Getting Better

After the relative dullness of yesterday's sortie I was relieved to enjoy a rather better session today. As has become my habit of late I headed over to Oundle for my customary wander along the Nene and around Barnwell CP.

Sunrise.

Having been treated to a lovely sunrise I made my way to the park where a singing Willow Warbler was making itself heard. Chiffchaffs were present in very good numbers and so too were Blackcaps while the Cetti's Warbler was still singing. Several House Martins were my first in the county this year having had them earlier at Rutland Water. A drake Mandarin was my third of the morning as I'd already seen two more drakes at the north bridge. Although I enjoyed my stroll around the park it was beginning to get a little busier and so I headed off towards the river.

Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Wren.

A good sized flock of hirundines over the river near the mill contained all three of the commoner species with Sand Martins making up the bulk of the numbers. My first county Common Tern called loudly as it did several circuits of the marina, it's certainly starting to feel a little more like Spring. There were echoes of the Winter though with a Redwing noted as it fed in the horse paddocks.

Dunnock and Redwing.

The floods near the A605 had the same birds as on my last visit with the Little Ringed Plover still there though Redshanks were represented by only a single today. All of the birds were flushed by a passing Osprey which had the Lapwings racing skywards to intercept their unwelcome visitor. Whether it was due to the hostile reception or perhaps just because it had things to do the Osprey did not hang around and flew on along the Nene.

Green-veined White and Arum Lily.

Other wildlife today included a single Green-veined White but little else though I did see my first Arum Lilies of the year. Whilst waiting for my bus I was treated to my final highlight of the day when I noticed a tiny, possibly Peregrine shaped blob on the side of the church spire. The zoom on my camera confirmed my initial thought and I was able to get a few pictures. I'd assumed that this bird had moved on so it was a pleasant surprise to see him still holding court from his lofty perch.

Still about, male Peregrine.

Not Much to Report

Rather a long walk today, not as long as the one last week but then nowhere near as interesting either. I walked out through Weldon and on through Deenethorpe and Deene before returning via Priors Hall. Early sunshine gave way to clouds putting paid to any hope of seeing interesting insects with the continuing north easterly wind bringing quite a chill to the day.

Sunny scenes

I stopped at Ironpit Wood in Corby where I enjoyed the display of Bluebells, this is the best local wood that I know of to see them. The verge and the very edge of the wood appear to have been disturbed by construction machinery but thankfully the rest appears to be surviving well. Walking along Kettering Road towards Weldon produced at least four Willow Warblers with  more seen or heard later in the day at Priors Hall.

Bluebells and male Chaffinch.

Very little of note between Weldon and Deenethorpe with a Brown Hare near Harry's Park Wood being the sole highlight. Deenethorpe had a Swallow while the nearby inflow at Deene Lake had about fifty Teal and a Shelduck but little else. A further four Shelduck were seen on the main lake where a pair of Black Swans were also seen. I can't say with absolute certainty but it looks as if the swans may nest this year which would be interesting even if they are escapes. A group of eleven Cormorants were on the spit near the dam and were of the British race and possibly migrants.

Cormorants and friend and a Red Kite.

Winter was still in the air at Priors Hall with eight Redwings on site while several Teal and three Snipe were seen around the ponds. A drake Mandarin did a flypast over this area, I saw it or another with its mate in flight over the quarry lake. Little else to report, a Muntjac was seen around the ponds while a double figure count of Sand Martins were flying around the quarry lake. With the weather promised to improve over the next week it's to be hoped that the wildlife sightings will improve a little too - hopefully!

Black Swan and nosy calves.

There Goes The Sun

Yet another day off work and the morning was beautiful but a little on the cold side. Once the chill had gone off (a bit anyway!) I took a walk down to Weldon. Early damsels were again my target though not for the first time I was unable to find any, next week's looking quite a bit warmer so fingers crossed it won't be too much longer.

Small Tortoiseshell

Not too many insects about particularly as the sun soon disappeared behind some pretty thick cloud cover. A Small Tortoiseshell was the only butterfly that I could find and even that spent most of the time with its wings held firmly shut. Over the last few days I've seen a few of the smaller solitary bees but have only just realised that two different looking ones were male and female of the same species - Tawny Mining Bee. One day I may eventually learn a few of the commoner bee species but I wouldn't put money on it!

Tawny Mining Bees male and female.

Not a great many birds around, the A43 had both of the commoner goose species as well as a trio of Tufted Ducks and Dabchick while the other pond had a couple of Greylags. No signs of any new migrants having arrived with just Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps being seen.

Goldfinch and my first Hawthorn blossom of the Spring.

On a different note it looks as if I'm going to have some trouble with the new neighbours. A pair of Magpies have set up home in a nearby hawthorn bush and seem to want to tell everyone about it, as loudly and as often as possible it would appear. When not squawking or chacking or fighting with a neighbouring pair they seem to be squawking or chacking just for the pleasure of it, theirs not mine! Now I'm very much a live and let live sort of fellow but if I could persuade one of the many local cats to accept a contract on them....

Noisy neighbour

Back to Oundle

My work were gracious enough to let me take the day off and so with some welcome but unexpected time on my hands I returned to Oundle. As it seemed as if it was going to be fairly sunny, albeit cool in the wind, I decided to try and find some early damselflies. Despite much checking I couldn't find any but it is still over a week earlier than I've seen them in the past.

Oundle.

A pair of Mandarins were seen near the north bridge, it seems as if the Oundle area is becoming one of the best spots in the county to see these birds. a passing Swallow was my first in the county this year though migrants in general were scarce today. In fact very little of note was seen between the town and the A605 but happily things did perk up a little once I'd passed under the road bridge.

