The Pits

 I spent a dank and dreary couple of hours wandering around Wicksteed Park this morning and although the weather improved slightly my birding did not. Large numbers of squawking Black-headed Gulls were around the main lake but there was little else while a Chiffchaff and a Kingfisher at the fishing lake were the highlight. A thorough search of the Greylag Goose flock failed to produce any sightings of the Pink-footed Goose that was here earlier in the week and at this point I decided to cut my losses and quit. Now it's probably not the first time that a desperate man has turned to the church for redemption and presumably also not the first time that said institution has failed to deliver either but my attempt to see the local Peregrines in the town centre ended in failure too. Before I caught my bus home I grabbed a sausage butty and this was the only part of the morning that I enjoyed!

Magpie and Coot

Pits Bits

 I was lucky enough to have a day off today so I joined up with Shozzer and took a trip over to Pitsford Reservoir. With plenty of sunshine on offer we spent a pleasant couple of hours looking for the juvenile Great Northern Diver which had arrived earlier this week. In truth the diver proved to be quite easy to find and most of the time was spent walking from Brixworth Country Park around to the Cliffs where we'd viewed it catching crayfish.

Great Northern Diver

Once we had finally trudged around to where we had last seen the diver it did not take too long to pick it up again. At first it was taking a post prandial snooze but soon woke up to offer us some half decent photo opportunities. Having had what were probably my best ever views of GND in the county we opted to head back towards the car noting at least one Siskin on the way. 

Pink-footed Goose

Our next stop was the causeway where a Pink-footed Goose had been reported hanging around with the Greylags. No wild goose chasing was required today however as the bird showed very easily at the small picnic area near to the car park. We watched it snoozing and preening for quite some time before we left it to its leisure and walked back to the car. A pint in the Royal Oak at Walgrave was a good way to end my day off.

Starling

Bert Blows

 After a week of tedium at work I always look forward to the weekend and the chance to get out and enjoy the countryside. This weekend sadly has been blighted by the arrival of storm Bert whose wind and rain has limited my opportunities to get out and about. After yesterday's washout I opted to head over to Barnwell where I hoped the hides would shelter me from the worst of Bert's bluster. The weather in the morning at least was OK, sometimes wet and sometimes blowy but there was sunshine too and it was certainly mild.

Mandarins

I walked to the park from Oundle and had the place to myself as I made my way to Kingfisher Hide. No sign of the 'fishers today but some Mandarin Ducks added some much need colour to proceedings. At least two drakes and two ducks had joined the regular Mallards and Gadwalls. Passerines were understandably keeping a low profile in the strong wind but I did see Nuthatch and Treecreeper on my wander around. As I left the park I realised why my walk had been so quiet, the park was shut due to high winds - oops! Having left Barnwell I walked along to the floods near the A605 noting several Chiffchaffs on the way, there was a selection of the commoner dabbling ducks on the floods themselves. Once I'd brought my wildlife watching activities to an end I headed into town for a top notch breakfast in the Coffee Tavern and a pint of Pedigree in the Rose and Crown. Not a fantastic day by any means but good to get out nonetheless.

Last Of The Year?

 It was fairly sunny this morning when I left the house and I decided to visit Priors Hall to see if any late season dragons might be lingering. Although the temperature has remained unseasonably mild this autumn there has been very little sunshine and I was far from optimistic when I set out. A mix up with the buses meant that I had to walk to Priors Hall though the stroll was pleasant enough and wasn't too taxing.

Pochard

A check of the Quarry Lake at Priors did not produce much of note, a small flock of Tufted Ducks were the highlight. On one of the other ponds a drake Pochard was probably my bird of the day as they're a fairly rare visitor to the site. I was pleased to note that Siskins were feeding in the many alders in company with good numbers of Goldfinches, numbers of these little yellow finches do seem to be increasing after what seemed like a slow start. The local passerines were clearly upset by a passing Sparrowhawk if the volume of their alarm calls was anything to go by and one species disturbed by the passing raptor was Marsh Tit, at least two were present. One final birding highlight was a Kingfisher which I saw and heard on several occasions though my views were always brief. 

Red Kite

My search for darters took a while to get going and looked initially as if it might end in failure. I had a quick view of one though it didn't settle and this experience was repeated again as I wandered around the ponds. Eventually a female posed long enough for a few pics, I suspect these may be my last dragonfly pictures of the year. By now the weather was beginning to deteriorate and there were a few drops of light rain which prompted me to head back towards Weldon from where I caught my bus home.

Common Darter

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Local Lakes

 Alan Shorrock and I visited Deene this morning where we spent some time in the churchyard looking for the Hawfinches that Alan saw here earlier in the week. We didn't manage to see any of the target birds though there appears to be some berries left on the Yews and they may still be about. After we'd given up on the finches we headed down towards the lake.

