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