Birding in Northants (1 Viewer)

Last day of the Easter weekend and I decided to keep things as local as possible. Having not been to Weldon for a bit I opted to go there first starting with the A43 pond. On the way down a Fieldfare called from within the steelworks, the last of the winter? Ten Tufted Ducks and four Gadwall plus the usual Dabchick, Coots and Moorhens were noted on the pond while a Kingfisher made a flying visit. No Mute Swans here this year which might be just as well given the survival rate of the cygnets but this means a pair of Canada Geese can nest unmolested. My first Garden Warbler of the year was singing its Blackbird meets Whitethroat song, like most migrants they're early this year.

At the other pond a group of Greylags were in noisy residence and another Kingfisher made an appearance. Lots of Willow Warblers were active around the pond and I spent some time photographing them. From here I wandered through the woodland park where a kite was perching on the kiddies climbing frame and then down past the church making my way to Bears Lane. Here I found a pair of Hares feeding in a ploughed field much closer than usual. Wanting to get a picture of the two together, I'm not one to split hares after all, I edged slowly closer and was successful in my efforts. There was also a lovely Cuckoo Pint flower here too.

Entering the Laundimer Wood complex I added another warbler to my growing list, a Grasshopper. This bird was singing almost constantly in an area of young birches about five hundred or so yards from the entrance. As this is the same area where I found one last year this looks promising and may well prove to be a regular spot. Lots of bird song here, Willow Warblers truly are abundant in this wood and rather less musical than most was the croaky contribution of a Raven.

I altered my route home in order to take in Ironpits Wood where the display of Bluebells must be one of the best around. For the second day in a row I failed to see any butterflies.

Two lots of pictures today, nothing special but a selection of today's sightings.

James.

The second group of shots. Sadly I can't include a picture of the bluebells as the file is way too big.

James.

Out of interest, what sort of time were you hearing that grasshopper warbler? I'll probably make a trip over, but depending on how early it was I'll have to work out the best way to do so.

Hi, the Grasshopper Warbler was singing almost constantly between 8:15 and 9:30 am. Previous experience suggests that early mornings and evenings are best but newly arrived birds often sing for longer. Good luck if you decide to give it a go.

Given that it was nice and sunny when I finished work this afternoon I decided to walk over to the patch and have a wander around. Apart from the Lesser Whitethroat still singing in the village and some good views of Buzzard there was little bird activity to report.

Thankfully there was some butterfly action to spark interest and while no new species were noted (I was rather hoping for a Speckled Wood) I did get some good views. Orange-tips were the commonest species with ten or eleven seen and there were lesser numbers of Peacock (6), Comma(2) and Small Tortoiseshell(1). Both Orange-tip and Comma posed long enough to photograph for the first time this year.

Much more important news to announce though in that I can now declare my 2017 dragonfly season officially open! After a couple of weeks peering at stream and pond side vegetation I found a Large Red Damselfly next to the stream. I believe it may have been a typica type female but am more than happy to be corrected. This is the earliest one that I can recall seeing, the previous record was the 26th of April I think. Ironically I was not even looking for damsels when I found this one, I was looking for egg laying butterflies instead. Having given several dog walkers pause to wonder why the weirdo was peering intently at bushes in the past few trips out I manage to find one without trying, that's nature for you.

Another interesting insect find was a large number of what I later found were Ashy Mining Bees, some forty or fifty were buzzing around an earth bank. Most of the activity appeared to be love rather than war related but the little blighters did not hang around in any one spot for long.

James.

Thanks!

Just to clarify this point, when you talk about near the entrance which end are you entering Laundimer Wood from? It's not a site I've actually been to before, so it's a mystery to me! Is it from Brickhill Cottages bit near Stanion or the from above near Laundimer House/Weldon or somewhere else entirely?

Hi again, I enter the wood from the Weldon side, Bears Lane is about 500 yards beyond the village on the A427 Oundle Road. The X4 bus stops on the edge of the village and I guess it would take about twenty or twenty five minutes to get to the edge of the wood from the bus stop. You can park a car along Bears Lane too if that is easier.

James.

A text whilst at work set in train a bit of a twitchy escapade which began once I had picked my gear up from home. The target was the trio of stilts that had appeared at Stanford Reservoir and would be my first in the county if a dip could be avoided.

On arrival the news was positive and it looked as it the tilt at the stilts would be a success. After a bit of a hike we located the quarry, three pristine Black-winged Stilts. For some of the time the three, which I took to be two males and a female were sleeping but they did wake up to feed and occasionally all three could be seen together. I can't begin to imagine how the finder felt when they copped an eyeful of these beauties but it will be hard for me to top this in the county this year.

There was some fairly decent back up to these in the form of a Black-tailed and a Bar-tailed Godwit as well as Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher and a few White and Yellow Wagtails. Not a bad haul for a week day afternoon!

