Bravo Brookfield

 Yesterday a combination of yucky weather and some Christmas shopping was enough to stop any wildlife spotting plans that I may have harboured. Happily the weather was somewhat better this morning and I sauntered along to Brookfield Plantation optimistically hoping to spot a Crossbill or two.

Peregrine

I began my trip by seeing two Grey Wagtails in the square outside my house, Grey Wags are regular visitors to the village. While venturing across the Charter Field I heard a Great Tit teacher teachering and a Song Thrush singing. On my way to the plantation I stopped to have a look for Peregrines and was lucky enough to find one at their favoured spot. Leaving the falcon behind I reached Brookfield soon after and began my very slow stroll through the wood. Both Carrion Crows and Magpies were vocal and several Jays were squawking, prize for most interesting corvid though went to a passing Raven. Several small parties of Siskins passed over and I also had a few Chaffinches too. Having walked the length of the public footpath I began to retrace my footsteps before pausing for a break at the crossroads. While enjoying a cup of tea a Crossbill flew over calling repeatedly and encouraged me to hang around a little longer in the hope of seeing more. No further luck with Crossbills followed though I did see a Grey Wagtail, both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Red Kite. After a while I headed home getting a few brief views of  Fallow Deer as I did so.

Quiet Again

 Another day out with little to report though the weather was cracking if a little cold. My travels took me from Blatherwycke to Weldon and if interesting nature was in short supply at least I enjoyed the exercise!

Egyptian Geese and House Sparrows

Blatherwycke paid host to an array of the commoner wildfowl which included about twenty five Mandarins and two pairs of Egyptian Geese, I had several views of a Kingfisher while a singing Mistle Thrush provided a soundtrack. The walk from here to Deene was uneventful and so too was Deene itself. Shelduck numbers remained consistent at eight and there was a large flock of Teal again at their favoured spot near the inflow. Deenethorpe was quiet on the bird front but there was quite a lot of flying activity, perhaps people wanted to get a flight or two in before Christmas.

Teal and Shelduck

Very little else to report though I did see a Chiffchaff on the outskirts of Weldon though that really was a s good as it got before I got home. Hopefully the days ahead might bring something a little more interesting!

A nice day for flying!

Christmas Hols

Today was the first day of my Christmas holidays and I marked the occasion by taking a trip over to Summer Leys. While it was far from the most interesting of visits I did at least manage to avoid the threatened showers.

Stonechats

Beginning at Mill Lake I was entertained by a pair of Stonechats near the lock, this is turning into rather a good spell for local ones. On the lake itself there was a good selection of common ducks and the usual multitude of Mute Swans but not much else. Hardwater Lake was almost devoid of birds though this may have been due to the high numbers of dog walkers passing close by.

Wigeons, Shoveller and Great White Egret

Summer Leys had plenty of birds but nothing much out of the usual. A Great White Egret was perhaps the best bird that I saw though a Bittern was noted here some time after I left. From Pioneer Hide a Cetti's Warbler was heard as it sang briefly from cover but I didn't manage to see it. Having completed a circuit of the reserve without seeing much else I decided to head back along the river. Whilst walking up Mill Lane towards the village I came across a small group of Chiffchaffs, at least three though possibly more. I managed to get a record shot of one but that was the last thing I did before going home.

Chiffchaff

Blue Skies

 Nice to see some sunshine this morning and it certainly made for a pleasant stroll around the Oundle area for the first time in what feels like ages. I began at Barnwell CP before heading along the river bank and then going back into town.

                                                              Mute Swans and Cormorant.

                                                         

Barnwell was a little on the quiet side with no surprises on offer, best birds were the several Chiffchaffs feeding in waterside vegetation. The usual cast of passerines were on offer with Nuthatches and Marsh Tits showing well and also small numbers of Siskins present. Both species of winter thrush were seen though there was little else of note. With neither Kingfishers or Otters showing I decided to leave the park to the dogs and head off along the Nene.

