Afternoon at Barnwell

I took a half day off work today and headed over to Barnwell where I fancied a walk round in the pleasant though slightly chilly conditions. Part of my time was spent in the Kingfisher Hide where I had hoped to see otters or kingfishers. While I did catch a fleeting glimpse of a 'fisher the area turned out to be completely otter free. Although nothing too exciting was seen from here there was at least a decent selection of commoner species entertain me.

Quartet of Mandarins and well marked sinensis Cormorant.

In the channel at the back of the hide there were at least nine Mandarin Ducks which spent most of their time hiding on the bank. Luckily for me four decided to take a swim and a bath so I got to enjoy some reasonable views. Lowlands Hide was mainly Dunnock Hide as up to eight were feeding in the area, empty feeders were probably the reason that other species gave it a miss.

Reed Bunting, Chaffinch and Nuthatch.

Not much else to report, a few Siskins, some Redwings and a few overflying kites but nothing out of the ordinary. Still any time off work is time well spent especially if it doesn't involve shopping!

Confiding Robin and Dunnock.

Sunrise at Wicksteed

More fun and games waiting around for the X4 again this morning but it did eventually arrive and I was able to get over to Wicksteed Park. Once there I was treated to a lovely sunrise and I was grateful that I had my Nikon with me to take a few pics.

Sunrise.

While I enjoyed my walk around I have to say that there was not much to report. Large numbers of Black-headed Gulls were joined by a couple of Commons and an immature Herring Gull but there was nothing more exciting amongst them. Not many ducks on the main lake, numbers of Tufted Ducks have dropped to about half a dozen and had just one Pochard with them. Teals at least seemed to be a little more numerous than usual while Coots were the commonest species.

Coot and friend, Mallard and Teal.

The fishing lake could not add much more to the list with a similar collection of waterfowl being joined by a Heron but in truth there was very little else of interest. Some days you just have to enjoy the walk and the views and hope that your next trip brings greater rewards!

Black-headed Gull, Greylag Goose and Moorhen.

Pitsford

A rare chance to visit Pitsford today in the company of Alan Shorrock and an opportunity to try out a recently purchased camera. Sadly the camera turned out to be a bit of a duffer but the res was OK.

Pitsford ducks.

We began by having a quick look at the nature reserve north of the causeway. There was a large number of ducks present with Pochards in particular present in good numbers. The drake Ring-necked was reported this morning (as indeed was the dratted one at Summer Leys) but we didn't manage to find it. Great White Egrets did show well with three birds feeding along the shoreline and there was also a Redshank.

Black-headed Gulls.

From here we took a walk on the southern side of the causeway where we hoped to catch up with one of the Great Northern Divers that have been here for a few weeks. Happily we found one close to the gorse bushes where we watched it on and off for at least half an hour. At first it spent its time preening and was easy to see but within a few minutes it had begun to feed and spent more time underwater becoming more difficult to view. Attempts to photograph it with my new camera were fairly dismal though that doesn't stop me from including an example here, needless to say I'll be sticking with my Nikon in future! It had begun to drizzle at this point and as Al had a lunch date we decided to head back to the car leaving the res to the joggers, cyclists and walkers.

Dire diver picture.

Duck Dipping

A day off work gave me the chance to head over to Summer Leys by way of Earls Barton. News that a drake Ring-necked Duck had been seen the previous day was a nice bonus as I'd already planned my day before this report came in. Arriving just as it got light I was treated to a brief glimpse of the rising sun before grey and drizzly conditions took hold.

Earls Barton sunrise and Great White Egret.

Mill Lake had a reasonable selection of ducks which I checked just in case but without finding any strangers in the camp. Next door at Hardwater Lake a Great White Egret was the highlight, another was seen on the reserve. In the fields next to the reserve a group of shooters had set up some goose decoys and their shots were heard throughout my visit, hopefully they didn't bag too many.

 

Wigeon and Shoveller.

Quite a few other birders were present on site with most of them also looking for the Ring-necked. As the title of this post may have hinted none of us were successful during the time that I was there. While there were a large number of ducks around they were all the regular types with Goldeneye probably the pick. Lots of Lapwings and Golden Plovers were seen though the best wader was a Ruff feeding on the bank near the Cormorant spit. Of the two Snipes seen today one showed very well from the Rotary Hide.

Snipe and Pheasant

The feeders were busy with the usual stuff which included good views of all. A quartet of Pheasants paid a brief visit while a party of Long-tailed Tits hung around for a bit longer. Marys Lake had rather a lot of Goldeneyes but little else and with news of the duck remaining negative I walked back towards Earls Barton. Three pints of Sea Fury in the Old Swan were a nice way to end the day before I caught my bus home.

Finch trio and Little Egret swallowing prey.