A few dodgy pictures of both the stilts and the godwits, they were quite a way away from me but I think you can tell what they are.

James.

A Grasshopper Warbler singing on the site of the old Sunday market near the junction of Cockerell Road and Phoenix Parkway, Corby at 5:25 this morning.

James.

April's one of my favourite times of the year, mainly it has to be said because the new holiday year at work starts again and for that reason I took today off. Getting the first bus over to Oundle I enjoyed an interesting morning's birding which began with a distant Cuckoo heard from the south bridge. A much closer Cuckoo was heard at Barnwell CP, it may have been drawn there by at least two Reed Warblers singing. The now expected colourful duo of Kingfisher and Mandarin Duck were seen and the Egyptian Goose was over the road at the marina.

A nice male Wheatear was found in the horse paddocks across the road from Barnwell Mill and there was a flock of Sand Martins feeding which also included my first House Martins of the year. Three Common Terns were around the marina, a pair and what looked like an interloper judging from their behaviour. At least two Sedge Warblers were singing along the Nene and a Whitethroat was seen in the same area as last week's bird.

The flooded area will soon become the dry area if we don't get any rain though for the moment it held enough water to attract three Redshanks, five Snipe, two LRP and some Lapwings. Wildfowl numbers have now dropped to half a dozen Teal. Returning to the town a Grey Wagtail was singing from one of the buildings near the south bridge.

I took the bus as far as Lower Benefield from where I walked to Glapthorn Cow Pasture. Swallows are well established now in the village and I also had a Raven fly over, another was displaying close to the reserve. In the pasture a Nightingale was singing within a couple of hundred yards of the entrance, I listened to the beautiful rich song for at least twenty minutes. A Lesser Whitethroat was singing in the same area and raised my day's warbler total to seven.

Mainly Orange-tips noted today though two whites, either small or Green-veined were also seen.

James.

I managed to get over to Laundimer Woods this morning at about 9am and fairly quickly found one reeling Grasshopper Warbler, followed by a second heard but not seen slightly further down the track, a lifer for me despite being so close to home, so huge thanks for the directions!

Other highlights in the wood were mostly heard rather than seen, but at least two cuckoos and a raven.

The other highlight of the day came on my long walk home where I unexpectedly encounter my second ever Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - glimpsed but mostly heard.

Excellent news and a lovely photograph too, I thought that there may have been two birds there but it's great to have it confirmed.

James.

Oops, forgot to mention that I think this site may be good for roding Woodcock, I'll try an evening visit soon and keep you informed (bet you can't wait!).

James.

Thanks, that would be great!

A local affair today with a walk around a few of the nearer sites. It was slow to begin with though both Lesser and Common Whitethroat seem to be established now and House Martins were present at several places too. As many as five Brown hares were seen from Bears Lane though no pictures or puns today.

Deenethorpe Airfield had at least one though probably two Grasshopper Warblers reeling in the vegetation around the buildings. A Cuckoo was calling here too though a brace of Wheatears were the highlight, one was my first female of the year. Nearby at Deene Lake inflow there was a lot of mud but not much else, a Little Egret was fishing in the shallows and that was it. The main lake was quiet though a pair of Ravens flew over. At the ponds a Reed Warbler was singing but there was not much on view.

I took the opportunity to have a look at the ponds at Priors Hall, this used to be the premier local wildlife site for me but is now slowly disappearing under houses. I found out why I hadn't seen any Speckled Woods, they're all here! Quite a few individuals were sunning themselves and I managed some pictures. Another first of the year was a Grizzled Skipper and I also saw that skipper mimic Latticed Heath. Up to six Large Red Damsels were seen, all but one were shiny winged tenerals but one was a fine male. A Reed Warbler was singing at the largest pond.

Plenty of Orange-tips on the wing and there were also several Holly Blues along Larratt Road in Weldon.

I've split the pictures again today, there's a bit of a mix but the second lot will all be insects.

James.

A selection of insect pics.

James.

I didn't fancy being stuck on a bus too long this morning so I took the early one over to Kettering and contented myself with a walk around Wicksteed Park. A few April showers put in an overdue appearance but this did not dampen my enthusiasm. The first thing to strike me was the almost total disappearance of the gulls, just four immature Black-heads and an overflying Lesser Black. A Common Tern was fishing in the main lake, sometimes in the conventional diving from height kind of way but at other times it was diving from a perch like a Kingfisher. A decent sized flock of hirundines were feeding over the lake too and contained all three of the regular species, I did check just in case there was a Red-rumped but predictably drew a blank.

Around at the fishing lake a Common Sandpiper was a surprise, it flew from what looked to be a raft and across the lake but I lost it after that. A Water Rail called several times from cover and a Reed Warbler sang from the same area. Two Kingfishers showed frequently here, they flew past on four or five occasions.

