A Familiar Ring To It

 Strong southerly winds dominated proceedings in the Nene Valley today which coupled with long periods of sunshine made for a warm day. Alan Shorrock and I divided our time between Stanwick Lakes and Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows enjoying a rather slow day in the process.

Speckled Wood

There was not that much in the way of birds at Stanwick, Alan picked out a Swallow but I couldn't get on it. Flooded paths restricted access to some parts of the site though we managed to visit most of the lakes. During sunnier spells a few butterflies braved the blustery conditions with the highlight being my first Speckled Wood of the year which Shozzer found near the reproduction iron age houses. Other species included a few Brimstones, a Peacock and two unidentified whites.

Ring-necked Duck

Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows were quiet too and the only real bird of note was the female Ring-necked Duck on Cotton Reel Lake. If this is the bird that visited Titchmarsh this year then it's the third time that I've seen it in 2024. It was good to get some reasonable views too and I managed a few record shots which are probably my best yet of this bird. Few other birds to report while butterflies though scarce included a few Peacocks and two male Orange-tips. Having given up on the nature spotting we headed off to the Coach and Horses again, it's a nice way of bringing any birding day to a close.

Fool's Errand?

 After a sunny start I found myself under grey skies for most of the morning as I took a stroll around some local sites. I'd hoped to catch up with some migrants on my travels but my attempt met with only modest success. A check on the plover site failed to produce any sightings though I did hear at least one bird. Willowbrook Industrial Estate played host to my first Willow Warbler of the spring but was for the most part rather quiet. Nearby at Priors Hall the Northern Gullet had two song flighting Meadow Pipits while the South Gullet had the usual Sand Martins as well as the pair of Great Crested Grebes. I returned home at about noon to find that blue skies and sunshine had taken over, perhaps I should have delayed my walk for a few hours.

Meadow Pipit, Sand Martins and Mallard duckling.

As an entertaining aside I've been trying out the Merlin birding app and while normally it's a fairly good if not infallible tool it really seemed to throw a wobbly today! While testing it in the village it informed me that it was unable to fix my location and consequently might not be able to provide a match for all species. One bird it did detect was a Western Wood Pewee which if I'd managed to find it would certainly have been a good start to proceedings! At Weldon Industrial Estate Merlin not only found a Short-toed Treecreeper but also a Carolina Chickadee, sadly I failed once again to see either. My dismal run continued on the return leg when I was unable to find either the Rock Sparrow or the Hermit Warbler that were apparently singing in the village, I sense I might struggle to convince the records committee to except any of these megas! I'm hoping the app might right itself even if it means that the entertainment value decreases a notch or two.

Grey Skies, No Plover

 Although there were a few brief sunny spells this morning it was for the most part a much greyer state of affairs than it was yesterday. I only had a couple of hours to spare this morning and kept things as local as possible restricting myself to a stroll around Brookfield Plantation. My watching began with a successful check on the local Peregrines, both birds were present and the male was being fairly vocal. The plantation was fairly quiet, Chiffchaffs were amongst the noisiest of songsters. There were still several large flocks of Siskins here as well as a few Redpolls mixed in with them. A Sparrowhawk near the power station was my last sighting of note before I had to head home for a prearranged dinner date.

Peregrines

Blue Skies, Grey Plover

 A true taste of spring today with plenty of sunshine and some pleasantly warm conditions to enjoy as Alan Shorrock and I took a stroll around the reserve at Summer Leys. While the focus was mainly on birds a decent selection of butterflies were also on view. My main target was the Grey Plover which has been here for a couple of days and I'm happy to say that we managed to see it without too much effort.

Grey Plover and Redshank

We began by taking a look from Rotary Hide where there was not that much to see. It was a similar situation from Pioneer where water levels on the scrape are once again a little on the high side. On my walk towards Paul Britten Hide I heard my first Blackcaps of the day, there were at least five and probably more on the reserve today. The Grey Plover showed distantly from next to the double decker hide from where a Little Ringed was also noted. From the hide itself a trio of Snipe were seen as well as a good number of Redshanks.

Little Ringed Plover and Snipe

Next to Mary's Lake we found our first butterflies of the day with two Peacocks and a Comma nectaring on Blackthorn blossom. A male Brimstone, the first of at least half a dozen today, made a brief flypast. None of the Brimstones seemed inclined to settle as they sped around in search of females. We walked from here to near the Sand Martin bank where we were treated to some better views of the Grey Plover. On the way back towards Mary's Lane a male Orange-tip was my first of the year and it obligingly settled to give us a chance to take some pics.

