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