Nuthatch and Marsh Tit

Very little of interest to report other than a fly over Raven though the Barnwell Lock floods look extensive and had attracted quite a good sized flock of Wigeons as well as Shovellers. Hopefully more wildfowl might be tempted to join them over the next few months - some wild swans would be nice! I finished my day by dipping on the church's Peregrine though in fairness I don't know if it's been present this winter.

Red Kite and floody ducks.

Rambling with Bramblings and a lot of rain

 Monday's encounter with a Tree Sparrow helped to decide what I did with myself today. Taking the bus over to Upper Benefield I hoped to encounter a few more of these attractive sparrows whilst walking along the minor road to Deenethorpe. My luck though was not with me unfortunately and I failed to see any whatsoever. Unlike my last two days off visibility was fine with no fog or mist to limit my horizons though almost constant rain made for some challenging conditions all the same.

                                                                         Brambling

Between Upper Benefield and Burn Coppice there was nothing of note except for a Brown Hare bounding off across the fields. I took a diversion along the bridleway near the coppice as I wanted to check the barns where I'd had some success with seed eating birds before. Near to the buildings I struck lucky as a quick check of a flock of finches revealed a minimum of six Bramblings, I suspect that there may well have been more. Even luckier perhaps was that the rain eased off long enough to let me get a couple of record shots, these were the only pics that I managed all day.

                                                        Another view of the Brambling.

At Deenethorpe village a Muntjac was seen in the poplar plantation while the inflow at Deene Lake held at least a couple of hundred Teals. In general the birds at Deene mirrored those seen on Monday with female Stonechat, a Kingfisher, the female Goldeneye and Black Swan still present. Shelduck numbers stood at eight again which suggests that I couldn't find most of them in Monday's fog when only one had been visible. By now the rain had gone from light drizzle to something altogether heavier and more unpleasant and my walk home failed to add anything else of note to the list. Thankfully tomorrow looks as if it may be sunny in parts and more importantly drier so my gear may at least get a chance to dry!

For Fog's Sake

 The letter F featured strongly in any description of today as it was foggy, frosty and fu er I mean fairly cold. Much as it did yesterday the fog hung around for most of the day though unlike yesterday there were a few interesting things to look at. I repeated last Monday's walk to Deene and Deenethorpe returning via Weldon.

Frosty views.

A quartet of Fallow Deer were seen near Priors Hall and another couple were seen just minutes later. Along Kirby Lane a croaking Raven was the only thing of note as thick fog all but ruled out any actual bird watching. At Deene lake a female Stonechat was present near the dam and was possibly the one from last week seen nearby at Kirby Lane. Although much of the water was obscured by fog I did manage to see a female Goldeneye which was my first for this site. There was at least one Black Swan too and a Shelduck though no sign of the Whooper Swans reported yesterday. Two Kingfishers were seen along one of the channels near the dam but did not hang around long enough for any pics.

Fallow Deers and Goldeneye.

Deenethorpe Airfield payed host to several small flocks of Meadow Pipits and also a pair of Stonechats. Best bird was a fly over Crossbill and I also flushed a Common Snipe from close to the concrete track. Across the road along the public footpath a patch of cover crop had attracted both Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings and while looking through them I found a Tree Sparrow. I can't remember seeing one here before though there is a colony not too far away near Upper Benefield. Skylarks were also present in reasonable numbers though there was nothing else of interest seen during the rest of my walk.

Stonechat and Tree Sparrow

Another Foggy Sunday

 Corby was bathed in sunshine when I left this morning and so indeed was much of Northamptonshire as I made my way over towards Wellingborough. Unfortunately by the time I arrived a thick layer of fog had cloaked the embankment and remained for all of my stay. Needless to say this had a noticeable effect on my birding efforts and I struggled to find anything of note.

Stonechats

A pair of Stonechats near the weir were close enough to see and I enjoyed watching them as they fed amongst some teasels. Sadly there was very little else to report, at times I could barely see any water let alone birds!. On those few occasions when the fog lifted a little I managed to see a small selection of water birds but nothing too exciting. After a couple of hours I decided that things were unlikely to improve enough and so set off for home.

Foggy scenes