Back Out In The County

 After a couple of treacherous episodes involving both cross county and cross border sorties it was time to venture out into the sainted countryside of Northants again. Sadly I'm back at work now so that meant a late afternoon stroll around Brookfield Plantation was all that I could fit in. After what has felt like a cool week so far it was nice to welcome back some warm sunshine.

Azure Damselfly and Grizzled Skipper

No birds of note in the wood but there were some interesting insects to look at including my first Azure Damselflies of the year. There was a bigger selection of butterflies on offer of which Grizzled Skipper and Common Blue were making their year list debuts. I was able to get a shot of the skipper but the blue managed to evade my camera's lens. Other species seen on my walk were some knackered looking Peacocks, an equally careworn Comma, two Speckled Woods, a female Orange-tip and a male Brimstone. My walk home provided views of one of my local Peregrines while at Willowbrook Industrial estate I saw a few Dingy Skippers, a couple of Grizzleds and another Common Blue butterfly.

Comma and snoozing Peregrine

Lesvos 2

 Here are a few more pictures from my trip.

Temminck's Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and Wood Sandpiper

Bee-eater, Red-backed, Lesser Grey and Woodchat Shrikes.

Red-rumped Swallow, Black-headed Bunting and Wagtail, Spanish Sparrow

Worth looking at again!

Lesvos

 I've just returned from a week's break in Lesvos which while not a dedicated birding holiday still produced some great sightings. I knew that the island was a fairly popular destination for birders but I did not expect the Scillies transposed to the Med! Everywhere you walked there were birders either wandering or driving about and much of the talk in bars and restaurants revolved around birds. I thought that I was reasonably keen but by comparison I'm just a rank amateur! Unlike many of my fellow devotees I did not have access to a car and nor did I have whole days to spend birding, my wife is patient but there are limits. For this reason I did not join the Lesvos Whats App group and may have missed out on some good birds. I spent my time in the Skala Kallonis area based at the excellent Pela Hotel enjoying a mixed bag of weather whilst accumulating a trip list of 92 species.

Rufous Bush Chat, Dalmatian Pelican and Spur-winged Plovers

I managed to see four new species on my travels of which Rufous Bush Chat was my favourite, I've missed this species on several visits to Spain. Running the chats a close second where Dalmatian Pelicans, I saw a total of four of these stately stunners during my week. The other new species were Ruddy Shelduck and Red-throated Pipit, I've seen Ruddies in the past but never regarded them as wild before. My first European Spur-winged Plovers were another bird that sticks in the memory though in truth there were many memorable moments during the week. Raptors were a bit thin on the ground but a Lesser Spotted Eagle was a welcome find.

Black and White Storks, Glossy Ibis and Spoonbill

Herons and other leggy waders were well represented, I saw all of the European breeders except for Cattle Egret as well as both species of stork, Spoonbill and Glossy Ibis and also good numbers of Greater Flamingo. Terns too were present in numbers and a total of seven species were noted with marsh terns in particular performing well. Waders were also travelling through with the salt pans to the east of Skala attracting an array of passage birds including many stunning summer plumaged birds. Spotted and Little Crakes were very welcome additions to the list, the former giving excellent views.

Flamingos, Little Bittern and Squacco Heron

Aside form the Bush Chat my favourite passerines on offer were the shrikes, I saw three species on my wanders, male Red-backed may be one of my favourite birds. Other stars included Black-headed Bunting and the Black-headed form of Yellow Wagtail too but you probably don't want to be reading about it when you can be looking at pictures, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them - I'm already looking at booking for next year!

Spotted Crake, White-winged Black and Whiskered Terns

Au Revoir

 I'm off to Lesvos tomorrow for a family holiday which means that you'll be spared any more of this drivel for at least a week. As if that wasn't enough something rare usually appears whenever I leave the country be it a Kentish Plover at Summer Leys or a Long-billed Dowitcher at Eyebrook. I've already alerted my Eyebrook friends and thought I'd let you know too, clear the diary and stand by for action. When you're watching that Whiskered Tern or Black Stork you can thank me later, preferably with beer!

Having endured the ineptitude of Stagecoach twice in the recent past I avoided further stress by visiting Eyebrook in the company of Phil Rogers, Cheryl and Ken. We began at the island bunker where two Little Ringed and one Ringed Plover were the highlight, we also heard the first of three Lesser Whitethroats singing. At the bay north of the island an overturned car which had crashed through the hedge provided something of a distraction but not enough to prevent us from seeing my first Greenshank of the year. The inflow provided views of my second Eyebrook Avocet of the year as well as a summer plumaged adult Dunlin and another Ringed Plover. We looked for but could not find the reported Wood Sandpiper and my last sighting of note was of an Osprey annoying the local terns and gulls. A stop at the Royal George in Cottingham gave me my last taste of decent beer for at least a week.

Osprey

Boom, Boom

 Those fine folks at Stagecoach once again took a king sized Donald Trump on my plans when they cancelled the bus that I was already waiting for at six o'clock this morning. I considered returning home but instead decided to wait for the next X4 which did eventually manage to get me to Earls Barton. The foggy conditions that greeted me on arrival did not linger for too long leaving a sunny day in their wake.

