Not One Of The Best

 A pedestrian sort of day in all senses as my walk to and around Weldon failed to produce any sightings of note. While the day ended with blue skies and sunshine it was somewhat drabber and grey during the morning with fairly persistent though thankfully light rain. While passing the woodland park yesterday I'd caught a glimpse of two hefty looking finches that had a Hawfinchy sort of vibe to them but they flew out of sight without me being able to confirm their identification. My hope was a visit today might produce further and more conclusive sightings, the fact that this post isn't called Happy Hawfinch Hunt or something similarly snappy should tell you how it went!

I'm in the habit of using phrases that include "nothing of note" or "little of interest" and it does a disservice to those species that I do manage to see. A total of 38 were found today ranging from Cormorant through to Goldcrest and also including my first Treecreeper of the year. Both sorts of winter thrush were seen and a decent number of Greenfinches too. It's strange that whenever I'm looking for Hawfinches I always seem to see more Greenfinches than I would normally, not complaining though as they're always a welcome sight.

Most interesting and entertaining watch of the day was the cob Mute Swan at the A43 pond taking offense at the presence of an invading Canada Goose on his prospective nursery. Puffing himself up he made a bee line for the unfortunate interloper creating an impressive bow wave as he set a course for interception. A flotilla of squabbling Mallard drakes were scattered in his wake while Gadwalls swam fearfully out of the way. The Canada Goose rather sensibly chose flight over fight and made a tactical withdrawal leaving Mr Swan to return to his mate and a spot of preening. On a different tack Wednesday is looking quite promising at the moment and an after work sortie looks possible, Id love to see some early butterflies. No pictures from today but here's some pictures from last February's visit to Spain, hopefully such journeys might become possible again sooner rather than later.

Images of Spain.

Familiar Territory

 For the last couple of days I've been admiring pictures of a Glossy Ibis that has been feeding on Islip Water Meadows near Thrapston and feeling a certain amount of envy towards those birders that live nearby. No such joys for me sadly as I had to be content with the now familiar trek to Deene and back where there was a distinct lack of either ibises or anything else for that matter! Although the weather was mild a lack of sunshine meant that I didn't see any early butterflies, such brief bursts of sun as there were proved to be too short to tempt any out.

Fallow Deer

My first Grey Wagtail of the day was seen in the Old Village, others were seen at Willowbrook Industrial Estate and near Kirby Lodge. The industrial estate turned out to be quite productive, a trio of Fallow Deer included one of the white individuals and there were also two Brown Hares. A pair of Stonechats showed distantly and I flushed four Snipe from the boggy ground near to the pond. Skylarks were in good voice and I was to hear many throughout my walk.

Stonechat and Black Swan

Kirby Lane was fairly quiet, I saw three Fallow bucks near to the lodge and also had a Raven as I neared Deene, its quiet pruk pruk call alerting me to its presence. Another Stonechat was seen near to the dam at Deene Lake and was presumably the same female that has spent most of the winter here. Sadly it didn't come too near, I suspect the fact that a young couple sitting on the dam while sharing an impressive looking joint was making her wary. On the lake itself the Shelduck numbers had dropped to a dozen and wildfowl numbers in general had dipped as well. Little else to report apart from the pair of Black Swans and a leucistic drake Gadwall. No birds of note at the inflow though I did see a small number of Coltsfoot flowers which were my first of the year.

Spring views, Coltsfoot and lambs.

Deenethorpe Airfield had a pair of Lapwings and I was treated to a little bit of display. Small numbers of Meadow Pipits were present on site but generally it was rather quiet. My walk across the public footpath towards Bears Lane added Redpoll to the day's list and I also noted a large number of Fieldfares heading north but that really was it as far as anything of interest went with the rest of my walk home being somewhat dull.

Meadow Pipit and Linnet

Welland Valley Return

 A mild and rather misty morning today which saw me returning to the Welland Valley via Rockingham. Most of the flood water appears to have drained away and today's stroll did not deliver the result's that last week's did. 

Kestrel and Buzzard.

