Chatty

 A lovely sunny morning today albeit one that was a little on the chilly side, I made a rare winter visit to Priors Hall. This used to be one of my favourite winter birding sites but massive development over the last five or six years has all but ruined it. Today's visit is unlikely to make me visit any more often though it wasn't quite a total waste of time.

Weldon ducks and Lapwings

On my way through Weldon I stopped at the A43 pond where the usual selection of birds was on offer with a good double figure count of Gadwalls being the highlight. Moving on towards Priors I stopped to check a large flock of Lapwings in the old quarry. At Priors itself most of the ponds were frozen and there was a distinct lack of birdlife to watch. Small numbers of Siskins were noted and I flushed a Woodcock which flew up from under my feet almost causing a heart attack! Little else was seen until I reached the northern bit near Kirby Lane where a male Stonechat was feeding.

Buzzard and Crow spat and Stonechat.

On my way home I stopped off at Willowbrook Industrial Estate where I looked for the Stonechats that Alan Shorrock tipped me off about. It took a while but I eventually found the pair which I watched for ten minutes or so before heading for home.

Priors Hall.

In With The New

 So it's bye bye to dreary old 2020 and time to welcome in 2021 with the hope that things may eventually return to some sort of normality. I'm currently behaving pretty much as if we're in lockdown so my birding trips are all more or less within walking distance of my home. Today I took the well travelled path to Deene Lake by way of Weldon and Deenethorpe. While the weather was for the most part fairly drab I did at least manage to avoid the heavier spells of rain.

Common Snipe and synchronized Shelduck upending

My first bird of the year turned out to be Starling and it was soon followed by others as I walked towards Weldon. In the village the doggy paddling pool was more of a skating rink as the pond in the Woodland Park had frozen. Best birds were Siskin and Grey Wagtail, one of each being noted. Plenty of winter thrushes are still  about and both species are now beginning to enter towns and villages as they widen their search for food. The walk along the A427 towards Deenethorpe Airfield produced a single Redpoll though I found a flock of about ten a little later on at the airfield itself. Open country species such as Skylark and Yellowhammer were noted and a decent sized flock of Meadow Pipits were also found.

Egyptian Geese and first winter drake Shoveller

Deene Lake's water level has risen again though there was still some exposed mud showing at the inflow. Just as well too perhaps as my first two Snipe of the winter showed well if distantly. Wildfowl numbers were up again on the main lake where Shelduck numbers had risen to nine. Teals once again numbered a hundred plus and I scanned through them again in my continuing though still unsuccessful search for a Green-winged. A pair of Egyptian Geese were also present on the banks of the lake and may well have been the ones from the farm ponds that I saw on my previous visit.

Grey Squirrel

Little else was found between here and Corby as Kirby Lane was very quiet indeed. Still records will show that this as well as being my first day's birding of the year will also be my best, I'm unlikely to see this many year ticks on any other day until 2022!

Kings' for a Day

 I corrected yesterday's mistake by heading for Kingswood here in Corby for a last stroll of the year. New Year's Eve is often a time for reflection and recollection and any walk around this wood always brings back lots of memories. Having spent a great deal of my formative birding years strolling along its paths and muddy tracks it still holds a special place for me.

The large pond known to generations of kids as The Swamp

Of course whenever you remember past days out it's usually the triumphs that spring to mind and not the uneventful ones. As I walked through the wood thoughts of Hawfinches and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers as well as other past glories sprung to mind and not all those occasions when Blue Tits were the highlight! Today alas proved to be one of those Blue Tit days and I had to content myself with a decent selection of the commoner woodland species. Nuthatches, Marsh Tits and the two commoner woodpeckers were perhaps the highlights of my watching. If the teenage version of me had claimed a Red Kite over Kingswood there would have been howls of derision but nowadays things have moved on and they're regular here. Shame that we've lost the Willow Tits and those regular Hawfinches that I've already mentioned but sometimes we have to be grateful for what we've got. Happy New year to all and a heartfelt hope that 2021 presents us with less challenges.

Long-tailed Tit and Blackbird

Harry's Hordes

 Today I fancied a walk in the woods and narrowed my choice down to either Kingswood or Harry's Park. Given that the kids are still on holiday and quite a few people are still off work I decided that Kingswood might be a bit too busy for wildlife watching and so took the other option. In retrospect I think that I may have made the wrong decision because Harry's Park was very busy indeed!

A quiet walk in the woods? Not today!

