Slow Start, Better Later

 It was a grey and rather cold scene that greeted me this morning as I began my local walk. The weather forecast had suggested that the winds might be favourable for some migration but if they were it didn't happen anywhere near me! In truth I struggled to find much of note as I walked around a few industrial areas in the town before heading along to Priors Hall.

Kestrel and Fallow Deer

A check on the Ringed Plover site did produce sightings of two while at least one Little Ringed Plover was heard. Nearby Willowbrook Industrial Estate held a few Willow Warblers, Priors Hall held some too. Neither of the gullets at Priors Hall produced any interesting sightings though the Sand Martin colony at the quarry lake seems to be doing well. I moved on for a first look at the ponds this year but they failed to add much of interest other than a couple of Peacocks. Bumping into Alan Shorrock it seemed as if he was having a less than exciting day too and we had a brief chinwag before going our separate ways.

Ringed Plover record shot

At this time of the year when the birding's a little dull there's always a chance that the butterflies might save the day and happily that proved to be the case today. This morning's dullness had been replaced by lengthening spells of sunshine and by the time I'd reached Weldon it was pleasantly warm. My first Small White had a little tussle with another white butterfly before it settled briefly. Three male Brimstones were seen in the village though none settled, a similar number of Small Tortoiseshells were more obliging and included an egg laying female. Leaving Weldon behind I stopped near the town's STW for a quick look. This turned out to be a good idea as I found my first Comma of the year as well as a further two Peacocks. Happy that  I'd seen at least a few things to make my day worthwhile I headed back to the village.

Small White, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell.

Spring At Summer Leys

 I'm working tomorrow which obviously isn't great but the compensation for that was that I had today off instead. Alan Shorrock and I ventured along to Summer Leys where we enjoyed a sunny stroll around the reserve. With a few incoming migrants on show and a small selection of butterflies on the wing it really felt like Spring.

Willow Warbler (top) and Chiffchaff

A singing Willow Warbler near the car park greeted us on arrival and showed well, at least half a dozen Blackcaps were also singing around the reserve. There was not too much to see from either Rotary or Pioneer Hides while Paul Britten Hide was similarly quiet apart from a few Snipe. Alan's first Little Ringed Plovers of the year were noted on one of the islands near the screen, for some reason there seems to be fewer Black-headed Gulls breeding here this year. Near the feeding station a male Orange-tip was my first of the year, he or another was seen near Mary's Lake a minute or two later. Also showing around Mary's was the first of at least six Brimstones and these included two females in their number. Completing my day's butterfly list was the first of two Peacocks, there were good numbers of Bee-flies around as well.

Sand Martins and Kestrel

Deciding to walk a circuit around the reserve payed dividends as a Sedge Warbler was heard singing near the Toad Pond. I didn't manage to see it in the brief time that it sang but Alan did catch a glimpse as it moved through the bushes. We also enjoyed watching the comings and goings at the Sand Martin colony though there was not that much else to report as we completed our stroll. Looking ahead Sunday's weather looks good for incoming migrants, hopefully I can find a few on one of my local walks.

Butterfly trio.

More Signs Of Spring

 A sunnier and slightly warmer day than yesterday which saw me head over towards Oundle on the trusty X4. A bus stop Cormorant and song flighting Greenfinches entertained me until my bus arrived. On reaching Oundle I walked the short distance to Barnwell CP where I hoped to see something of interest before the hordes arrived.

Nuthatch, Marsh Tit and Reed Bunting

Kingfisher Hide was very quiet and I gave it the elbow after a short space of time opting to head towards Lowlands Hide instead. There was a reasonable selection of the usual birds on view which included Marsh Tit and Nuthatch. A couple of other birders told me that the Mandarins were showing well so I popped along to see them. Three drakes and a duck showed well and I spent several minutes trying to get some snaps. Close to the Mandarins I heard a Willow Warbler singing though it's song was infrequent and neither I nor another birder could get a view. Before I left him to continue his search he told me that he'd heard Blackcaps close by and I decided to see if I could find any. Luck was with me as I saw both a male and a female and though views were poor it was good to hear the male's rich song. By now the park was getting a bit busy so I opted to leave and take a stroll along the river.

Blackcap, Mandarin and Carrion Crow

Several Swallows were seen at the paddocks opposite Oundle Mill where a female Kestrel also showed well. The A605 floods contain a lot of water at the moment and there were still rather a lot of ducks present. Commonest were Teal though decent quantities of both Wigeon and Shoveller remain. Also good to see was a pair of displaying Lapwing near Barnwell Lock, there were several more on the floods. A final highlight of my walk was a Peacock nectaring on Blackthorn blossom which was my forth butterfly species of the year so far.

Kestrel and Peacock

Late Show

 Alan Shorrock and I did some local stuff today beginning at Willowbrook Industrial Estate. With the weather looking and feeling more like February than April I began to wonder if ditching the thermals might have been a tad premature! Not much to report from here, there were two herds of Fallow Deer and a song flighting Meadow Pipit but little else. We didn't hang around too long before moving on to near Spanhoe Airfield.

Swallow and Egyptian Goose

Once again we struggled to find much of note, a single Redpoll provided the only highlight. Walking down towards Harringworth Lodge Lake we noted a pair of Shelducks flying past. At the lake itself Redpolls again provided the highlight with at least twelve present in the area. Non bird things of interest included Willow Emerald egg laying scars on willows overhanging the water and there was also some frog spawn to look at as well. Giving up we moved on to Blatherwycke Lake where things picked up a little...but only just!

