Not Bad, Not Great Either.

Not that bad a day but it lacked any of the highlights of the last couple of outings. The early part of the morning was dominated by foggy conditions, it was thick enough at times to make watching anything further than five yards away all but impossible. As I don't possess echo location or any thermal imaging equipment most of my early birding was by ear and so it was just as well that so many birds were in good voice.

The WBT is still a bit flooded at the mo.

Some Song Thrushes show quite a bit of skill at mimicry, there's one at Priors Hall that does a very passable Oystercatcher while one this morning in the village did a good Buzzard followed by a female Tawny Owl. I'm not sure why only a certain percentage of the population seem to employ this skill but that Priors bird in particular nearly always catches me out. More and more Blackbirds are singing now, their melodious and rich songs really are a soundtrack to village summers.

A regular sight at Deene, Shelduck.

Having passed through Weldon and then taken the public footpaths out through the fields it was only when I got to Deenethorpe Airfield before the fog began to lift. A Lesser Whitethroat gave a few bursts of song from scrub next to the A427 and a Brown Hare was seen nearby. It looks as if vegetation is being cleared from between the hangar buildings which will probably put paid to further Grasshopper Warblers, no place for scrub in what will soon become Tresham Village. Two pairs of Lapwings were present , it will be nice if they hang around, and a Meadow Pipit was song flighting.

Greenfinch in Deene churchyard.

The water level at the inflow at Deene Lake was still high and the WBT was dominated by geese, numbers of Teal have dropped. Despite the lack of mud I did manage to see a Green Sandpiper but the Snipe appear to have moved on. Wildfowl on the main lake have declined a lot with numbers of Shelduck having declined to what looks like two pairs. Around at the farm ponds little of interest on view while in the village a Swallow was holding territory. A scan from the road a short way from the village revealed a pair of Egyptian Geese, it's been a while since I saw any here.

Dog's Mercury.

Egyptian Geese near Deene.

At Priors Hall a Grasshopper Warbler was singing at the northern end near the birches but there was not too much on view. A short spell of hazy sunshine did produce a brief view of a Peacock but it was the only butterfly seen today. Birdlife at the quarry pools was pretty much the same as on my previous visit, the Pochards have moved on but the pair of Mute Swans have returned. The Little Ringed Plovers may have resolved their territorial issues as I only saw a pair, there seems to be rather more Lapwings though.

Willow Warbler.

With time moving on I headed off home, my walk through Weldon normally takes me past the Shoulder of Mutton pub but this time around I didn't pass choosing instead to pop in and sample some of their rather fine pale ale - good call!

The quarry pools at Priors.

Sunny Morning Saunter.

I trusted the weather forecast enough to gamble one of my precious holidays and luckily for me there was plenty of sunshine about to enjoy. Having not been over to Harringworth Lodge Lake for a while I headed off in that general direction.

Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

It was a little grey when I left home but that didn't stop a Meadow Pipit singing at one of their breeding sites on the Willowbrook Industrial Estate. Brookfield Plantation did not yield much of interest, a small flock of Siskins and a pair of Mistle Thrushes were the only things of note. A Dabchick showed well at the flooded quarry near Gretton, it shared the water with several Greylags.

A good day for butterflies.

A walk along a track towards Gretton produced my first Lesser Whitethroat of this stuttering Spring and I also managed to get one of my best photos of Chiffchaff. Leaving the village on the Jurassic Way I heard a Whitethroat singing which was another year first. Just a little further on a Peacock was seen, it was good to catch up with butterflies again. The Lodge lake had a reasonable number of birds with no surprises amongst their number. The highlight was a pair of Ospreys passing high overhead and going in a south easterly direction. This seems to be a good spot to find these birds on Spring passage. Another Peacock was seen here and a male Brimstone was seen feeding on Dandelions, I was able to get my first pictures of the year.

Bee Fly and Greylags.

Returning along the Jurassic Way I saw two more male Brimstones and there were also good numbers of Bee Flies as the insects responded to the sunny conditions. Two Ravens gave themselves away with some typically croaky calls while numbers of both Red Kites and Buzzards were high. Sparrowhawk was another raptor to find its way on to the list as one was seen circling over Brookfield. The return walk through the plantation produced views of a large herd of Fallow Deer feeding on one of the rides. A lot of butterfly activity began with a Comma and there were also sightings of Brimstone (five, including a female), Small Tortoiseshell (at least ten) and Peacock (six). Although no new species for the year were seen today it won't be too long before others appear.

Fallow Deer.

A Kestrel took the raptor total to five when one was seen hunting at Willowbrook Industrial and I finished my day with further sightings of both Small Torts and Brimstones.

Here Kitty Kitty

Oundle continues to exert a pull on me at the moment, I had toyed with the idea of popping over to Deene but the prospect of looking over the floods won through. Once again the weather was far from ideal and though the morning mist soon lifted the almost constant drizzle and light rain lingered for most of my stay.

The first of nine Mandarins seen today.

