Majorcan Mutterings

 I've just returned from a week's holiday with my wife Sandra to Puerto Pollensa in Majorca where we enjoyed plenty of excellent weather, good food and beer. Obviously, this being a wildlife blog and all, I managed to get a bit of birding and other wildlife spotting in as well and although I didn't amass a big list the quality shone through. I divided my time between the Boquer Valley and Albufereta and the coastal strip that runs between them.

Black Vultures with Bonelli's and Booted Eagles and Eleanora's Falcon

Autumn is not a good time to be looking for Balearic Warbler but reports from another birder suggested that they were still showing in the Boquer Valley and I visited four times in the hope of catching up with them. It was a case of close but no cigar for me unfortunately as I heard one singing briefly on my final visit but couldn't see it. It's just as well then that raptors provided plenty of interest even if photographic opportunities were limited. Black Vulture is not a bird that I've seen often in the past so I thoroughly enjoyed encountering them on two of my forays into the valley. At one stage I had a vulture with a Bonelli's and Booted Eagle in the same view bringing back memories of Extremadura! On another visit a wandering vulture attracted the attention of half a dozen or so irate Eleanora's Falcons who subjected it to a series of diving attacks until it moved on. That action would have been reason enough for a visit but other species also provided entertainment with Blue Rock Thrush, Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher amongst the supporting cast.

Passerine selection.

Albufereta could not quite match the dramatic goings on of the Boquer but still provided some highlights of its own. Adding to the raptor roster both Osprey and Marsh Harrier put in appearances though both stayed distant. Herons fared better with six species being seen that included both Purple and Night. There were more Greater Flamingos on this trip than last year though wader numbers were low. Best wader was Kentish Plover, it's nice to see that the reserve has a healthy population of them. Among the passerines on show a Firecrest was my favourite with other highlights including Fan-tailed Warbler, Serin and Corn Bunting. Away from these two sites good numbers of Audouin's Gull and the attractive Mediterranean race of Shag were present in the bay.

Juvenile Night and Purple Herons, Audouin's Gull and Shag

Majorca doesn't appear to have a large butterfly list and it's pretty much the end of the season for them. That didn't stop me from seeing a couple of interesting species however such as Lang's Short-tailed Blue and Cleopatra which were backed up by Clouded Yellow, Painted Lady and Small Copper. Dragonflies were in similarly short supply with just Red-veined Darter, Migrant Hawker and Emperor making it on to the list. Overall a very pleasant way of spending a week, I'm already thinking of booking for next year, wonder what the Spring prices are like?

Red-veined Darter, Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Cleopatra and warring moggies

Jurassic Walk

 My friends at the BBC's weather guessing department seem to have taken their eyes off the ball with regards to today at least. Their suggestion that we were going to enjoy wall to wall sunshine fell a little short of the mark as for much of the morning the sun often proved somewhat elusive. With a keen south westerly breeze still blowing there seemed to be slight chance of much migration going on but that was not enough to keep me at home. Today's travels took me to Harringworth Lodge Lake by way of Willowbrook Industrial Estate, Brookfield Plantation, Gretton and the Jurassic Way.

Speckled Wood and Common Darter

Even before I'd left the village I'd heard some Siskins passing over, there seemed to have been a small movement of this species as I noted them at other spots during the day. Other birds seemingly on the move were Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. Brookfield was quiet, a few Coal Tits, some Goldcrests and a couple of Teal flushed from one of the ponds constituted the best birds and there was a small group of Fallow Deer too. On the outskirts of the plantation a Speckled Wood was a good find as a fresh looking example was noted basking on the ground.

Willow Emeralds and Red Admiral

The flooded quarry between the wood and Gretton added Common Darter and Willow Emerald to my day list. Moving on closer towards Gretton I observed rather a lot of Red Admirals nectaring on Ivy flowers, this seems to have been a really good Autumn for them. One of my highlights  was getting good views of a Hornet as they're normally too active to get more than a fleeting glimpse of them. On the stretch of the Jurassic Way close to Harringworth Lodge Lake Commas seemed to come into their own as four were observed, another was seen near Gretton on my return walk home.

Mandarins and Yellowhammers

At the lake itself a flock of about twenty Wigeon were present though even these attractive ducks were outshone by a similar number of Mandarin Ducks. This site is quite a reliable spot for this species though I've not seen them in these kind of numbers before. A Small White was a welcome addition to my butterfly list and was the first of four noted today. My first adult Willow Emeralds here were welcome, prior to this I'd only seen signs of their presence when I found breeding scars in the summer. Other than those Mandarins a few Redpolls were the avian highlight, there was another near the flooded quarry on my way home. On the way home another Speckled Wood was noted in Brookfield but the biggest surprise was a fresh looking male Common Blue at Willowbrook Industrial Estate. This is my latest ever and I really did not expect to see one in October. 

De haviland Chipmunk and Common Blue

Windy Wicksteed

 My visit to Wicksteed Park in Kettering this morning was timed to avoid the schoolkids on the X4. I'm all in favour of a good education but I don't want to listen to the inane patter of hormone addled brains trying to out cool each other when all I want is peace and quiet. I was successful in my efforts and arrived in Kettering ready to brave the combination of sunshine and cloudier spells as well as the now familiar strong breeze that greeted me on arrival.

