Oundle Again

 The X4 was a bit late today but I didn't stress too much about it as I stood in the sunshine listening to Goldcrests and Coal Tits singing in the churchyard. When the bus did arrive I made a quick return to Oundle where I took my usual walk along the river. There was nothing new or too exciting to report but I enjoyed a pleasant stroll in the blustery conditions.

G-v White, Brimstone and Peacock

Not for the first time I decided to avoid Barnwell CP and headed towards the Nene. My first definite Green-veined White of the year obligingly posed for several pictures near the marina, I saw at least one more on my walk. For the second week running a Kingfisher was seen near Oundle Mill though my camera refused to focus on it before it was flushed by an approaching boat. Between the marina and the floods near the A605 I didn't see much other than Sand Martins and the floods themselves were considerably less interesting than yesterday. Part of the reason for this I suspect was that a couple of bin toting people were wandering around the flooded field itself flushing birds as they went. Despite this unwelcome incursion I did manage to see the remaining Spotted Redshank and also a couple of Little Ringed Plovers. A welcome year tick came in the shape of a male Orange-tip which was braving the breezy conditions as it flew across the floods.

Peregrine

My last stop of the day was at the churchyard where I enjoyed more views of the Peregrines. The male in particular showed well as he enjoyed a snooze in the sunshine. Blood soiled feathers suggested that he'd had his breakfast this morning and was having a little bit of down time before setting off again. I finished my session by checking for Holly Blues but unlike Phil Rogers who has seen one in his garden this year my efforts were unsuccessful. With time drawing on I headed back towards Weldon for a family meal in the George

Ruff And Reddy At Oundle

This week has seen spring establishing itself more and more with plenty of often warm sunshine to lift the mood and stir the soul. My first Willow Warblers and Blackcaps appeared this week at Eurohub in Corby while other parts of the county enjoyed a trickle of northbound migrants passing through. Shozzer and I opted to visit Titchmarsh LNR this morning where grey clouds dominated proceedings before the sun eventually broke through.

Oystercatcher, Dunlin and Little Ringed Plover

For only the third time that I can recall I forgot to pack my binoculars for today's excursion and had to use my scope for our short walk around the reserve.  It was perhaps just as well then that there was very little to look at at other than a good number of Sand Martins and a pair of Oystercatchers. Reports began to filter in from Oundle where the floods near Lower Barnwell Lock seemed to be attracting an interesting selection of waders. We opted to pop over and visit the floods but not before I returned home and grabbed some binoculars. The clouds had gone by the time we arrived and in any spot sheltered from the stiff breeze it grew increasingly warm as the morning progressed.

Ruff and White Wagtail

It didn't take too long to find the first interesting birds, a Dunlin and two Little Ringed Plovers being followed soon after by a sighting of a Ruff. The trio of Spotted Redshanks which had been reported by John Hunt earlier were noted next and showed on and off for the duration of our visit. Whilst we were watching the shanks an Oystercatcher dropped in and I also noted a Common Snipe probing in the muddy margins. Passerines contributed to the entertainment too with first a White and then a Yellow Wagtail being found. We eventually dragged ourselves away from the floods and on our way back to the car saw Brimstone, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell sheltering from the wind.

Spotted Redshanks

Our next and last port of call was Priors Hall where we looked for insects, I harboured hopes of seeing an early Large Red Damselfly but drew a blank in that respect. More obliging were my first Comma and Speckled Wood of the year and a probable but not proven Green-veined White. Birds at the quarry lake included the pair of Great Crested Grebes and more Sand Martins while a Marsh Tit was calling near the ponds. Our day finished at the George in Weldon where a pint was as good a way as any to finish things off. Many of today's pictures are of the dismal record shot variety but hopefully they will still give you an idea of how things went.

Brimstone, Comma and Peacocks

Oundle Has Me 'Grinning

 Reports of a Northern Treecreeper at Summer Leys seems to have attracted quite a lot of attention from county birders. While I'm happy to give a respectful tip of the titfer in the direction of the finder I don't think I'll be creeping around the Leys looking for this nationally rare subby. Instead I revived last Sunday's plan though with more success as I actually got to Oundle. With a blocker wind still blowing from the north west I did not anticipate too much in the way of migration but I did look forward to a sunny stroll along the river.

