Taste of Spring.

My brother and I took an early trip over to Barnwell this morning where once again the hoped for reward was a sighting of otters. Unfortunately the otters had business somewhere else and we did not manage to find one. Kingfishers happily did show from their namesake hide and although they were usually distant we did have some nice views of both the male and the female.

Double trouble for the Barnwell cygnets and a Kingfisher.

Elsewhere the cob swan had enlisted the help of his mate as he continues to try and drive the cygnets away and there was the usual collection of common birds on view. The call of breakfast to my brother meant a parting of the ways, I headed off along the river while he headed home to the table. While the riverside was busy with dog walkers there were still a few bits and bobs to see.

Lovely day for flying.

A pair of Egyptian Geese were seen at the marina, the male made several circuits before landing next to his mate. Just a little further on at the A605 floods there was a reasonable collection of dabbling ducks present with good numbers of Wigeon and Teal being joined by a Gadwall and a dozen Shovellers. About a hundred or so Lapwings were also feeding in the area, hopefully a few other waders will join them in the next few months.

Egyptian Goose and birdlife on the floods.

Continuing my walk I checked through a large flock of Greylag Geese but only found Greylags and also enjoyed watching the many buzzards and kites that showed very well today. Not much else to look at along the river though the walk was enjoyable, it's going to be a bit of a shock when winter returns.

Oundle church and churchyard.

I popped into Oundle churchyard just in case the reported Peregrine was around but it proved to be as elusive as the otters. Not a total waste of time however as a large patch of crocuses were attracting several species of bees and some hoverflies. Sadly no butterflies showed today but there is at least a lot of year still to go.

Early insects.

Weldon Sunshine

A half day off from work today gave me a chance to take a sunny stroll down to Weldon where my hopes of seeing an early butterfly came to naught. Several signs of the approaching Spring came in the form of my first Lesser Celandines and pussy willows of the year while the volume of birdsong is increasing with a growing number of species adding their voices.

Buzzard, Tufted Ducks and Gadwalls.

Popping into my old patch near the sewage treatment plant did not produce much apart from a few Teal and singing Bullfinch. Moving on to the A43 pond and there was a group of half a dozen Tufted Ducks joining a pair of Gadwall and the usual Mallards, Moorhens and Coots. Both buzzards and kites were very visible with lots of activity on view. The pond next to the Woodland Park had three adult Mute Swans, another pair of Gadwall and Coot present. Several Siskins were heard and one seen but there was not much else on offer.

Mute swan, Lesser Celandines and pussy willows.

I'm hoping that if these Springlike conditions persist I might yet see an early butterfly, fingers crossed for Sunday!

Some invertebrates were stirring in the sun. 

Sunny Morning Stroll

A much nicer start than yesterday with plenty of sunshine which made my walk around Wicksteed Park very pleasant indeed. Although there was nothing to match yesterday's Otter or egrets it was still a worthwhile wander.

Tufted Ducks, Teal and Gadwall.

Large numbers of Black-headed Gulls had not attracted anything more interesting among them apart from a few Commons, I wonder if more regular checking might turn up something more exotic? Plenty of Teal feeding around the reedy margins of the main lake, other dabblers here were Gadwall, a pair of Wigeon and the usual Mallards. Diving ducks had increased since my last visit, mainly Tufted Ducks but about half a dozen Pochards were there too. At least one Water Rail was calling here and there was another around the fishing lake.

Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen and Shoveller.

This lake held about ten Shovellers and more Gadwalls and Pochard while a Little Egret, my first here for a while, was preening and enjoying a spot of R and R. A good sized flock of Siskins were feeding in some streamside alders and there were a few Goldfinches with them. Not a whole lot else to report though the local kites appeared to be enjoying the sunny conditions. While walking back through Kettering I noticed my first daffodil and crocus flowers in bloom which added to the sense of the approaching Spring.

Little Egret, Siskin and Red Kite.

No Pain in the Rain

Alan Shorrock and I headed out today despite some persistent rain with the intention of finding some wildlife to gawp at. Given the soggy conditions this morning we decided to head for somewhere with hides and opted for Barnwell. Normally I'd never pop in here on a Sunday but I hoped that the yucky weather might keep saner folk at home, happily this proved to be the case.

An obliging Otter.

It did not take long once we had settled into Kingfisher Hide for things to start happening. Watching the cob Mute Swan trying to persuade his cygnets to leave was fairly entertaining but our attention was easily diverted by an Otter. Initially it was swimming around the small islands to the right of the hide, on one occasion climbing out on one to feed on a large fish, before swimming across in front of us. We enjoyed good views as it fished and watched it eat several smaller fishes before it swam off out of sight. Given that this was Alan's first attempt at seeing them here you would have to say that it was most definitely a case of beginners luck! To add to the interest Alan also picked out a Kingfisher which made a brief visit.