A Sparrowhawk at the top of Rockingham Hill had the local passerines somewhat alarmed as it sped past, another was frightening the Lapwings in the valley a little later on. Half a dozen Teal were on one of the few remaining pools of flood water near Rockingham where the first Golden Plover of the day was heard from near the STW. Reaching the spot where I saw the Knot last Monday it was clear that most of the birds had moved on. Somewhere iin the region of sixty Lapwings were feeding and they had attracted at least six Golden Plovers, some of which were sporting black bellies. No other waders here though a Great White Egret was noted flying along the Welland before dropping down out of sight. There was a large flock of Fieldfares and a smaller one of Starlings but little else to report either here or indeed elsewhere on my walk. Fallow Deers were noted both in the Welland Valley and at Brookfield Plantation. 

Birds of a feather kip together and Common Gull skating team.

Still Chilly

 While today was a tad less cold than the previous few days it was still cold and bitterly so in the wind. Hopefully the milder conditions promised by the weather forecasters will kick in tonight, I'm sure that much of the local wildlife would appreciate it as much as I would! Today I took the familiar route along to Deene and enjoyed an OK if not spectacular day's birding.

Kirby Hall and Wood Pigeons.

My walk took me past the steelworks where a small flock of Siskins were noted. Very little was on view at Willowbrook Industrial Estate other than a Grey Wagtail, neither Fallow Deer nor Ringed Plover had hung around. Kirby Lane was quiet too apart from several very large flocks of Wood Pigeon and it wasn't until I reached Deene that I saw a few interesting bits and bobs.

Frozen conditions at Deene.

At the farm ponds there was a small amount of open water where a couple of Dabchicks were feeding. A Snipe was flushed up from a boggy patch that was being fed by running water. On the main lake Shelduck numbers had increased to at least eighteen birds as they build towards their spring peak. I checked a large flock of Greylags feeding in the monument field though couldn't find anything other than a couple of Canadas amongst them. At the inflow a Green Sandpiper was the highlight and was my eighth species of wader in as many days. In nearby Deenethorpe village a good sized flock of Fieldfares had been drawn to a crop of large purple berries, earlier I'd seen a good number feeding on fallen apples in Deene.

Northamptonshire's capital of cold, Deenethorpe Airfield and Stonechats.

Deenethorpe airfield was as bitterly cold as I had dreaded with the wind whistling across. Only a single Red Kite was prepared to brave the conditions until I reached the airfield buildings where the scant shelter they provided proved attractive to a pair of Stonechats. Also noted in this area were four Snipe which flew up zig-zagging from an area of frozen looking ground. By now a few spits and spots of rain were beginning to fall so having put my camera away I chose to walk along the A427 rather than tackle the rutted public footpaths across the fields. I'm glad that I did too as I was able to watch a Raven displaying over Weldon Park Wood, a pleasingly appropriate way to end my Valentine's Day birding.

Knot On My Watch

Snowfall during the night turned the local scene a fetching shade of white though thankfully it wasn't as heavy as the last lot. Nevertheless with a strong wind seemingly  driving any further flurries into my face conditions were far from pleasant during parts of my stroll. I wanted to have a look at the Welland Valley but didn't fancy too far of a walk so visited the bit near Gretton. While I was hoping to catch up with some interesting wildfowl things did not quite pan out that way.

The regular Peregrine and a snowy Brookfield.

My regular Peregrine was in its normal spot though as usual he was hiding out of the wind. Brookfield Plantation delivered two Woodcocks and a few Siskins though not a great deal else. Thankfully for species such as those Woodcocks the ground was still soft underfoot so they may well be able to feed OK. Very little to report from the countryside between the plantation and Gretton with just a few crows and the odd Blue Tit or two on show.

If you like rubbishy record shots then good news, today's Knot.

