Yankee Doodle or Yankee Do-Do?

 A welcome day off work saw me donning the mask and getting on the X4 for a jaunt down to Wellingborough. Weather forecasts suggested that mist might be an issue but I kept my fingers crossed and went anyway. Feeling in something of an optimistic mood I was hoping that I might catch up with a Glossy Ibis or Cattle Egret - sad to say I did not!

Stonechat and Reed Bunting

The dreaded mist was indeed a bit of a problem to begin with as I began my walk along the river. A Grey Wagtail did an overhead pass as I made my way past the large flock of Mute Swans. Slightly further along and a Redpoll got into the flypast game before I stumbled across a male Stonechat. Trying to see anything on Chester House lake proved to be difficult though I did pick out a male Goldeneye while the whistles of both Wigeon and Teal could be heard. Beyond the viaduct and Ditchford was just as foggy though I sensed that things were beginning to clear a little. Just discernible through the mist a drake Goosander was a welcome find, closer inspection revealed that he had a duck for company. A Great White Egret was also just about visible before it flew off, rapidly clearing conditions allowed me to find a second bird on the viaduct pit. Also present were a good selection of the commoner wildfowl.

Goosanders

Returning along the river with visibility much improved allowed me to check the area more thoroughly. Small numbers of duck included several Shovellers amongst them but little else of note. Back in the town I found the female Wood Duck that has returned to the area. While it's not impossible that these common ducks of eastern North America could cross the Atlantic the vast bulk of records are presumed to involve escaped or feral birds. This individual is considered to be in the latter camp so there was no chance of adding this to my county list. Oh well it is an attractive duck even if it's not a wild one so I enjoyed watching it for a few minutes before heading into town for some breakfast.

GWE's, Dabchick and Moorhen and Wood Duck

Great Start

 When my brother offered me the chance to go and see the long staying Black Redstart at Borough Hill, Daventry I jumped at the opportunity. After yesterday's rainy dross I was glad to get out and a beautiful sunrise did much to lift my mood. My shift pattern at work has changed slightly so that I now have to work Monday to Friday and it was good to end the weekend on a high.

Sunrise over Borough Hill

We arrived just as the sun was rising and began checking the area around the compound where the bird has been favouring. Initially things were a little on the quiet side leaving me to rue the fact that I'd forgotten my gloves as the chilly conditions made themselves felt. Another pair of birders appeared and they alerted us to the presence of the bird. It was feeding very actively and proved quite difficult to photograph though we were treated to great views through the binoculars. Eventually the bird disappeared and David and I began the short walk back to the car. The Black Redstart then chose to put in another performance and we had exceptional views as it perched on the top of buildings within the compound. Once the bird had moved on we opted to do the same and headed back to the carpark.

Black Redstart.

My brother had other things to do but was good enough to drop me off at the foot of Rockingham Hill from where I walked along the Welland Valley towards Gretton. Sadly for me the valley remains dry and it was a far from interesting walk with just a single sinensis race Cormorant to show for my efforts. Leaving the valley I took the public footpath up towards Brookfield Plantation and it was near the wood where I heard and then saw a Raven. In the plantation itself I was treated to a good selection of woodland species that included Marsh Tit, Siskin and Treecreeper. Having left the wood I popped in to check on our local Peregrines and was rewarded with views of the male - a nice note on which to end the day.

Peregrine

Graveyard Shift

 Alan Shorrock and I paid a morning visit to Blatherwycke today hoping to catch up with the Hawfinches that I'd seen on New Years Day. On arrival we bumped into a couple that had just left the churchyard and they bought the worrying news that they had dipped. Despite this unwelcome newsflash we maintained an optimistic outlook and forged on to take up station amongst the gravestones where we waited for the finches to appear.

Hawfinches

Fortune favoured us as after about ten minutes Shozzer found the pair in one of the large trees next to the churchyard. Although quite distant we did get reasonable views before they dropped down out of sight. After a relatively short wait the birds appeared again and this time in a closer tree so we were able to take some reasonable pictures of them. Once they had disappeared for a second time we decided to give them some peace and headed off in the direction of Eyebrook Reservoir.

Greenfinch

Eyebrook is enjoying something of a purple patch at the moment and rather a lot of birders were around hoping to catch up with the goodies. Sunny conditions made viewing a bit difficult from Stoke Dry car park but I still managed to pick out the female Ring-necked Duck. Given that she was closer to the other side views were far from great but it was still nice to catch up with her again. Somewhat closer were a trio of Avocets that have been here for a few days now and were feeding at the sharp end. Also present here was a Great White Egret which almost gleamed in the sunshine. Plenty of dabbling ducks remain including a very healthy population of Pintails.

Great White Egret and Avocet

We moved round to the other side of the res parking near the gate opposite the car park. From here we got much better views of the Ring-necked and even managed a few record shots. While she spent most of her time feeding there were several spells when she stopped to either snooze or preen and our views were more sustained. Alan picked out a female Red Crested Pochard but we couldn't find the Scaup that another birder had found here earlier.

Record shot Ring-necked Duck.

Better luck attended our Scaup searching from a spot north of the island where three female and one adult drake were found. Always distant we nevertheless managed decent views through the scopes. Also showing in the same general area were two drake and one redhead Smew. By now bellies were beginning to rumble and we packed up our gear and headed off, if only all local birding trips could be so productive!

Travels Around Lincolnshire

 My brother David and I set off for the wilds of Lincolnshire this morning beginning at the RSPB's reserve at Frampton. Last night's rain had thankfully moved on leaving a lovely sunny spell in its wake though the wet stuff did return later in the day. While we didn't encounter anything out of the ordinary there was still a good selection of birds to enjoy.