Shoveller and Gadwall

On the main lake there was a small selection of duck which included Gadwall and Shoveller but I sense that a lot of the wildfowl has still to arrive. At least two Cetti's Warblers were singing from waterside vegetation and this species seems well established here now. There was quite a large group of mostly immature gulls bobbing about on the lake with most being either Lesser Black-backeds or Herrings but I also managed to find two juv/first winter Yellow-Leggeds too - rubbishy record shots are posted below. A walk around the fishing lake produced a small flock of about half a dozen Redpolls while both Willow Emeralds and Common Darters were also noted. Only one Migrant Hawker was observed but it really was quite windy here and I suppose that most had found more sheltered spots to hunt in. I didn't see any butterflies at Wickies but I saw both Red Admiral and Small White on my return to Corby. It seems as if most of next week is going to be unseasonably warm - such a shame that I'm going to be in Majorca!

Yellow-legged Gulls.

Braving The Breeze

 A day of sunshine and cloudy spells with a fairly gusty westerly breeze saw Alan Shorrock and I take a trip along to the Nene Valley. Before that we had a quick check for migrants at Willowbrook Industrial Estate but our only discovery was that the wind was unpleasantly cold! News from yesterday from the Stanwick area suggested that we might be in with a shout of seeing Cattle Egret again so our next stop was near the Diamond Centre at the western end of the complex.

Great White Egret and Willow Emerald

It took a while as we trudged along towards the river but eventually we reached a bridge from where some cows were in view. Luckily for us a Cattle Egret chose to fly up from the long grass in which it had been feeding and landed on a cow's back. Distant views where achieved through the scope before the constant harassment from Jackdaws made it fly from view. Try as we might our efforts to relocate the egret met with failure, we saw Little and Great White but no further trace of the Cattle. Once we had returned to the car we made the short trip to Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows for a rare visit to the reserve.

Peregrine

In birding terms there was little of interest, a single Great White Egret was the only thing that springs to mind. Despite the wind we did manage to find a few insects, there were no surprises but it's nice to see anything this late in the season. Three species of butterfly included a few Red Admirals on brambles or Ivy and also singles of Small White and Comma. It was a treble of odes too, Migrant Hawkers, Common Darters and a Willow Emerald made up the list. Having then paid a successful visit to one of the county's Peregrine sites we finished our day at a wind swept Desborough Airfield. Our walk did not provide too much of interest but Shozzer did find a nice male Stonechat which was my first migrant one of the Autumn.

Stonechat

The Late Show

 A nice and sunny morning tempted me into taking the bus along to Weldon for a look around the Woodland Park. Even before I'd left Corby's Old Village a brace of Cormorants over the garden and several flyover Grey Wagtails insured that I'd surpassed yesterday's efforts. Although quite a strong breeze was blowing there were enough sheltered spots to suggest that I'd find a few insects on my travels.

Banded Demoiselle and Willow Emerald

Once I'd arrived at Weldon I opted to take a walk along the stream where I was lucky enough to encounter a male Banded Demoiselle. For some reason this site holds on to its demoiselles for longer than other places and this is the fourth year that I've had October records for a species that normally disappears in early September. Not that far away at the pond there were a few Common Darters, Migrant Hawkers and Willow Emeralds but the wind made for difficult viewing so I made my way to the Woodland Park.

Migrant Hawker and Speckled Wood

Plenty of Red Admirals were on the wing with thirty plus being seen most of which were nectaring on Ivy flowers. Joining the admirals was a late Speckled Wood and also a Comma. A sheltered hedge harboured many more Willow Emeralds and Common Darters as these late season specialists enjoyed the autumnal sunshine. A prior engagement meant that I couldn't hang around for that long and I caught my return bus a little after midday.

Red Admirals

Short Walk

 In between a visit to the town centre and the arrival of the forecast rain I took the chance to have a walk around the small area near the town's STW. Hazy sunshine and fairly still conditions  meant that it was pleasantly warm but there was not much in the way of wildlife to distract me from my stroll. No birds of note were observed, I had hoped for some late migrants but it was not to be. Few insects seemed to be taking advantage of the warm conditions either, a Comma and Peacock represented the butterflies while a single Common Darter flew the flag for the odes. Sometimes you need a day like to today to help put the good ones into context - I just hope there are not too many!

Comma and Common Darter

Eyebrook Egret

 Back home in Northants and my first trip out was over the border (though only just!) to Eyebrook with Alan Shorrock. The weather was grey and rather windy though it was surprisingly mild and I was able to leave my jacket at home. Water levels remain high which effectively ruled out any late waders though wildfowl numbers appear to be building up.

Pintail and Dabchick

At the bottom of the hill on the Great Easton side a Cattle Egret was in the field adjacent to the res with some gulls and geese for company. Apparently it had been in Sam's Dyke but was flushed by two people having a stroll along the shoreline. The birds were flushed by some unseen menace and the egret disappeared out of view. We then moved on the the island bunker from where a distant Yellow-legged Gull was seen in the company of some Lesser Black-backs. A Raven was heard calling from here and two were present near the entrance to Hollyoaks Farm.

Willow Emeralds

Good numbers of Pintail, some thirty plus, were present at the Sharp End where a good sized flock of Shovellers were also present. Surprise find was a juvenile Common Tern sitting on one of the orange buoys, I've not seen an October one here before. Not too far away at the bridge a Kingfisher was the highlight though Alan also found a small flock of Siskins. Scanning the willows on either side of the bridge produced views of at least four Willow Emeralds and there were a couple of migrant Hawkers hunting too. The only other insects braving the gloom were a few Small Whites and a likely Red Admiral. We finished our visit where we began near Sam's Dyke where the Cattle Egret had returned and was showing quite well.

Kingfisher

Cattle Egret