Peacock and Comma

We spent some time looking for a reported Black-tailed Godwit without any success but I was able to see my first Small and Green-veined Whites of the year as well as another Orange-tip. With six species of butterflies on the wing it was far and away my best day of the year so far and I'm looking forward to many more like it. With the wildlife watching coming to an end we paid a repeat visit to the Coach and Horses in Wellingborough - a couple of pints and a bowl of scratchings is a very good way to finish a day!

Orange-tip and Green-veined White

Mandarins

 A changeable day of showers and sunshine that saw me heading along to Oundle. My walk took me from the north bridge to the south bridge and then into Barnwell CP. Whether the results justified the effort is open to debate but it was certainly nice to have an extra day off work.

Wren

The river walk was somewhat dull until I reached the footbridge at Ashton where a pair of Mandarins were present on the river. Around the mill a Cetti's Warbler and a Blackcap were singing while a Kingfisher paid a brief visit. Nothing else of note was seen until I reached the A605 bridge where another Mandarin was noted. At the floods near Barnwell Lock duck numbers had dropped a bit since my last visit and the best birds here were a couple of Redshanks. Perhaps the highlight of the day was a Peacock butterfly near the Princess fishing lake which was my first of the year.

Peacock and Mandarin

Barnwell was a little on the quiet side and a look from either of the hides failed to provide much of interest. Four pairs of Mandarin were the only highlight and I didn't hang around for too long before making the decision to stroll back into town.

Great Crested Grebe

Shame On You!

 I'd like you to take a minute and look at the logo for North Northamptonshire Council. It's a lovely design, there's a Red Kite flying over a river and Rockingham Castle's in there too. What it doesn't show are the looming warehouses in the many logistical hubs that the council have given planning permission for in recent years. Nor are there any of the thousands of houses that the people who work in these warehouses can't afford to buy featured either. Whether it's green or brown belt land our beloved council seem to love development whatever the cost to local communities might be. Even if we were to ignore the damage to wildlife habitat and to wildlife itself there's no doubt that unchecked development causes problems. Crumbling infrastructure, ineffectual policing, overstretched and overwhelmed health services and increased traffic levels are just a few of the costs involved.

Little Ringed Plover

Now this is a wildlife blog and I would normally reserve such discussions for the pub but it appears that plans are in progress to destroy the only breeding site for Ringed Plovers in Northamptonshire. Someone wants to create another vehicle storage facility despite the fact that Corby already has an embarrassment of riches in this regard. I raised my objections to the scheme (application ref number is NC/24/00076/REM if you fancy having a look) but if they want to build then our council is usually very accommodating. With numerous industrial and housing developments waiting in the wings I wonder what hope there is for wildlife in the Northamptonshire of the future?

Fallow Deer

Rant over and I'll now turn to the business of this afternoon's post work wander around a few sites in Corby. Two Little Ringed Plovers were at the now threatened site and one showed fairly well. At Willowbrook Industrial Estate there were guys doing groundwork near the favourite Wheatear site and consequently I didn't see much. The North Gullet at Priors Hall hosted a herd of Fallow Deer while an overflying Raven croaked as it flew off in the direction of Kirby Hall. There were the now regular Sand Martins in the South Gullet but the big news here was that the Great Crested Grebe on the quarry lake now has a companion, I'm looking forward to the pitter patter of little feet lobed in the future!

More Signs Of Spring

 Another sunny morning though the temperature was once again kept down by a cold north westerly wind. My walk today mirrored the local stroll that I took on Wednesday though I'm happy to say that the results were slightly better.  I began by checking the plover site and was happy to note a pair of Ringed Plovers and also a pair of Little Ringed though these appeared to be driven off by their larger cousins. It's nice to know that the Ringeds have returned to what is their only breeding site in the county.

Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers

Next up was Willowbrook where I checked the area for Wheatears but didn't see any. It was a little on the quiet side again here apart from the many singing Skylarks. There was nothing of note at the North Gullet at Priors Hall while the highlights in the Southern Gullet were once again Sand Martins and the still single Great Crested Grebe. One welcome change from Wednesday evening was the appearance of my first Small Tortoiseshell of the year nectaring on blossom near the quarry lake. Also making their debut for the year were several Bee-flies in the same area. On my way to the bus stop I made a slight detour to a spot in Weldon which often hosts early butterflies. My reward was a fine looking Comma which took my year list up to a less than impressive three.

Small Tortoiseshell and Comma

I'd thought my nature spotting day was over but after I'd done the shopping and started the preparations for dinner I received news that Alan Shorrock had found a couple of Wheatears at Willowbrook! Once I'd scrounged a lift I set off on a mini twitch hoping to catch up with them. Luck was with me as I found both and was able to watch them for several minutes before speeding home to continue with my chores. Where were they when I checked the same area this morning?

Wheatear