Small Tortoiseshell and Bee-fly

I walked straight past Barnwell CP today as a sunny Mothering Sunday was always likely to bring the masses out. From the bridge near Oundle Mill I had good though typically brief views of a Kingfisher before it sped off along the Nene. In a sheltered spot near Lower Barnwell Lock some Blackthorn blossom had attracted my first Small Tortoiseshell of the year. This species had a very poor 2024 so I was really pleased to see this one, another a bit further along gives me hope that torties might have a better year this time around. As I was watching the tort a male Brimstone fluttered by but did not linger as it continued its search for a female. A White Wagtail had been reported from the A605 floods earlier today but it had either gone by the time I got there or I just didn't manage to find it, two Redshanks provided the only sighting of interest. On my way back to town I saw another Brimstone and the Small Tortie that I mentioned earlier.

Redshank and Peacock

The sunshine once again tempted me to have a look around the churchyard for butterflies, I hoped that there might be a few warm spots sheltered from the wind. My search was delayed somewhat by the sight of two vocal Peregrines flying around the church. I have seen the occasional singleton here before but this is the first time that I've seen two. I spent some time watching the falcons before I went off on my butterfly hunt. Three or four male Brimstones were flitting around but not settling while my first Peacock of the year was seen nectaring on a daffodil. After a pint in the Rose and Crown I headed back to Corby where a female Brimstone was seen flying around the shrubs in my neighbours garden.

Peregrine

Putting The Brakes On

 A mostly sunny day today though with a cool north westerly wind which seemed to all but put a block on migration. Alan Shorrock and I were left wondering what to do in these challenging conditions, a possible pub crawl around Wellingborough had plenty of appeal but in the end we settled for some local mooching around.

Ringed Plover and Skylark

Our day began in Corby where we checked out a local site for plovers, Shozzer had already seen Little Ringed here this spring and we hoped to catch up with them again. A chorus line of Skylarks provided a very agreeable soundtrack to proceedings as we searched quite a large area for the birds. Persistence eventually paid off as we saw two plovers though these were Ringed rather than Little Ringed and were my first of the year. At the same site a pair of Lapwings were also in situ so potentially we could have three different species of plover breeding in the same area. From here we drove to Priors Hall where Sand Martins were feeding over the Quarry Lake, two Ravens appeared to be collecting nesting material and a pair of site scarce Great Crested Grebes were snoozing.

Greenfinch and Great Crested Grebes

Deene Lake was our next port of call and we checked the inflow out first before moving on to the main lake. A skittish Green Sandpiper was flying around the first while on the second there were three Shelduck and several Egyptian Geese. One sighting of interest was a territorial squabble between two pairs of fairly vocal Black Swans. Where else in Northamptonshire could you witness such Antipodean aggro? Our final birding stop of the day was at Blatherwycke Lake where the long staying female Scaup provided the only highlight, a pint in the Cross Keys ensured that the day ended on a good note.

Black Swans and Scaup

That's Better

 I was going to pop over to Oundle today once I'd finished doing some stuff around the house but Stagecoach threw a spanner into the works. When I checked their timetable it said that the X4 was going to come through the village which is where I waited for it, imagine my joy then when I learnt that said bus had actually passed along the bypass. Muttering expletives and inwardly cursing a certain bus company I returned home to consider my options. A call to Shozzer retrieved what could have been a bit of a duff day as we soon found ourselves on the way to Eyebrook where several good birds had been reported.

Little Egret and Yellow-legged Gull

It was a mild but grey afternoon which thankfully stayed dry while a weak northerly breeze did little to stop a trickle of birds from moving through. Our first sighting of note was of an Avocet feeding at the sharp end, this bird had been reported yesterday and followed on from an earlier sighting on Monday of three which Alan had been lucky enough to see. Before we moved on Al picked out an Osprey circling fairly high overhead with several kites before it was lost to view. A brief stop at the bridge did not add much to our day list and we made our way to the viewing area that overlooks the inflow. There was a constant flow of gulls moving through, mostly Common but there was a third year Yellow-legged Gull amongst them which had been picked out by the county recorder. While I was trying to get a picture of the Avocet the Osprey passed by once again as it flew down the reservoir. Satisfied that we had seen all that the sharp end had to offer we moved on towards the island.

