I was a bit limited for time today so chose to do a local jaunt as far as Deene by way of Lower Benefield. It was a rather grey and somewhat drab affair but it did stay dry and wasn't too cold. The birding did not supply much excitement and it was down to two waders to provide the highlights, one perhaps a tad unseasonal and the other unpredictable.
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| Stock Dove, Little Egret and Treecreeper |
My walk from Benefield took me along the minor road towards Denethorpe and there was a variety of farmland birds on view including one Skylark which ignored the gloomy conditions to ascend skywards and pour forth it's cascade of notes. While passing along the eastern end of the airfield I heard a Curlew call as it passed overhead, this is my second in the county so far this year which is not bad for a species that I don't always see in Northants annually. Before I reached Deenethorpe I took a diversion across the fields towards Deene Lake.
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| Shelduck, Fieldfare and Snipe |
There were no Stonechats at their usual spot and I couldn't see any Hawfinches in the churchyard. On the lake numbers of wildfowl were down on my previous visit though Shelducks bucked the trend with fourteen on show. An Egyptian Goose was the only hint of variety amongst the feeding Greylags and Canada Geese. At the inflow there was a single Snipe and a small flock of Lapwings though it was a Woodcock that I flushed as I was looking for Green Sandpipers that provided the highlight. My walk home took me through Deenethorpe and across the airfield but I didn't add much to my list and finished my day with a pint in the George.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker and Brown Hare |
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