Mute Swans behaving badly.

On our way to Lowlands Hide we saw at least three Mandarins in their usual spot and also managed to flush a Green Woodpecker from an area of grass. The feeders were full today and attracted a lot of birds which included at least two pairs of Reed Buntings. Some kind of running event at the park meant that the birds were regularly disturbed by joggers but the birds were quick to return once the athletes had passed. Happy with our morning we popped into the café before moving on to the reserve at Thrapston.

Barnwell regulars.

Great White Egrets used to be a real rarity in the UK until quite recently but in recent years they have become regular in Northants, particularly in the winter. We saw at least four and perhaps five on our walk around today but despite their changing status I still enjoy looking at them. Grey Herons were present in good numbers too and there were at least three Little Egrets as well.

Great White Egrets.

Two pairs of Goosander were found and a good sized flock of about eighty Pochard were seen while there were also around twenty Goldeneyes. Raptors seen today included both Red Kites and Buzzards while Alan also saw a Sparrowhawk. One sign of the coming Spring (hopefully sooner rather than later!) was the pairs of Great Crested Grebe beginning to display. Having enjoyed our day's spotting we set off for home with blue skies and sunshine now holding sway.

Aldwinkle.

Brief Encounter

An afternoon visit to Barnwell today, drizzly conditions in the morning put me off the notion of making an earlier saunter. Most of the ponds had some ice cover and this probably pushed the Kingfishers on to the river, I certainly didn't see or hear any sign of them. With the feeders once again absent the view from Lowlands Hide was almost exclusively that of Dunnocks though a few Mallards were hanging around seemingly in the hope that some food might turn up.

Lake view and one of the many Dunnocks.

While there was a lot of bird activity it was mostly of common species with both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers again vocal. Only one species of duck other than Mallard was seen and that was a drake Mandarin in the normal spot. The cob swan of one of the two pairs on site is continuing to chase its cygnets around the lake in front of Kingfisher Hide though they seem to be very slow to take a hint!

Barnwell's answer to Torvill and Dean.

Walking around Mill Lake I'd just reached the rushy bit nearest the mill when I surprised an Otter close to the bank. I'm not sure who was the most stunned by the encounter though as the Otter appeared to do a bit of a double take before making a swift departure. I hung around for a while hoping that it might return but on this occasion there were to be no repeats. This was my third Otter sighting at the park this year and the first away from Kingfisher Hide.

Song Thrush and my regular hide companion.

Having walked around all the park's lakes I decided that I'd seen all that I was going to see and so headed off back into town.

Here be Otters (briefly) and Moorhen.

Norfolk Delivers First Class Day

My brother David and I made the journey over to North Norfolk this morning where we were blessed with beautiful sunshine throughout the day though it was more than a little chilly in the shade. We left early to avoid driving into the rising sun and arrived at Holkham before 8:30.

Snow Buntings and Shore Larks.

Having paid the rather hefty parking fee we walked out to the beach intent on seeing the reported Shore Larks and Snow Buntings. It didn't take long to catch up with the larks, a flock of about twenty were found a short distance to the east of the board walk. We enjoyed some good views of them before walking on towards a roped off area where the buntings had been seen. Luck must have been shining on us as a flock of forty or so were present in the area and at times came quite close. Once the buntings had departed we walked back towards Lady Anne's Drive.

Brent and Pink-footed Geese.

From there we had close views of a flock of Brent Geese and also some more distant Pink-footed Geese, two Egyptian and a small flock of Greylags completed our goose list. A walk along to Washington Hide did not add much to the list though we did see several Marsh Harriers and a few kites while at least three Munjac also showed. Satisfied that we had seen most that the area had to offer we moved on along the coast to Titchwell.

Muntjac, Brambling and Water Rail.

At least two Bramblings were visiting the feeders at the back of the visitor centre while another Muntjac paused briefly before being scared off by a dog. At the fresh marsh we were treated to views of both Rock and Water Pipits though there were not that many birds present, a small group of Pintails being the best of the rest. The beach held a good number of waders which included some Knot amongst them. There was not much on the sea, a couple of Goldeneyes, a few Red-breasted Mergansers and Great Crested Grebes were all we could muster. Our return stroll back netted five Avocets and very good views of two Water Rails actively feeding on either side of the path. Leaving Titchwell we took the short drive to Thornham Harbour.

Duff record shot time, Rock and Water Pipit.

Once again luck favoured us as we found the small flock of Twite that have taken up residence in the area. We were treated to some good views of them though they were fairly active often moving after several minutes. These attractive finches completed what had been an impressive haul of passerines. We made a final brief stop at Hunstanton where several Fulmars showed and from there it was back to home.

Wader selection and Twite.