Avocet

Our journey was interrupted when the Osprey was spotting fishing in the bay north of the island prompting Shozzer to stop the car pretty sharpishly. We had good views of the bird before constant harassment from gulls made it move on. From the island bunker the Slavonian Grebe showed on and off and the Osprey with attendant gull groupies made yet another pass. While looking at the grebe Alan picked out a Swallow moving northwards, further viewing revealed another four and also a brace of Sand Martins which constituted my first hirundines of the year. I still had a Sunday dinner to cook so we didn't hang around for much longer, perhaps Stagecoach did me a favour after all as plan B seemed to work out very nicely indeed!

Osprey, Kestrel and Slavonian Grebe

Probably Should Have Gone To Whiston!

 The weather forecast looked fairly favourable for migration today with showers  predicted as well as an easterly wind. Alan Shorrock and I were persuaded to visit Summer Leys where it was hoped some migrants might arrive to provide some entertainment. Sadly things did not quite work out that way and we spent a quiet few unproductive hours strolling around the reserve.

Little Ringed Plover and Snipe

Very little of note was seen from Rotary Hide as much of the winter wildfowl appears to have moved on. The situation from Pioneer was a little better and I saw my first Little Ringed Plovers of the year. Sharing an island with the plovers was a single Dunlin which moved on shortly afterwards. Paul Britten Hide was similarly quiet though from this vantage point we did see five Great White Egrets spread around the reserve. Snipe featured strongly from here as a total of at least twenty five were seen at one point though most soon disappeared into cover. The screen  was a little dull but Mary's Lake bucked the day's trend a little by delivering distant views of the reported drake Scaup. A check of the railway line failed to produce views of the Glossy Ibis and I was left wishing that we had visited the new gravel workings near Whiston instead where half a dozen Little Gulls and a brace of Avocets had been reported. A pint in the Coach and Horses arguably provided one of the few highlights of the day

Redshank and Lapwing

Slavonian In The Showers

 A busy day today with plenty of cooking and chores to do around the house but of course you don't want to read about my domestic drudgery. A small window of opportunity and the chance of a lift saw me escaping for a while and heading towards Eyebrook for a little twitchy excursion. My aim was to see the Slavonian Grebe found here during the week and which had been reported again this morning. The weather was a very mixed bag of cloud, showers with the occasional sunny spell while a cool breeze meant that my gloves came in very handy.

Slavonian Grebe

I found the grebe south of the island which appears to be its favourite spot and it showed fairly well from the island bunker. Unusually for recent Slavs this one was actually in the same postcode as me and I got some decent views of it as it fed not too far off the shore. I wasn't at the reservoir for long and didn't venture any further than the island so didn't manage to see much else, two Dunlins were the only other birds of note.

Duck Dipping, Goose Gazing

 I was looking after my wife last weekend following her knee replacement surgery and so did not have time to venture out. It wasn't a total blank however as I still managed to see my first butterfly of the year when a male Brimstone flew through my garden on the Saturday. This week Sandra had recovered enough to allow me to take a trip out in the company of regular birding pal Shozzer. After some thought and a little deliberation we decided to head over to Titchmarsh where the drake Ring-necked Duck had been present for most of the previous week on Heronry Lake.  There was plenty of sunshine but a cool northerly breeze kept the temperatures down.

White-fronted Geese and Pink-feet

The first of several Chiffchaffs was singing at the car park, we heard quite a few Cetti's too. From North Hide we were treated to distant views of three adult White-fronted Geese as well as pairs of both Oystercatcher and Redshank. A little further on  and a scan of the margins of the main lake revealed a Pink-footed Goose which we watched preening before it swam off out of view. Unfortunately the Ring-necked Duck was either being shy or had done a bunk and we dipped on it again for the second time, we weren't its only victims though as it looks as if no one else saw it today either. We completed our walk around the reserve managing to see what was probably a second Pink-footed Goose as two had been reported earlier, this one appeared to have a limp and the first one did not. Happy with the geese if not with the duck we left Titchmarsh and headed to Blatherwycke.

Egret trio

At the lake it was a case of catching up with old friends as first the long staying Cattle Egret and then the even longer staying Scaup were seen. The egret was playing mini me next to a Great White and completed a hattrick of egrets as we'd already seen a Little at the bridge. It took some time to find the Scaup but find her I did as she snoozed in the middle of the lake on the Blatherwycke side of the bund. Eventually she did wake up for a brief moment but the effort clearly tired her out as she soon dropped off again! There was not much else to report and we headed to the Cross Keys in King's Cliffe for a pint. 

Scaup