Otter

Another early start today and I arrived in Oundle just as the sun was rising in my attempt to catch up with a Barnwell Otter. Unusually the Kingfisher Hide was empty and I had it to myself for the whole time that I was there. Settling in for a couple of hours watching I was grateful that the weather had remained mild and I actually took my coat off during my vigil.

Sunrise over the Nene.

At first I had to content myself with watching the cob swan of a pair chasing his cygnets from last year, I imagine it's time for them to clear his territory before breeding begins. The cygnets appeared to be a little slow on the uptake and he made repeated aggressive charges at them, the battle was still continuing when I left with all three still unvanquished. Other birds here included a Heron while a sinensis race Cormorant dropped in and caught several small fishes before taking off again. Two Mandarins were also seen hiding on the bank in their usual spot.

Aggressive swan and sinensis race Cormorant.

Movement to my left alerted me to the presence of an Otter fishing amongst the little islands. He spent more time down than up and was proving very difficult to photograph which was a little frustrating. Luckily it hauled itself out on to one of the islands and I managed a couple of shots before it slipped back into the water. The Otter was in view for about five minutes before it disappeared and I considered myself lucky but happily it or another showed again about half an hour later. While it was a bit on the distant side I enjoyed watching it fishing before it too disappeared, anyone in the Kingfisher Café would have had excellent views.

The star of the show.

Deciding that the Kingfishers were not going to make this a winning double I headed off to Lowlands Hide where a good selection of the commoner birds included a Treecreeper as well as Marsh Tit. From here I walked along the river as far as the floods. The good sized flock of Wigeon were still present and were joined on this occasion by a few gulls and about forty Lapwings. A brace of Egyptian Geese rounded off things and I went back into town for a celebratory pint or two of Wherry.

Egyptian Geese.

Ravens Rule.

No real sunrise this morning with just a suffuse pink smudge on the horizon serving in its stead. My journey today took me over to East Carlton Park which in retrospect proved to be a bit of a tactical error and then through the Welland Valley and Brookfield Plantation.

Middleton Village.

An early morning walk through Corby did not produce much apart from several singing Song Thrushes and a very large population of Greylags at the boating lake. Passing out into the countryside produced views of a Marsh Tit near the Blackthorn Wood golf complex where a croaking Raven was my first of the year. Not much else from here onwards until I got to the fringes of East Carlton Park. A single Brambling was present in the gardens of the houses that line the park but proved to be the only one recorded today.

Red Kite and Buzzard.

It didn't take me long to realise why other Bramblings might be shunning the park despite what looks to have been a reasonable supply of beechmast and that reason was dogs!. It seems as if hundreds of the furry blighters were running around and the air was filled with shouts. Whether shouts of admonishment, encouragement or perhaps just of recognition it didn't matter as they were all as loud as each other. In addition conversations between owners were conducted at a volume that I would reserve for during the louder parts of a display by the Red Arrows and seemed to have a deterrent  affect on the local wildlife. I suspect that the park shows what may lay in store for green spaces in this neck of the woods as development continues at its present level. Obviously folks are entitled to walk their mutts but when they do so in such numbers it can be off putting.

Pied Wagtail and Wood Pigeon.

Having noted some of the commoner species in my brief visit I resolved to abandon ship as soon as possible and so headed off into the Welland Valley. Things were pretty quiet in the valley though I heard at least one Redpoll and saw a decent hedgerow bird in the attractive shape of a Nuthatch. Both buzzards and kites showed well and there was also a Kestrel. Leaving the valley and walking up the escarpment near Brookfield Plantation a pair of Ravens flew over cronking softly. Brookfield was rather quiet too with just a selection of the commoner birds and a couple of Fallow Deer to report.

Large toadstool with 10p piece for scale.

Double Dip at Barnwell

An early start this morning as I headed over to Barnwell CP with the aim of catching up with the Otters that have been seen here recently. Arriving just as it began to get light I set up in the Kingfisher Hide and waited.... A couple of hours later with neither Otter or Kingfisher putting in an appearance and having shared the hide and the disappointment with two other dippers I decided to move on and look around the rest of the park.

Daybreak at the River Nene and Kingfisher.

A large numbers of Redwings were on site often filling the air with their calls as they flew around.. Siskins too seemed to be present in good numbers and I spent some time watching them feeding in alders. From Lowlands Hide there was the usual selection of species even though the feeders did not appear to have been filled. Nuthatches and a Marsh Tit were probably the best birds though a pair of Reed Buntings were also noted.

Gadwall, Nuthatch, Reed Bunting and Chaffinch.

Barnwell was beginning to get a tad too busy for my liking so I left to take a walk along the river. Apart from the usual heron or two and a Cormorant it seemed really quiet. The floods had a flock of over a hundred Wigeon and about twenty Teal but nothing else and I gave up and headed into town for an appointment with my return bus.

Blackbird and Canada Goose.