A short way from the north bridge and near to the A605 a pair of Mandarins were staying close to one of the flooded areas, there were rather a lot of Black-headed Gulls moving through too. Ashton Mill had a singing Willow Warbler as well as Blackcap, the latter seem to be well established with quite a few seen during the morning. While the flooded bit between the river and the Ashton road held only a few of the commoner wildfowl species an area nearer to the footbridge had something altogether more interesting. Checking through a small flock of Black-headed Gulls bathing on one of the floods revealed not the hoped for Med but a completely unexpected adult Kittiwake. This Spring seems to have been rather good for this species but they don't normally appear away from reservoirs or the larger lakes. Having not seen one in the county for perhaps as long as thirty five years it was most certainly appreciated. A Sparrowhawk caused a certain amount of panic as it flew through while a group of about ten or so Swallows feeding low over the fields near Ashton Lock were my first this year.

Kittiwake, the star of the show.

Continuing on along the river I found a further three drake Mandarins and also had three Redshanks fly over, they headed in the direction of the A605 floods. Those floods had a good selection of duck which not only included a pair of Shelduck but also a leucistic Gadwall. The waters here have dropped slightly and as a result rather a lot of Teal had reappeared. Checking around the margins of the floods revealed a Black-tailed Godwit which is presumably the one that was reported earlier. Another wader in the form of an Oystercatcher flew through before landing next to yet more floodwater in a neighbouring ploughed field. Big surprise here was a Grasshopper Warbler which sang several times from the bushes in the field next to the Nene Way. I believe that this is my earliest UK one but would have to go through my notes to be sure. A further pair of Mandarins flew over and there was at least ten Lapwings around too.

Rubbishy record shot of the Black-tailed Godwit.

Mother Egyptian Goose still had her two goslings at the Marina but as the rain was getting a little heavier by now I headed over to Barnwell CP. A final two Mandarins of the day, making a total of nine were seen while Nuthatches proved to be very obliging from Lowlands hide. Additional Swallows were seen feeding over adjacent fields and a Kingfisher was my first for quite a while, I think the colder snaps must have been hard for them. With the morning now beginning to slip away I decided to call it quits having enjoyed one of my more interesting days.

Another Barnwell selection.

Long to Rain Over Us

Quite a dreadful day weather wise with rain throughout the day and while it may have been little more than light drizzle at some times it was fairly heavy at others. Despite the rather poor conditions I set out for Priors Hall this morning hoping for a few migrants to boost my meagre total.

First Cowslips.

Chiffchaffs are well established now and there was even one singing in the village this morning. Walking past the patch I heard my first Willow Warbler of the year, I heard many more during my walk and numbers at Priors Hall were in double figures. Given that I couldn't find any at the patch on Thursday I would guess that these were newly arrived. A bit further down the road near the first A43 roundabout at Weldon I heard my first Blackcap, I love their rambling jumble of melodic notes cascading out of the shrubbery. Just a little further along the road I found two more males having a bit of a barney near the A43 pond. The pond itself had the usual selection of water birds with both of the commoner geese and also seven Tufted Ducks.

White Violets at the A43 pond. Weldon.

Not for the first time it was the quarry lake and ponds that delivered most of the interest at Priors Hall. Half a dozen Sand Martins were feeding over the water though I'm not sure how many insects were on the wing in such gloomy conditions. On the water at least four Pochards and two Tufties were present, it was a decent day for the latter species as they were found on two more ponds in the area. A pair of Shelducks were on site, it would be nice if they stayed on to breed. Three Little Ringed Plovers were again seen but this time they shared their pond with a Green Sandpiper, the only other waders present were several Lapwings.

A shot from Thursday, another view of Peacock.

Away from the quarry there was not a great deal to see, a selection of wildfowl on the largest pond included three Gadwalls and there was a Redpoll close by. Not many insects about today which was no surprise given how awful the conditions were but I did come across  quite a few Buff-tailed Bumblebees. A lunchtime date meant that I couldn't dally and so I left the site before midday.

Another from Thursday, a Small Tortie.

Sunny Afternoon

A post work foray over to the patch this afternoon as the weather was just too lovely to miss out on. A genuinely warm feel raised hopes that I might find some butterflies and thankfully I was not to be disappointed. Birds on the other hand were few and far between and the only migrant on view was a very vocal Chiffchaff. Apart from a Grey Wagtail and a spiralling trio of Buzzards there was not much else to shout about.

First Comma of the year.

Muntjacs are fairly regular here and at least one was present on site, I flushed it (or them?) twice. Plenty of what I take to be Buff-tailed Bumblebees were around, it looked as if they may have been queens looking for nesting sites as they hugged the ground often landing and walking amongst leaf litter. At least three species of solitary bees were seen too but so far they have defied my feeble attempts to ID them. My first Bee-fly of the year was welcome, it's just a shame that I couldn't get a piccy.

A pair of Peacocks.

My first butterfly was also a first for the year when I found a Comma basking in the sunshine. Soon afterwards I found a Peacock which shot off after another which had clearly intruded on the other's patch. A third species and another year first was a Small Tortoiseshell which was far more interested in battling one of the Peacocks to pose too long for photos, happily I did get a couple though. So my butterfly year list now stands at five, looking forward to Orange-tips now! With some gardening to catch up with at home I left soon afterwards, hopefully there will be more opportunities for after work jaunts in the weeks ahead.