As more and more green spaces are lost to development the pressure on those that remain grow with each passing year. More and more people seem to want to spend their time outdoors which means that it's getting increasingly hard to find quiet places in which to watch wildlife. Harry's Park used to be fairly undisturbed but on today's evidence those days are firmly in the past. A procession of joggers, dog walkers, hikers, horse riders and cyclists (as well as at least one birder of course!) made their way through the wood which made birding something of a challenge. Needless to say I struggled to find anything of interest and it could be a while before I visit again.

Yellowhammer and Jay

A Grey Wagtail was noted in Weldon as I walked through while Bears Lane had a small flock of Yellowhammers and a Redpoll. In the wood itself several small groups of Siskin put in an appearance and that as they say was that as far as anything noteworthy went. Tomorrow I may well head back to those paths less well travelled - fingers crossed!

First Snow

 A dull and dreary day with poor light quality until the last hour or so when the sun made the briefest of appearances. It was most notable for the first snow fall of the winter so far which thankfully didn't settle. I put in quite a few miles though rewards were scant and I can't claim that it was my most interesting day out.

Harringworth.

Beginning at Harringworth I checked the floods on either side of the village though those on the Wakerley were for the most part in Rutland. Several hundred Wigeon were present on this stretch of the flood though I couldn't find much else. In flooded willows a Chiffchaff was calling making this the fourth site this month where I've seen this species while a Redpoll flew over. Leaving the valley behind I made my way up towards Spanhoe Quarry, the sight of eight Egyptian Geese flying towards Rutland during a snow shower seemed rather incongruous!

Harringworth Lodge Lake

My arrival at the quarry coincided with the heaviest snow of the day and I struggled to see much. Another Redpoll passed overhead and so too did a Little Egret while a pair of Marsh Tits were also noted. Whilst walking towards Harringworth Lodge I heard a Raven croaking over a nearby wood, these early nesters are already displaying. Once again the lake was quiet with just four Gadwalls swimming on the gravy coloured water though a Water Rail was heard calling. Very little of note from then onwards until I saw a Peregrine once I'd arrived back in Corby.

A Short Stroll

 A combination of cold and foggy weather and a few chores that needed doing meant that I kept things very local today with regards to my wildlife wanderings. After two days of long walks my joints certainly were not complaining about taking things easier though it meant that I didn't see much of interest.

Goldfinch and Redwing

My short stroll took me to the area near the sewage works where I ambled around for about an hour. A few Redwings were going about the business of finishing of the haw crop while several Fieldfares passed overhead. Five species of finches added some colour to what was a pretty drab day with Siskin being the most interesting. On the ponds a group of eight Teal were presumably the same flock seen on previous visits while a Grey Wagtail was also a regular visitor. 

Witches Butter

Not a great deal else was on offer today though my eyes were drawn to a bright fungus on an elder branch which turned out to be called Witches Butter, it's bright colour really stood out against such a dreary background.

Floody Marvelous!

 Today dawned bright and sunny after last night's winds making for a much nicer if slightly cooler day than yesterday. I wanted to give the Welland Valley a check to see if the floods had attracted any decent birds and so headed out towards Cottingham from where I wanted to walk as far as Gretton.

Pochard and Fieldfare

My early morning walk through Corby was quite interesting, a Little Egret was seen near the town centre and a drake Pochard was on the boating lake. Both Marsh Tit and Nuthatch were noted as I walked past Hazel and Thoroughsale Woods. On reaching the countryside I began to note good numbers of winter thrushes as well as Skylarks and Meadow Pipits before reaching the valley below Cottingham.

Red Kite and Buzzard.

Although there was still quite a lot of water left here there were few birds beyond some gulls and a heron or two. As I walked along the valley I began to think that I might well draw a blank as nothing of note was seen up to and beyond Rockingham. Luckily there was more flood water as I got nearer to Gretton and I stopped to check what looked to be a good sized group of birds. A first pair of swans proved to be Mutes but a second and more distant pair turned out on closer inspection to be Bewick's! It's been years since I last saw Bewick's Swans in the county and unfortunately this is a declining species both nationally and locally. Having notified Alan Shorrock I waited around for him to arrive while taking some record shots. Other species sharing the floods with the swans included good numbers of Lapwings and gulls, at least one Golden Plover and four Dunlins. Once Alan had arrived and I'd put him on the swans I left him to it and took a public footpath up towards Brookfield Plantation.

Bewick's Swans and Golden Plover (middle)

A pair of Ravens passed over as I gasped my way up to the top of the ridge from where I had a breathtaking (literally!) view of the valley. Brookfield was very quiet but I did see a Peregrine at one of their usual spots before reaching home.

Raven and Peregrine