A lovely sunny morning and I was lucky enough to have the day off. Although family commitments took care of my afternoon I got to spend a few hours in the Oundle area early on and it turned out OK. I began at Barnwell CP before the number and volume of the assembled brats forced me to seek pastures new. My walk then took me along the river for a bit before I concluded my spotting in the town.
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| Mandarin, Spotted Fly and Kingfisher |
In the country park there were lots of Mandarins swimming around which included many young birds, is this site taking over from Blatherwycke Lake as their best locality in Northants? As I approached the Kingfisher Hide I heard a Spotted Flycatcher calling and though it took a few minutes of patient waiting I did eventually get views of at least one adult and a juvenile. The adult showed quite well before it was moved on by the increasing footfall along the path. From the hide I had several views of a male Kingfisher which allowed me to get a few record shots before it moved on. Insects proved to be scarce with just Blue-tailed Damselfly and Banded Demoiselle representing the odes and several whites flying the flag for the leps. My last sighting before I left was of a Cetti's Warbler at Mill Lake before it too was moved on by the arrival of several noisy children.
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| Beautiful Demoiselle, Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Peacock |
On the Nene near the marina several Small Red-eyed Damselflies were loitering on lilies and a Black -tailed Skimmer was near the fishing lake. My best ode was a Common Darter near the lock which was my first of the year, it took a while but I got one eventually! In the churchyard I added Peacock to my butterfly list and Migrant Hawker to my ode one but a Peregrine peeking over a parapet on the church was the pick of the bunch. While waiting for my bus a Holly Blue fluttered past and brought my wildlife watching day to a close.
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| Peregrine |
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