Dunnock and Song Thrush.

Perhaps not surprisingly things were almost the same on the floods as they had been on Monday though Redshanks had increased to four and they and the Lapwings had been joined by a Little Ringed Plover. A Green-veined White seen nearby was a first for the year and one of four seen today. Another species, Small Tortoiseshell, was also seen along the river as well as many different bees and hoverflies.

Hover fly and solitary bee.

Although I knew that Barnwell CP was going to be packed with brats I popped in to continue my fruitless search for damsels. The Cetti's Warbler could just be made out above the screeches and screams but was the only bird interest. It looked as if it might be the only thing of any interest at all until a little burst of butterfly activity livened things up. A first for the year male Orange-tip was a very welcome sighting, Spring has officially sprung when these little beauties appear! Nearby a Speckled Wood and a Peacock took today's species count up to five while my county year list has risen to eight.

Butterfly assortment.

I stayed long enough to grab a cold drink from the café (no ice creams!) but then popped back into town to grab the return bus home.

Kite nest.

After Work Quickie

Given that the sun was shining and it was quite pleasant in those spots lucky enough to be sheltered from the wind I decided to pop out after work for a bit of wildlife spotting. I didn't fancy going too far so opted for a short stroll over to the old patch near the sewage works.

Speckled Wood and its Comma foe, and a Peacock.

While there were few birds to report I did manage to catch up with a couple of butterflies. Best of a rather small bunch were a couple of Speckled Woods which were my seventh species for the year and my sixth in the county. The first was altogether too flighty and flitted off before I could manage a snap but the second was happy to pose. This one had the bad fortune to invade a Comma's favoured sun bathing spot and had to endure a spirited assault from which it sensibly chose to flee. Apart from these two species there was also a Peacock which had found a nice sheltered spot in which to catch a few rays.

Green Shield Bug and Tawny Mining Bee.

Several other insects were noted today and these included what I take to be a Tawny Mining Bee and also a Green Shield Bug (nothing to do with the stamps). Plenty of Bee-flies were still buzzing about and there were also a few wasps on the wing. With several errands to run I had to abandon ship after about an hour's watching.

Bee-fly and potential host.

Mainly Mandarins.

Another Monday visit to Oundle and Barnwell CP and a return to more mundane matters after yesterday's excitement. Just the usual stuff on view at Barnwell CP with no new migrants about and neither Kingfishers or Otters to report. The Cetti's Warbler is still here though it was the two pairs of Mandarins that provided most of the interest. As it is now school holiday time I left before the park got too busy.

Mandarins and Mute Swan nest.

The floods held two Redshanks in addition to Lapwings while numbers of both Wigeon and Teal are declining. As the floods still seem quite extensive at the moment they may yet bring more waders in as the Spring progresses For now at least though I was satisfied that I'd seen all that I was going to and I headed off back into town and caught my bus home.

Robin, Blackcap, Blue Tit and Lapwing.

Worth the Effort

A long old walk today starting here in the village and heading out through Brookfield Plantation and on through Gretton, from there it was a matter of taking the Jurassic Way along to Harringworth Lodge Lake. Afterwards I wandered along to the old quarry near Spanhoe Airfield before returning home via Priors Hall and Weldon. While my feet were a tad sore I can say it was worth it with plenty to interest me along the way.

Peregrine and Fallow Deer.

Starting just after dawn I found two Willow Warblers singing along the edge of the waste ground at Cockerell Road, another was nearby at the Willowbrook Industrial Estate. These were my first confirmed ones of the year as I thought that I'd heard a brief snatch of song yesterday at Rutland Water. A Peregrine was seen at its usual spot before it flew off to presumably ruin a pigeon's day. Brookfield had a small flock of Redpolls and a few Fallow Deer but little else.

Goldfinch and Yellowhammer.

While the walk to Gretton was a little uneventful it was nice to see and hear several Yellowhammers as well as Skylarks. Leaving Gretton on the Jurassic Way provided the day's highlight when I found a male Ring Ouzel feeding in the large sheep field about half way to Harringworth Lodge. I'd heard the Fieldfare like call, always promising when it's coming from a Blackbird, and was delighted when it landed to reveal its identity. Happily I was able to watch it for about ten minutes on and off and even managed a few shots. Ring Ouzels are rare but regular passage migrants and used to be annual through Priors Hall before development put paid to that. As if that were not enough while phoning the news out an Osprey passed overhead and was my first Northants one this year.

Two views of the Ring Ouzel.

Not much of note at the lake with just the usual selection of common waterfowl on view though the walk up towards Spanhoe Airfield did provide views of a song flighting Meadow Pipit. There was a large herd of formidable looking cows near the airfield which had attracted several wagtails including my first Yellow of the year. The old quarry did not have much to look at but seems as if it may be suitable habitat for Dark Green Fritillary, I'll be back in the Summer! A large field across from the airfield had a flock of about two hundred and fifty Fieldfares while a Raven was noted passing overhead.

Spiky looking cows and Yellow Wagtail.

There was a bit of a lull as I walked towards Priors Hall with only another Raven to liven things up. Priors had a decent selection of birds with four species of duck on the ponds and these included a pair of Mandarins. Other highlights were several Siskins, another Willow Warbler and there was a pair of Little Ringed Plovers in the quarry while also of interest were my first county Sand Martins. By now it had begun to rain and I made my way to Weldon where I caught the X4 home.

Spanhoe Airfield.