to provide some interest. A trio of year firsts were singing in the large field between Prince William School and the River Nene and these were Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat as well as at least one reeling Grasshopper Warbler. I only managed brief views of the first two but the Grasshopper Warbler showed fairly well. Several butterflies also showed before I headed off back towards Corby and these were Orange-tip and Green-veined White.

Orange-tip, Speckled Wood and Peacock

Having got off the bus at Weldon I made my way to Priors Hall where I hoped to catch up with some early Large Red Damselflies.  The Quarry Lake had its usual selection of birds while around the ponds a small number of Siskins and a squealing Water Rail were left overs from winter. Plenty of Speckled Woods are now on the wing while other butterflies included Peacocks, Brimstones and Orange-tip. Whilst walking around one of the ponds I caught sight of a Large Red Damsel fluttering up from the reeds which then obliged me by landing long enough to allow me to get some pictures. More sightings followed and I saw a minimum of at least thirty three during my walk. Many were fresh looking tenerals making their first flights but others looked as if they had been out for several days. These were my earliest ever sightings beating my previous record by two days. Once I'd finished my wander I walked into Weldon where a pint and lunch in the George brought things to an agreeable close.

Large Red Damselflies.

Willow Warblers

 A similar day to yesterday though there seemed to be a little less sun and a little more wind. Just a local jaunt today taking in Willowbrook Industrial Estate and Priors Hall but the breeze did its job of keeping things down and I struggled to see much of note.

Little Ringed Plover and Skylark

My spotting began at the plover site where I managed to find a Little Ringed, I haven't seen any Ringeds since they first returned and I'm more than a little concerned that they won't hang around this summer. Walking on to Willowbrook where a Willow Warbler was singing again in much the same spot as it was last week. There were plenty of Skylarks though very few were singing which was presumably due to the wind. More Willow Warblers were singing in both the North and South Gullets at Priors with still more around the ponds. Clearly there has been a good arrival of them over the last day or so and they're beginning to establish their territories.

Willow Warbler and Great Crested Grebe

At the quarry lake the Sand Martins were battling the breeze low over the water while some courtship display proved that the two Great Crested Grebes are a pair and may well breed. I had my first look around the ponds this year as I look forward to the coming dragonfly season. No sign of any early Large Red Damselflies but it shouldn't be more than a few weeks before the first emerge. In sheltered spots I encountered a few butterflies with two Peacocks a Small White and four Speckled Woods making up the total. Not much else to report though a group of seventeen Tufted Ducks on the reed fringed lake was noteworthy.

Speckled Wood and Peacock