Stragglers

 Autumn is very much in control now, the leaves are turning yellow or red while the wind has taken on a distinctly chilly feel to it. My days of wandering about in a T-shirt have gone until next Spring but the cooling temperatures have not yet consigned all the creatures of Summer to the past. A local walk today produced sightings of butterflies and dragonflies as well as a few House Martins.

Stonechats.

I began my day in the village where a Grey Wagtail flew over as I waited for my bus. A short ride later and I found myself at Willowbrook Industrial Estate where the pair of Stonechats were still present. Once again the male tended to stay rather distant while the female seemed happy to pose for a few pics. Skylark numbers have greatly increased since my last visit suggesting perhaps that birds are moving through. Also showing in reasonable numbers were Meadow Pipits while several Chiffchaffs were also noted. At least two House martins passed through as I walked about and several small charms of Goldfinches continue to feed on the thistledown. Willowbrook is a little exposed to the wind which is perhaps why I only saw one insect of note and that was a Red Admiral.

Dunnock and Grey Heron.

Weldon was my next port of call, a check of the A43 pond showed an increase in Gadwall numbers but little else. The pond at the Woodland Park was a little more productive with several odes on the wing that included a Willow Emerald. This was not the only damsel on view today however as a walk along the stream produced the hoped for sighting of a male Banded Demoiselle. Quite why this site retains its Demoiselles for so long remains a mystery but this is the third time in four years that I've had October Bandeds here. More Red Admirals were found and they were joined on today's list by a Small White seen near the steelworks.

Banded Demoiselle and Small White.

My final stop was at the area near the STW where I sneaked through a hole in the fence to take a look at the ponds. Four teals surprised by my arrival took flight, the arrival of these small ducks is a sure sign that Autumn is here. Highlight here were my first Willow Emeralds at this site and I managed to get a few record shots. Also seen was a male Southern Hawker and a Ruddy Darter and I ended my visit with the almost expected sighting of a Grey Wagtail.

Southern Hawker and Willow Emerald.

Petrel Shortage

 Yesterday Pitsford reservoir played host to a Leach's Petrel, a county rarity and the first for over ten years. A combination of the dreadfully wet conditions and a requirement for me to work meant that I couldn't (or in the case of the weather just wouldn't!) get over to see it. Leach's normally don't stay for longer than a day so any hopes that I may have harboured of seeing it today were more the stuff of pipe dreams than anything rooted in the realms of reality. A quick check of the Northants Birds web page this morning suggested that the bird had indeed flown and so Alan Shorrock and I headed over to Summer Leys instead.

Great White and Little Egret

The Bittern that my brother David and I saw a few weeks ago is still in residence in the reeds around the scrape and a collection of photographers were waiting in Pioneer Hide in anticipation of getting a good shot. Although the bird had been seen before we arrived it did not show during our stay in the hide and nor did we have any luck from Paul Britten hide either. It transpired that birds were going to remain rather lacking in either numbers or interest, a working party of conservation volunteers having all but cleared the main lake. Two Great White Egrets and a few Snipe were the only species worthy of note while Wigeon numbers had increased substantially since my last visit.

Migrant Hawker, Common and Ruddy Darter and Willow Emerald.

While there was plenty of sunshine it was accompanied by a strong breeze which meant that most insects were found in those areas sheltered from the wind. The bushes around Mary's Lake in particular turned out to be quite productive. Common Darters lived up to their name with a good number present including one that found Shozzer's head to be a most excellent basking spot. At least one Ruddy Darter was still active while Migrant Hawkers were present in good numbers. Half a dozen Willow Emeralds were also noted with all but one being males taking up stations away from the water's edge.

Red Admiral and Speckled Wood.

Odes were not the only insects enjoying the sunshine, there were rather a lot of carder bees buzzing about as well as a few late hoverflies. Three Red Admirals showed well and there were also at least two Speckled Woods.

Carder Bees

Distinctly Autumnal

 After last week's spirited rearguard by the Summer that barely was it was time once more for the cold grey fingers of Autumn to take the county in its wet and windy grasp. A pretty awful spell of weather did give way to the weatherman's favourite forecast of sunny with showers but a strong wind dominated proceedings and made for some challenging conditions. Hoping to avoid getting a good old fashioned drenching I sought shelter in the hides of Barnwell CP.

Pintail and Mandarin Duck

My vigil from the Kingfisher Hide produced only one brief flight view of its namesake bird and while I heard others around the park I couldn't get any further sightings. Star performer here was a female Pintail which was my first at the site, it had joined a large flock of Mallards gathered on the lake.. These Mallards were far from friendly towards each other though as they bickered and fought amongst themselves, it had the atmosphere of an aquatic lek about it. Also present was a pair of Mandarin Ducks, it's good to see that the drake was in full plumage rather than the dowdy eclipse version. Not too many other birds were seen. a few Chiffchaffs were singing and a Grey wagtail was heard too.

Goldfinch and Brown Rat

Sunny spells brought out a few dragonflies with Migrant Hawkers being the commonest. Only one other species was braving the blustery conditions and that was Common Darter, a few were found in the more sheltered spots. Very little other wildlife was on view other than a Brown Rat seen near Mill Lake.

Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Something To Grouse About

My brother and I ventured about as far as we could go from Northamptonshire without leaving England. Our travels took us to the wilds of Cumbria and the border city of Carlisle from where you can apparently smell the scent of deep frying confectionery when the winds are favourable! We didn't encounter any southward migrating Haggis but that did not diminish our enjoyment as there were several other distractions to keep us happy!