Black Swan

Shozzer picked out a couple of Swallows over the water which were my first of the year, they later landed in one of the trees sharing the branches with a Fieldfare. There were still quite a few winter thrushes in the area which was no surprise given the weather. Other good birds around the lake included a Kingfisher and five Egyptian Geese though it's clear there has been an exodus of wildfowl recently. This exodus was also apparent at nearby Deene Lake where the escaped White-cheeked Pintail and four Black Swans joined five Shelduck on the water. A small group of hirundines moved through, there were at least eight Swallows and a couple of Sand Martins which headed off eastwards after a few minutes. Birds though had to take a back seat however when a trio of Otters were noted close to the dam. We watched them for a couple of minutes before they became aware of us and moved off. It was a case of leaving the best till last as we left soon afterwards.

Otters

Peregrine To Begin But Butterflies Steal The Show

 Just a local sortie today that saw me journey no further than the Welland Valley near Gretton, The weather was similar to yesterday's offering though the wind had veered round to a brisk northwesterly. Braving the showers I headed first to check on my local Peregrines, I met with some success as a single bird was present. Brookfield Plantation was quiet with just a Nuthatch and a small herd of Fallow Deer on view.

Peregrine

I encountered what was probably that same herd of Fallows as I walked towards the escarpment that overlooks the Welland Valley,  sadly they bounded off out of view before I could raise my camera. A croaking Raven was my first of two noted today, the second was in the valley itself. From the escarpment I could see that there was still some water in the valley which meant that I'd have to head down towards the road to check it out. How I wished that I hadn't, the water was devoid of birds and the slope seemed much steeper as I gasped my way back up to the top of the ridge. Once I'd recovered my breath a little I set off towards Brookfield as I made my way home.

Red Admiral

While there were still no birds of note in the wood a Red Admiral was only my second butterfly of the year. It flew up and down one of the rides before settling and I was able to grab a few pictures. Walking through Willowbrook Industrial Estate added a third butterfly to my year list in the lovely shape of a male Brimstone. He settled for a teasingly short time before fluttering away just as my camera was focusing. Don't you just love it when they do that! My day ended as a heavy shower rolled in leading to a quick march home and a chance to dry off.

Pied Wagtail

The Season Kicks Off

 Alan Shorrock and I spent much of the day in the Nene Valley starting at Stanwick Lakes. For much of the morning it was sunny if somewhat blustery though by the afternoon several squally showers blew through bringing some heavy rain with them. Birding was far from brilliant though we did see a few interesting bits of which an early Willow Warbler was perhaps the highlight.

Most of a Willow Warbler and Chaffinch.

An Otter showed briefly on the A45 pit where the usual squawking horde of Black-headed Gulls were in residence. The main lake had a couple of Redshanks as well as a brace of Snipe, a group of ten plus Sand Martins were noted a little further on from the bridge that bears their name. Alan picked out a Swallow amongst them but I just couldn't get on to it. Kingfisher Bridge provided good views of a female Goosander fishing in the river, we watched her catch a large fish before she flew off down river with her prey.  Having failed to identify a butterfly at Deenethorpe Airfield at the end of February it was good to see a Small Tortoiseshell which settled briefly allowing me the chance to get a picture. It's always nice to get the season up and running even if it is a bit later than usual.

GSW, Reed Bunting and Small Tortoiseshell

Yesterday a Ring-necked Duck was reported from Kinewell Lake at Ringstead and that was reason enough to call in on our way past. This is far from being my favourite spot for birding as views of the lake are limited by waterside trees. It didn't matter today as there were very few birds of any sort on the lake and certainly no sign of any Ring-necked Ducks! Highlight was a couple of female Goosanders though a Goldcrest provided me with my best ever photos as it actually paused for a minute or so. Normally these hyperactive little blighters are too fast for me to track with the camera. Deciding that we'd suffered enough and with the call of the Dukes at Woodford singing a siren song in our ears we headed off for a compensatory pint.

Goosander and Goldcrest

Willowbrook Wheatears

 Having got back from Norfolk with a bit of time to spare I decided to repeat Sunday's walk and so headed along to Weldon on the X4. On the A43 pond Tufted Duck numbers have risen to eighteen and a newly arrived pair of Mute Swans means that the pair of Canada Geese that looked to be settling in will be forced to move on.  Passerine interest was provided by a Grey Wagtail and a Chiffchaff.

Ringed Plovers

I then moved on to check on the Ringed Plovers and bumped into Alan Shorrock as I did so. We had views of a pair which were quite distant from us and I also saw a Brown Hare there too. Leaving Shozzer and the plovers behind I set off for Willowbrook Industrial to check for Wheatears. Luck favoured me today as I found five without too much effort, they may have been grounded by one of the many heavy showers. Good though quite distant views were obtained before I headed along to Priors Hall.

Wheatears

The North Gullet is still paying host to the pair of Stonechats though they didn't show well or for long before they disappeared. Also present again was a songflighting Meadow Pipit, it will be nice if this one sticks around as they're a scarce breeding species in the county. The South Gullet was quieter with just a few Sand Martins and a small herd of Fallow Deer to report. The weather was beginning to look a little more threatening and I opted to head back to Weldon where a few pints in the George made my wait for the bus quite enjoyable.

Fallow Deer