Small Tortoiseshell.

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head

Even the threatened near biblical amounts of rain could not keep me in today, with only two days off there was no way I was going to stay at home watching repeats of Shrek on the telly. So it was that I donned my waterproofs and set out for Oundle. I'd heard that someone had seen Black-tailed Godwit and a few other species on the A605 floodwater and I wanted a piece of that godwit pie (not literally, I can't afford such a big bill on my wages!).

Plenty of water around.

Water levels were very high around the town and parts of the area looked more like the Ouse Washes. The normally rather languid Nene was flowing fast and had the colour of gravy though it wasn't always easy to work out where the river stopped and the floodwater began. No chance of any waders today, the water was probably too deep and even the Teal had moved on. Numbers of all wildfowl had dropped though whether it was due to birds dispersing over a much wider area or perhaps due to migration I can't say.

Egyptian Goose and gosling.

At this point I would like to direct a question to some of the Oundle dog walking community and that query is, why don't you pick up your dog's poop? It's fairly bad in some other places but around here it's terrible. Does doggy do serve some sort of decorative function for you or is it the distinct aroma that appeals. Either way innocent birders really do have to concentrate if they don't want to have to clean their boots. Come on folks nobody is too posh to stoop and scoop and nobody forced you to buy that mutt.

Lowlands Hide goodies.

At Oundle Marina there was a pair of Egyptian Geese who were the proud parents of two goslings, while one seemed happy to sit next to mum at first it soon sought shelter with its sibling under her wing once the rain began again. From here it was on to Barnwell CP where the duff weather had at least kept the crowds away. Still some Redwings lingering though the next shift in the form of several Chiffchaffs seem to be taking over. Plenty of common stuff on view from Lowlands Hide and I also enjoyed watching a pair of Great Crested Grebes going through some of their elaborate courtship display. Deciding that there was unlikely to be much else on offer I headed off to the Rose and Crown for a couple of pints.

Great Crested Grebes.

No Fooling Around.

I had wanted to head over to Oundle to check out the flooded areas but decided against it on the grounds that flooding might affect any progress along the Nene. As an alternative I headed over to Priors Hall but I can't pretend that it was an enjoyable experience. Spring seems to be coming in bi-weekly instalments at the moment and this weekend was one of the colder ones. Conditions reminded me more of February then April and I regretted not bringing my gloves along on ore than one occasion today.

Grey skies over the ponds at Priors.

A short stop at the A43 pond at Weldon seemed to be in order given that I was passing anyway though the results were far from spectacular. Three pairs of Tufted Ducks and a Canada Goose were the highlights on the water while a Chiffchaff was feeding in waterside Willows.

Primrose, the first was seen last week but there were more today.

My first stop was the quarry pools and lake viewed from the A43 as this is a private site and also I didn't want to disturb any breeding birds. Eight Pochards were still on the biggest lake and they had a few Tufties for company. Aside from these just a few Greylags and Mallards with the usual Coots were on view. A ménage a trois of Little Ringed Plovers were still present though one seemed to be playing the gooseberry role judging from their argumentative behaviour and there were a few Lapwings too.

From here I wandered over to the ponds hoping to catch a few more migrants but things were a bit of a struggle. A flyby Cormorant did not really improve matters while the largest of the ponds had a selection of Coots, Dabchick and yet more Tufties. Several more Chiffchaffs were feeding around the ponds, the cooler conditions appear to have made these  migrants behave more like their wintering cousins. Wild Primroses are a true sign of Spring and it was good to find a few coming into bloom, there were a few Violets too. Pine logs left over from recent felling activities held an interesting fungus which I believe may be called an Orange Jelly Fungus.

Orange Jelly Fungus?

Skirting along the edge of the quarry it struck me just how much of our county is being buried under development. Not only could I see the growing community at Priors itself but looking in another direction I could view both Weldon Park and a smaller housing development on the site of the old Weldon FC site. Take into account the likely approval for the so called Tresham Village on the site of the nearby Deenethorpe Airfield and you get the picture. Our crumbling local roads are already heaving with traffic while doctors and other health facilities are struggling to cope with increased demand, school places may well become an issue too in the near future. Surely we do not have to try and solve the housing crisis here in Northants on our own because it's certainly beginning to feel that way.  The pressure on our remaining green spaces from people looking to walk dogs or just to be out and about will increase and the affect on our wildlife could be potentially disastrous. If we don't want our hobby to become history something has to happen, perhaps we should build up rather than out.

Violets are beginning to bloom too.

Leaving depressing thoughts to one side I wandered back towards Weldon, a Shelduck flying across the A43 on the way to Priors was nice, a Heron taking the same route was more expected. A brief stop on the way home at the patch could not add much aside from a few Violets. With the forecast for tomorrow looking far from promising I'm hoping that things brighten up for next weekend..