Chiffchaff, Bullfinch and Great White Egret

My walk along the Nene towards Summer Leys was enlivened by the sound of many warblers singing including Cetti's , Sedge and Reed. As I reached Hardwater Lake I could hear a Cuckoo calling and saw a Great White Egret. I hadn't been at the reserve for long when I heard a Whimbrel calling which I picked out flying east along the river. My subsequent walk around the Leys did not produce overly much in the way of interest on the bird front while butterflies on the wing were Red Admiral, Peacock, Orange-tip, Speckled Wood and Brimstone. Having decided to start my walk back towards Earls Barton things picked up a little when I heard the sound of a Bittern booming on the other side of the road, it called quite regularly for a five minute period before I left the reserve.

Little Ringed Plover and Redshank

My walk back towards the village produced distant views of a Hobby hawking insects over Hardwater, this was my first sighting of the year. Around Mill Lake I noticed a teneral damselfly fluttering towards some brambles before settling. Closer investigation revealed that it was a Common Blue my first of the year and I was pleased to get some pics. More Common Blue  Damselflies were then seen in the general area, I saw at least eight but I suspect many more than this emerged this morning. Either the original Bittern or another had started booming again when I began my walk back along Mill Lane on my way to the bus stop in the village centre.

Speckled Wood and Common Blue Damselflies

Gambling Man

 I was having quite a productive morning doing a few bits and bobs in preparation for my upcoming holiday to Lesvos. Once I'd got my clothes ready for packing and had popped down to the Post Office and bought some euros I decided that it was time to do a bit of nature watching. It was now that my good morning hit a Stagecoach shaped buffer which stopped me in my tracks. Regular users of the X4 "service" know the X stands for excrement, we've become resigned to the constant lateness, in fact there seems to be more chance of me seeing a Labrador Duck swimming up the Grand Union Canal than there is of Stagecoach running a punctual bus service! Today however lateness was not the problem it was more that the bus didn't show up at all. Rather than waste another hour optimistically waiting for the next bus I opted to walk down to Weldon instead - thank you Stagecoach!

Female Orange-tip fending off male and Dingy Skipper

Having lost on the Stagecoach lottery I now played a game of shower roulette as I wandered around Weldon under skies that either threatened rain or cleared enough to let the sun shine through. I began at the open area close to the A43 pond during one of the longer sunny spells. It was quite breezy but a few butterflies were braving the gusts and these included my first Dingy Skipper of the year. It was during my Covid exercise walks that I first found this species here in 2020 but had not looked for them since, Priors Hall tends to be my go to site for these butterflies. Other species joining the skipper on the wing included Orange-tip and Peacock. A teneral damselfly was also seen, it was almost certainly a Large Red but I couldn't confirm this. After a quick look at the pond I moved on towards the Woodland Park.

Shield bug  and Buzzard

My walk along the stream produced a sighting of a Large Red Damselfly while around the pond I heard both Reed Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat. Next I had a stroll around the pocket park next to the church, by now the sun had disappeared so my chances of seeing insects dwindled accordingly. A Raven provided some interest and was the last thing of note before I decided to return home. Having avoided a soaking I opted to chance the X4 once again and to my delight the bus actually arrived - late of course but still a distinct improvement on its previous performance.

Mandarin Melee

 After yesterday's rain it was nice to see plenty of sunshine this morning and that was enough to persuade me to venture out. Not for the first time in recent weeks I opted to visit Oundle and I boarded my bus round about mid morning. Once I'd reached the town I followed my usual route by visiting Barnwell CP before walking along the river.

Tufted Duck and Banded Demoiselle

Barnwell was predictably busy but despite the throng of people there was still some wildlife to enjoy. A Tufted Duck on North Lake was a site rarity, I'm trying to remember if I've seen one here before. My path then took me along the riverside nettle beds as I searched for early damselflies. I spotted a teneral Banded Demoiselle taking what might have been her first flight. She paused long enough for me to get some photos before continuing her journey, this was my earliest record and beats the previous one by a day. On my way to Kingfisher Hide I stopped to look at two pairs of Mandarins scrounging food from passers by. A flock of fifteen drakes and one duck then dropped in and began to tussle and squabble with each other. It looked to me very like an aquatic lek, the riot of colour probably resembled an explosion in a paint factory! This amazing spectacle lasted for several minutes before the flock departed again leaving the original two pairs to carry on in peace. Contrasting markedly with this technicolour dream was my first Garden Warbler of the year singing in willows next to the river.

Mandarins (with spectator)

By now the park was getting even busier and when I saw the relief car park being opened I knew it was time to bale out. My walk along the river was fairly quiet except for a noisy biplane flying low overhead and I didn't manage to see any more demoiselles. Butterflies that I did manage to see during my walk were Brimstone, Orange-tip, Green-veined White, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell. The Oundle floods are now much diminished and very few birds were present, two Oystercatchers and a Lapwing were the only waders and joined about fifteen Teal on the narrow strip of remaining water. When I reached the town again I had a brief stroll around the churchyard but didn't manage to find anything interesting before I caught my return bus home.

Great Lakes biplane, G-v White and female Brimstone