A Grey Wagtail was found near the boardwalk, I'm not sure if more of these breed locally nowadays or whether this was a lingering winterer or perhaps a passage migrant. A Little Egret was feeding on the main lake while two more Common Terns made a couple of circuits of the area before moving on. At least one Sedge Warbler was also heard today.

Plenty of signs to show that the breeding season is well underway with broods of both Mallard and Coot around while a Mistle Thrush was doing with worms what Puffins do to sandeels. Having finished my walk I popped into the Earl of Dalkeith to enjoy the restorative benefits of a large breakfast.

It's been rather a hectic couple of weeks and all I seem to have done is blah blah on here so I'm going to take a break for a little while and give us all a bit of a rest.

James.

Having just returned from a weekend in Poland I always thought that any birding today would seem a little on the flat side so I walked over to Weldon with no great expectations. As it was warm and sunny I was hoping to see a few butterflies and was not disappointed.

Several small whites were seen on my walk past the steelworks and one proved to be my first definite Green-veined White of the year, I saw several others later. Orange-tips remain common which suits me fine as I rather enjoy seeing this species. As the day warmed a Holly Blue flew past, too quick to photograph but I was much luckier later when I found a female feeding on a cotoneaster bush near to the first A43 roundabout. A very tatty looking Small Tortoiseshell, the first of two, looked more grey than orange but it must be getting on a bit now in butterfly terms.

I moved on to the patch where a Green Hairstreak was very obliging and gave me a chance to take several pictures. Other species on view included Brimstone, Peacock and Comma and although I was hoping for sightings of the two Spring skippers an increasing amount of cloud scuppered all chance of this.

As I kind of expected no birds of note were seen though the pair of Canadas remain on the A43 pond.

James.

Another non birdy post so apologies in advance to those who have not caught the insect bug. As the sun was shining when I left work I decided to pop over to a part of Southwood that has yet to be destroyed, if you visited a few years ago to see the singing Wood Warbler then you will know the spot. I wanted to check to see whether the two Spring skippers, Dingy and Grizzled, were on the wing here and also whether any dragonflies were active.

I did see a nice fully adult female Large Red Damselfly but she was the only one that I could find and did not hang around for photos. The skippers were a little more obliging and about six of each were seen, they were as fast and busy as normal but luckily a couple paused long enough to get a picture or two. Several Peacocks were basking on the harder patches of mud, one looked as if it had enjoyed an exciting time of things being fairly beaten about around the edges. A Comma looked in much better condition but a couple of Speckled Woods were far from pristine. Rather a lot of Orange-tips flitting about and also several unidentified small whites.

An attractive little moth with the less than catchy name of Pyrausta purpuralis (it had to be Googled) was seen and I also saw my first Birdsfoot Trefoil flower of the year.

James.

A combination of a gig last night and the Sunday bus time table made for a late start this morning and I eventually arrived in Oundle some time after nine. Not much in the way of birds, the flooded area is now effectively the area as it has more or less dried out. Rather a lot of Lapwings remain however and they were joined by Little Ringed Plovers and two Redshanks feeding in the small pool of water that remains. My first Swifts of the year were seen near to Lower Barnwell Lock, I saw more screeching at rooftop height through the streets of Oundle. Many warblers singing including Garden while there were a lot of Sedges singing along the Nene. There are still some Common Terns hanging around the marina although there does not appear to be anywhere where they can breed.

Despite the increasingly sunny conditions there were not many butterflies about with Orange-tip, Green-veined White and a Red Admiral the only species seen. It was though a good day for damselflies in particular and I also saw my first dragonfly of the year. Many Banded Demoiselles were found along the river, mostly male though at least five females too. They're still a little furtive at the moment with many hiding amongst the nettles though some were beginning to venture out over the water. Near to the marina a shiny winged Hairy Dragonfly flashed past, I'm guessing that it may have been newly emerged as was a damsel which I took to be a Blue-tailed.

Barnwell CP was busy when I arrived with the overflow car park already filling up while the barbecues were firing up and there were many people who seemed to prefer talking to dogs rather than their owners. As I had neither mutt, motor nor a pork chop I didn't think that I would stay for long but thankfully I found cause to linger a while. While I discovered many more demoiselles along the river it was at a corner of the lake nearest to Oundle where the damsels really came alive. From the path I'd noted a true damsel in distress, a male Banded trapped and dead in a spider's web, a case of the predator predated and I went to grab a picture of the grisly scene. Once I'd got a little closer to the lake I found a veritable bonanza of damsels. First to be seen was a Blue-tailed, one of two, and then a male Large Red. Half a dozen teneral Red-eyeds were flitting weakly amongst the nettles and I managed to find a couple of more advanced individuals, I also saw my first Common Blue. All in all a pretty good selection and it took my year total from one to six with four of those in a crazy five minute spell.

I may have missed out on the county wader passage but at least I didn't draw a total blank!

James.

Some further images from today with a Blue-tailed, male and female Red-eyed, male Large Red and a Common Blue Damsel.

James.