After I'd reached the Welland Valley a large herd of swans had the old ticker racing a little faster but a close inspection revealed that all forty plus were Mutes. Feeling a little deflated I walked on until I reached the area near to where December's Bewick's were. A large flock of Lapwings and Starlings called for a good scoping and I began to sort through the throng of birds. Plenty of winter thrushes were mingling with the Starlings and they were joined by Meadow Pipits. In amongst the Lapwings I found over twenty Dunlin as well as a larger chunkier bird which revealed itself to be a totally unexpected Knot. This is my first local one and certainly wasn't a species that I expected to see when I left home, rubbish record shots were taken. Hanging around added more Dunlins and an eventual total of around thirty were seen. A group of twenty one Golden Plovers joined the two hundred or so Lapwings taking today's wader tally up to five and the weekend's to six, not bad for February! I stayed for about an hour and a quarter but it was getting uncomfortably cold by now and I headed off on the uneventful walk home.

Wake Up Dobbin!

 During my last few excursions out I've felt that if the horse that I've been flogging isn't actually dead then it has certainly been in the deepest of slumbers. Today that snoozing nag at least stirred in its sleep even if it didn't exactly start galloping around! It was a much colder day than we've had recently though I at least managed to avoid most of the snow that other areas saw. My walk today trod the familiar path to Deene and back taking in Weldon and Deenethorpe on the way out and Willowbrook Industrial Estate on the return leg.

Deenethorpe Airfield

The early part of my walk was uneventful to say the least, a Siskin was heard at the logistical park where Stanion Lane Plantation used to be and a Cormorant was noted over Weldon. Deenethorpe Airfield had wind that was almost Hebridean in strength with the added disadvantage of being rather icy. Wind whipped clouds delivered a few very light flurries of snow which continued on and off for most of my walk. Only the hardiest of birds showed and these included Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Linnets and a solitary Lapwing.

Shelducks.

Nearby at Deene Lake inflow water levels were very high and wildfowl numbers seemed low. Shelduck numbers remained constant at nine but every other wild species were greatly reduced. An exception to this was the Black Swan that once again has a friend to keep it company. This didn't appear to put it into a good mood however as the cob spent some time aggressively driving Mute Swans away. An unlikely sign of spring given the weather was a Lesser Celandine on the verge next to the A43. A visit to the farm ponds did not add anything to the list and the walk down Kirby Lane was also a little on the dull side.

Black Swans and Lesser Celandine

Willowbrook's Fallow Deer herd had increased to twenty three and still included the three leucistic specimens, all were grazing out in the open once again near the old speedway grandstand. Best moment of the day came soon after when a scan of the cleared area near Morrison's chilled warehouse revealed a Ringed Plover. Initially its muddy bill looked blackish making me think that I'd found an exceptionally early Little but sustained observation revealed that it was a still unseasonal Ringed. Not much else to report afterwards other than a Grey Wagtail near Tescos.

Fallow Deer herd and Ringed Plover record shot.

Essential Viewing?

 Reports of a White-tailed Eagle in the county certainly had me wondering whether to scrounge a lift from someone in my household and go and have a peek. Taking a little time to consider if this counted as essential travel or not persuaded me that it was not and instead I stayed closer to home. Happily it was a released bird from the Isle of Wight reintroduction scheme and not a truly wild one so my decision was perhaps a little easier than it might have been!

Fallow Deer

Instead of eagle watching I opted instead to take one of my regular lockdown walks to Deene Lake. While the day started off rather grey and murky it did perk up a little later when the sun came out. While passing through Willowbrook Industrial Estate my attention was drawn to a herd of Fallow Deer grazing near the old Rockingham Speedway. What drew my eye were the two white individuals and an attractive ginger looking one feeding with the more usual coloured ones. I became a deer dude for a while as I enjoyed watching the herd moving slowly towards cover. Not too many birds were about to distract me with just a Grey Wagtail and a Redpoll to compete with the deer.

Black Swan and Egyptian Geese

A Raven over Kirby Lane was the next highlight in a day when highlights were at a premium. Deene Lake held no surprises and neither the Kingfisher or Stonechat were on duty today. A pair of Egyptian Geese and a Black Swan were as wild if not as interesting as that eagle while Shelduck numbers remained stable at nine. Very little else of note during the rest of my walk except for a Brown Hare at an otherwise quiet Deenethorpe Airfield.

Grey Heron