Geltsdale

Yesterday on our trip northwards we stopped at the Yorkshire reserve of Fairburn Ings where we were lucky enough to get some good though brief views of a Willow Tit. Unfortunately given  that we had quite a distance left to travel our stop had to be brief and our northward journey  continued soon after.

Meadow Pipit and Stonechat

This morning saw us making our way to the RSPB reserve of Geltsdale in the north Pennines where we hoped to encounter some of the Black Grouse that are known to reside in the area. Occasional rain showers and a strong breeze did not deflect us from our task as we searched the surrounding countryside for our stunning looking quarry. Redpolls and Meadow Pipits were the most obvious species on site though a late Wheatear was perhaps the most interesting of today's passerines. A family party of Stonechats came close to matching the Wheatear and a decent number of Siskins were also noteworthy. I was beginning to think that our visit was going to remain grouse free other than a few distant calls from invisible Red Grouse as we walked around the reserve without seeing any gamebirds other than a few Pheasants. My brother David's eagle eyes however saved the day as he picked out a trio of Black Grouse making a brief flypast. As these were only my second UK sightings of this declining species I was more than happy to catch a glimpse of them. With our main target aquired and an increase in the severity of the showers dampening our enthusiasm we waved goodbye to Geltsdale and made our escape.

Not wildlife but they did fly once! - Avro Vulcan and Hawker Hunter.

Normally our subsequent visit to the Solway Air Museum would not get a mention on this blog but at least one skein of newly arrived Pink-footed Geese flew over during our visit which were my first of the coming Autumn.

What The Heck? No Pec!

 Eyebrook's long staying Pectoral Sandpiper appears to have departed and on the day when Alan Shorrock and I popped over after work today, talk about bad timing! Although Shozzer had had further views of the bird in the company of Mick Ketley last week I was making my first attempt since that first sighting when it originally showed up. Despite the dip it was still an OK sort of visit with some very nice evening sunshine giving the light a golden quality.

Ringed Plover (with Wigeon) GWE and Pintail.

Waders are still moving through with a total of fourteen Ringed Plovers making them the commonest migrants, they were only outnumbered by the resident Lapwings. A good total of about nine Snipe were feeding in the shallows near the Cormorant posts while a couple of juvenile Ruffs and a juvenile Dunlin were also seen. Most obvious bird today was a single Great White Egret preening at the sharp end while best ducks were the ten plus Pintails present. While many ducks are still in their drab eclipse plumage a few are showing signs of colour once more. At least one Raven was heard but sadly we didn't manage to see it.

Kestrel and Willow Emerald

From the bridge we managed to see Willow Emeralds on both sides of the county border meaning that I saw my first ever individuals of these attractive damsels in both Leics and Rutland. This is the place from where Alan obtained the first records of this species in either county, not a bad claim to have on your record! The only other thing of note was a brief flypast by a Spitfire, I couldn't get a decent pic but this does allow me a chance to sneak in another picture from my recent visit to Duxford.

Spitfire

Evening Stonechats.

 A call from Alan Shorrock and the kind offer of a lift had me heading over to Willowbrook Industrial Estate to look for a pair of Stonechats that he had discovered there today. Beautiful evening sunshine made for a very pleasant if rather brief stroll as we ambled around in search of the chats.

Willowbrook Industrial Estate.

Turns out that the pair were not going to play hard to get as first the male and then the female appeared. While the male always stayed rather distant the female was a little more accommodating and I managed a few shots of her. It's tempting to think that these may be the same pair that have wintered here in recent years returning to their favoured spot but of course I can't prove that. Meadow Pipits continue to move through in small numbers but we were not there long enough to find much else.

Female Stonechat.

Deene's Delights

 A cool start to the day this morning with a northerly breeze bringing down the temperature. Fancying a bit of a change I took the bus over to Upper Benefield from where I walked home via Deenethorpe and Deene. Not the most exciting day perhaps but there was still enough to keep me interested. 

Yellowhammer and potential murder victim.

My walk along the minor road towards Deenethorpe did not produce much other than a few Yellowhammers and Linnets. The number of newly released Pheasants wandering around suggests that the start of the shooting season cannot be too far away. Quite how the killing of these remarkably tame creatures can be called a sport though is beyond me, I think I could have taken a couple out with a stick! I'm not one for dabbling in politics but calling the massacre of these gormless birds a sport is ridiculous - it's a slaughter of the innocents.

Green Sandpipers and Egyptian Geese.

Deene Lake provided all of the birding highlights today beginning at the inflow where a Snipe and two Green Sandpipers were noted. A pair of Egyptian Geese were taking a bath and there were also a small number of Lapwings. From the dam on the main lake a pair of Black Swans were keeping company with a group of Mutes, one of the birds risked upsetting its neighbours by being very vocal. The weir hosted a Common Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail briefly before they both shot off on seeing me while two Kingfishers did a flypast. Only one insect was seen here and that was a male Willow Emerald.

Black Swans and Willow Emerald.

Deenethorpe airfield had attracted small numbers of what I presume were migrant Meadow Pipits but there were no other birds to report. A Migrant Hawker was the only ode of note responding to the increasingly sunny conditions. Butterflies fared a little better with Red Admiral, several Small Heaths and Small and Green-veined Whites. Realising that I was unlikely to find much else I took the quicker option of walking back along the A427 rather than across the fields to Bears Lane.

Red Admiral and Small Heath.