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