Frampton selection.

My brother picked out one of the highlights of the morning when he discovered a Peregrine perched on a distant fence post. The bird which we judged to be a female clearly liked this spot as it stayed here for over an hour. There was plenty of food on offer for her here with thousands of Wigeon, Lapwings and Golden Plovers providing most of the potential buffet. Best ducks here were a small number of Pintails while other interesting wildfowl included plenty of Brent Geese and also a single Pink-foot that dropped in briefly. There were not many waders other than the plovers but we did note Ruffs, Dunlins, Curlews, Black-tailed Godwits and Redshanks. A nice and close male Stonechat provided most of the passerine interest as he fed next to the path.

Goosander and Cattle Egret

Next stop was at Deeping Lakes where we failed to find any of the Long-eared Owls that this site is known for. It wasn't a total waste of time however as we managed to see two drake and two duck Goosanders from one of the hides. Also on view even if only distantly was a Cattle Egret that was favouring the corner of one of the lakes. We made one more stop at Tallington Lakes where reported goodies here included Ring-necked Duck, Scaup and Shag. No luck whatsoever with any of these though there was some quality compensation in the form of a small flock of Red Crested Pochards comprising of eight drakes and a single female. After a meal in the on site restaurant we packed up for the day and headed home.

Red Crested Pochards.

A Decent Start

 2022 dawned bright and sunny as the recent run of dreary weather was consigned to  memory. While the middle part of the day saw the arrival of some rain it did not hang around long enough to spoil the day. My birding year began at Blatherwycke Lake where my persistence finally payed off as the first of the January big bills duly showed up.

Distant Mandarins and Egyptian Geese.

Feral wildfowl kicked things off with about forty five Mandarin Ducks being found and they were joined by four Egyptian Geese. Numbers of  the other ducks seemed low and only four species were noted with Wigeon being the commonest. There were good numbers of Lapwings on site and a couple of Little Egrets but overall the lake seemed rather quiet. I took my usual detour to have a check of the churchyard in case there were any Hawfinches about, this is an occasional site for them but I always look just in case. Three Greenfinches caused a brief flutter until I'd checked them through the bins and at first it looked as if my search would prove fruitless. A ticking call piqued my curiosity and had me scanning the surrounding trees. To my delight I found a Hawfinch which hung around long enough for me to record the event. After what seemed like an all too short a stay the bird flew off with another for company. They didn't appear to go too far but I couldn't relocate them. After a brief period I set off in the direction of Deene with a bit of a grin fixed on to my face.

Two views of Hawfinch

Deene was fairly quiet too though there seemed to be a better variety of duck here, I added Shelduck, Shoveller, Pochard and Teal to my list. Another pair of Egyptian Geese were seen while there was a large flock of Greylag Geese present, no amount of searching could produce anything decent among them however. Leaving Deene behind I made my way home without adding much else to the day's tally but it didn't really matter - the memory of that cracking Hawfinch will keep me going for a while!

Stock Dove

Yesterday = Smews, Today = Snooze

 December's dreary sequence of grey and misty days continues and this lead to something of a late start as I struggled to summon up enough enthusiasm to venture out. When I did finally muster up some get up and go I headed off to Brookfield with a view to carrying on towards the Welland Valley.

Where did all the sunshine go?

Foggy conditions meant that the Peregrines would not be visible so I passed by their favourite spot with out stopping. Brookfield was very quiet for the most part and the light conditions were dreadful. Small numbers of Siskins were present but little else was on view. A walk alongside the flooded quarry on the way to Gretton added a small flock of four Redpolls and another larger flock of about forty Siskins. I hadn't ventured much further than this when the forecast rain began. Any thirst that I had for further travels evaporated at this point and I headed back home. My return walk through the plantation provided the one small highlight of the day when I appropriately enough flushed a Woodcock while paying a call of nature. Not the most interesting way to bring what has been an excellent year to an end but we have to suffer the lows to really appreciate those highs.

Redpolls.

Eyebrook Again

 A first effort to shift some of those Christmas calories today with a walk around Eyebrook Reservoir. Conditions have stayed fairly similar for the past few days so it was no surprise to be greeted by grey skies with the occasional light drizzle and an increasing amount of mist. Thankfully although the weather was dull the birding turned out to be OK and I enjoyed a good session.

Smews

My lift dropped me off in Stoke Dry car park from where a large selection of ducks were on view. Water levels remain low here which has seen an increase in the numbers of dabbling ducks. Both Shovellers and Pintails were present in good quantities with at least forty of the latter showing around the reservoir. Normally these graceful birds would win any ducky beauty contest but the presence of seven drake Smew outshone them a little. Eyebrook continues to be an excellent site for this species and the striking drakes were joined by at least four redheads. Searching through the abundant wildfowl did not result in any sightings of Scaup but I did find a drake Red Crested Pochard, the female showed a little later on.

Pintails and Goosander

My journey continued towards the sharp end where the large expanse of mud had drawn in a good  number of Lapwings. Feeding in amongst them were twenty six Dunlins, it will be interesting to see if the flock grows in the next couple of months. I continued my walk along the Leicestershire side of the res scoping the opposite bank as I went along. An adult Whooper Swan was associating with a group of Mutes and may be the bird that has  been showing off and on for a month or so. Next to show was a Redshank at the island while looking back up the res from this point produced a sighting of a drake Goosander. By now the fog was getting thicker and visibility began to suffer accordingly and so I made my way towards the spot from where I was being picked up. My final sighting of note was of a small group of Tree Sparrows on the feeders provided by the local wildlife group.