Pink-footed Goose

A quick scan of the water revealed a Pink-footed Goose loosely associating with the Greylags, it flew off after about ten minutes. Further scans of the lake produced a female Pintail mixed in with the Mallards, I think that this might be my first here though I have seen an escaped White-cheeked Pintail on several occasions. More regular were two Shelducks, I'd expect their numbers to build as the winter progresses. Rounding off the list were at least four Black Swans and a flyby Grey Wagtail.

Red Crested Pochards

Our next and final stop was at Blatherwycke where we concentrated on checking the lake rather than looking for Hawfinches. The Red Crested Pochard count had risen to four with two ducks now joining the drakes, two pairs of Mandarins were also present on the eastern part of the lake. After some time searching we managed to pick out the immature female Scaup on the western side of the bund feeding with a group of Pochards and Tufted Ducks. While looking at the scaup Shozzer found a Green Sandpiper and that was the last thing of note before we headed off to a local pub for a pint. 

Scaup

It's Spelt H-A-W

 My walk to work at Eurohub takes me past the Tesco Extra store and then towards Long Croft Road before ending at the Iron Mountain warehouse. Generally I don't tend to see too much of note, warblers in summer and thrushes in winter plus many of the commoner resident species but nothing too exciting. Over the last couple of mornings however Hawfinches have made the usual trudge much more interesting and have even managed to knock Crossbill into second place on my commute to work list.

One from the last influx.

Yesterday I heard a Hawfinch calling from the path that passes between two warehouses on the Eurohub site. This morning I kept my ears open in the hope of hearing it again and perhaps even catching a glimpse but failure attended my efforts. I passed on to Long Croft Road and had walked only a few yards before I heard Hawfinch calling from South Wood. One bird flew out, its front heavy and short tailed silhouette being very distinctive, while at least one more continued to call from the trees. As I approached the entrance to the warehouse two Hawfinches flew into a tree near the gate, I'm assuming that they were the same birds but can't be sure. There are cherry trees in the grounds of the site and it might be these that are attracting the Hawfinches. Incidentally its surprising how quickly non birders lose interest when they find out that Hawfinch is spelt with an H-A-W and not in a potentially more interesting way beginning W-H-O-R....I'm sure you get the picture! I'll be hoping for more sightings tomorrow.

Birding Outshines The Weather!

 Yet another dank and dingy day in what seems to have been an endless procession of them, I heard rumours that the sun may eventually reappear but I'll believe it when I see it! Alan Shorrock and I ventured over to Blatherwycke Lake where our main target was Hawfinch, they have been seen several times since my initial sighting last Sunday and we were optimistic of seeing one this morning.

Crappy photo but nice bird, Hawfinch

Luck certainly seemed to favour us, I had brief views of one before I set my scope up but it flew before Shozzer could get on to it. Any disappointment that Al felt soon disappeared when he spotted one in a nearby tree. It stayed put for a couple of minutes and I attempted a few record shots. Once the bird had flown in the direction of the large Yew we hung around for a little longer before heading towards the lake. Several Ravens were heard and at least one seen as we made our way towards the lake.

Whooper Swans

Before we even got to the water I heard Whooper Swans calling and then found a group of eight adults at the eastern end of the lake. The birds were vocal and seemed rather restless and eventually they flew off in a westerly direction. Last weeks Red Crested Pochard drake had been joined by a second bird and both were watched as they fed in the middle of the lake. We searched for a female Scaup that Alan had photographed here on Monday but it looked as if the bird had flown. We later learned that a Common Scoter had been seen here but it must have been seen on part of the lake that we didn't cover. While scanning the lake news came through on the Eyebrook WhatsApp that two Knot were present at the inflow. I was quite eager to see them and managed to persuade Shozzer to head over in that direction.

Red Crested Pochards

From Stoke Dry car park we saw a Great White Egret but not much else and so headed towards the sharp end. The Knot showed easily enough as they picked their way through the ranks of five-hundred plus Golden Plovers, rubbishy record shots were duly taken of what remains a scarce inland visitor.  Sharing the mud with the Knots and Goldies were many Lapwings and three Dunlin. The next stop on our brief tour of the res was the gateway near Hollyoaks. Al managed to find the pair of Red crested Pochard close to the plantation shore and also three Goldeneye near the tern rafts. Our final stop was near the island where eight Egyptian Geese provided the highlight. 

Knots.

A Fine Finale

 My search for Hawfinches took me to Blatherwycke where once again the weather was of the dull and grey variety. I positioned myself at the traditional spot in the churchyard and waited hoping to strike lucky. Almost immediately a wheezing call coming from the top of a tree drew my attention to a trio of Bramblings, my first of the autumn, that moved on before I could grab a picture. Moments after they had departed a Redpoll passed overhead while a Raven cruised silently past. There was a lot of bird song and calls at this stage and I turned my Merlin app on, it can be a bit dodgy but is still a useful tool. I quickly built up quite a list but they were all overshadowed when the distinctive "tick" call of Hawfinch alerted me to a couple of birds approaching from behind. They passed overhead and looked as if they might settle but instead flew through and were lost to sight. Another was heard calling from a large Yew tree but I couldn't find it. A desire to see the drake Red Crested Pochard that had been reported yesterday took me away from the churchyard and on to the lake.

Redwing and Raven

The pochard was easy enough to find and I had far better views than I achieved at Eyebrook last week. Initially it was loosely associating with some bog standard Pochards but drifted away from them and fed on its own. Whether our RCPs are feral or wild doesn't really matter, they're just stunning birds to watch. Away from the star turn I checked through a large flock of Greylag Geese without finding anything exotic and also sorted through the Mute Swans in case there was a Whooper hanging out with them - there wasn't! Egyptian Geese and a Black Swan carried the torch for feral wildfowl while there was a small selection of wild ducks too. Satisfied that I'd seen all there was to see I returned to the churchyard for another Hawfinch finding session.

Red Crested Pochard

My finch list was expanded soon after I returned as several Siskins passed by with at least one more Redpoll keeping them company. Flocks of Redwings kept coming down to the Yews but a possessive and protective Mistle Thrush would drive them off until their courage returned and they gave it another go. While watching the thrush shenanigans I saw a bulky looking finch fly out of the yew and settle in some bare branches. A squint through the bins confirmed it was a Hawfinch though it didn't linger for too long before it flew off. Happily for me it did loiter just long enough for me to grab a record shot, I'm hoping that this winter provides many more photographic opportunities. As it was now getting close to my pick up time I took a quick look at the Willowbrook where a Kingfisher ended my birding day on a good note. Back to work next week so it was good to end my holiday on a positive note, the fact that my local Wetherspoons was selling Rutland Panther for 99p a pint helped very much in that regard!

Merlin does get it right sometimes!

Haws Prove To Be A Let Down

 It looks as if the current Hawfinch invasion is gaining momentum with an increasing number of sightings being logged locally. It was an urge to see these bulky finches that drove Alan Shorrock and myself to venture out into the Northamptonshire countryside in the hope of seeing some. The weather was a mixed bag ranging from dross to slightly better than dross!

Greenfinch

We began at the poochy paradise that is East Carlton Park though a look around the hall failed to produce any sightings of Hawfinch. A first Fieldfare of the autumn provided some recompense and we also heard a Raven while a goodly number of the commoner woodland species were also noted. News came through of a sighting of Hawfinch at Cottesbrooke which prompted us to head over there. We joined several other birders in what turned out to be a fruitless search for the elusive finches. Plenty of Redwings and at least one Fieldfare were noted and several Siskins also passed by. Realising that the Hawfinches were reluctant to show here we moved on to Harrington Airfield. Sadly Harrington proved to be a bigger load of cobblers than the Northamptonshire derby in the FA Cup with just further Fieldfares and several Golden Plovers being seen. Both the weather and the light were deteriorating and we sought sanctuary in the Tollemache Arms where a pint provided one of the few highlights of the day. 

Mandarins

I joined the half term hordes at Barnwell today for my first visit for what seems like ages. Once again it was a grey and gloomy sort of morning but the drizzle stayed off and it wasn't cold. In truth I didn't see much of interest but it was nice to visit the park, I probably won't get to Oundle again until the new bird report comes out.

Mandarin and Gadwall

A brief glimpse of a Kingfisher from its namesake hide helped to brighten things up a bit, it's just a shame that it didn't hang around. Arguably brighter and unquestionably more obliging were two drake Mandarins that hung around for the duration of my visit. Best birds in a Barnwell context were a pair of Wigeon, they're common enough along the river but scarce here. The noise from the neighbouring kids play area was by now beginning to rise and the number of dogs too so I decided to give up on the park and take a stroll along the Nene.

Wigeons

The river did not add much to my list although I did hear a Kingfisher near the marina. Between the lock and the A605 the flooded area is already fairly extensive and attracting many birds. Plenty of gulls, particularly Black-headeds, were gathering and three Little Egrets were picking their way around the margins. A decent sized flock of Lapwing had settled though a fair proportion of them left before I did. Duck numbers appear to be building up nicely with Wigeon being the commonest species, others were Teal, Shoveller, Gadwall and Mallard. I didn't have my scope with me for this visit and may have missed something but I'll be sure to bring it next time. Another lunch date with my wife brought things to a close, it provided more highlights than my birding excursion did!

Goldfinch and Lapwings