How's that for a weekend (1 Viewer)

A Rough legged buzzard on Friday, a Kingfisher on Saturday, a Goosander and more Lapwings than you can shake a stick at on Sunday! The weather may have been awful this weekend but the birds were brilliant.

I know Lapwings are not everybodies idea of excitement but I don't see many so discovering a huge flock just a few miles from my house was brilliant. The Buzzard was fantastic too. It was just sat in a field with a couple of Crows standing just far enough away waiting for reinforcements to arrive. I watched it for a good five minutes before driving off leaving it where I found it.

As for the Kingfisher, I know they're reasonably common but I thought I'd seen my last for this year so it was lovely to see one on Saturday.

That's it. Ranting over!

Hi Andrew, sounds less of a rant and more of an extolement. That sounds a pretty good weekend you had. I've never seen a Rough Legged Buzzard or a Goosander so I would be telling everyone too if I had seen them!

Hi Andrew

Personally I never tire of the beauty of Lapwings, and I never will. I have yet to see a Goosander this winter and I am straining at the bit to see one. As yet I haven't a good photo of one so hopefully I will get a good Goosander photo this winter. Kingfisher, well what can I say. My favourite british bird. Still can't get a photo of one though. Rough legged Buzzard. Seen a few but not this year. Where did you find this one.

BTW congrats on an excellent day out.

Congrats from me too.

Big Lapwing fan... saw my first Goosander in years this weekend... can't go wrong with Kingfishers, and if I ever see an RLB, I'll let you know!

:t:

Wow, rough legged buzzard, I'd love to see one myself!

Hi Andrew,
Sounds a nice day out - Rough-legged Buzzard is a good one anywhere.

steve_nova said:

I've never seen .... a Goosander ...

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Hi Steve,
Try the bridge over the Tyne at Wylam. Justabout guaranteed.

Michael

Hi Andrew,

Sounds like a good weekend. I've been birding for 25 years and I've still never seen a Rough-legged Buzzard!

Have you been down to the Clifford Hill Gravel Pits/ Nene Barrage area to see the Lapwings? My old patch and you can often see thousands of Golden Plovers there too, at least if you get there before the hordes of dog walkers.

In reply to all of your comments, cheating I know, I saw the Buzzard in a field alongside the M23 in Surrey. I was not on the motorway myself, I was on a quiet country road between Nutfield and Outwood. I just caught something large out of the corner of my eye and decided to turn round and go back for a better look. I was very glad that I did!

I am very blase about the Kingfishers and I forget how hard they can be to see. Until I lived in my current house, which has only been for the last 18 months, I had NEVER seen one. Now I see two or three a week and it's brilliant.

As for Lapwings, I just love them. When we moved in there were a few pairs just behind our house and that was the first time I ever heard their unique Pee Wit calls. Since that time they have not returned but I live in hope. In the meantime, I get very excited when I do find them like I did yesterday.

I am still discovering Northampton so please, where are Clifford Hill Gravel Pits? And any details of anywhere else I should go would be greatly appreciated.

Andrew

I don't know if these are of any help to you. Check them out. there is plenty of info there for you.

http://www.northamptonshirewildlife.co.uk/npton/NPTONIND.HTM

http://www.northamptonshirewildlife.co.uk

http://www.bsc-eoc.org/links/links.jsp?page=l_eur_uk_en#UKEN_NORT

Andrew Diment said:

I am still discovering Northampton so please, where are Clifford Hill Gravel Pits? And any details of anywhere else I should go would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi Andrew,

The area that most birdwatchers call 'Clifford Hill' lies to the south of the Nene between Riverside Park (the retail park by the A45) and the Bedford Road. This includes what's called the Nene Barrage, a fairly large lake surrounded by an embankment. There are also five smaller gravel pits that lie to the east extending more-or-less to Billing Aquadrome. Access to these last is a little 'vague' I suppose but the best two pits can be viewed easily from public paths or from the embankment around the Barrage. If you're driving, I would recommend parking either at Riverside Park (you then walk west towards the boat club and cross over the river) or at the car park by the Bedford Road (between the big roundabout and the council offices). You can then walk along the river bank towards the barrage.

The Barrage is the best place for birds usually, although it is subject to considerable disturbance at weekends. There are normally plenty of ducks, gulls and waders around (with large flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plover at this time of year). It's also good for passage species in spring and autumn. Unless you have a telescope it can be a bit difficult to get close views of birds without disturbing them as there are no hides and the terrain is very open. Of the other pits, the triangular lake immediately to the east is often good, particularly in cold weather. It's actually very deep and never seems to freeze over so if there's a really cold snap about half the waterfowl in Northamptonshire seems to congregate there.

It's a good area I reckon and is probably the best place within Northampton for year round birding. There's usually quite a bit to see.

The two most well-known sites around Northampton are Pitsford Reservoir and Summerleys Country Park (sometimes called Earls Barton Gravel Pits by local birders). There are gravel pits right along the Nene Valley these days, many of which are good but perhaps the best (other than those already mentioned) are at Ditchford (around Higham Ferrers) and at Stanwick a few miles further downstream.

Hope that's helpful. There's plenty of good places around Northampton. PM if you'd like further details.

As usual, the amount of information on this site is almost overwhelming. Thank you all for your input. Just one more question though, I believe I was at Clifford Hill on Sunday. I thought at the time though, that I was at Hardingstone Gravel Pits. Could this be one and the same place? Once again, thank you all.

Nice one Andrew I to have never seen a rough legged Buzzard. Lapwings I see every day outside my works window there must be around 400 at present. As for Kingfisher saw my first this year down at Rudyard lake in Staffs on Saturday afternoon, went out on a high after watching England win at the rugby. All in all a good Saturday finished up with four pints of Black Bear 5% abv.

After four pints of that stuff, I would not be surprised to see pink flamingos flying over Northampton!

Hi Andrew,

I think Hardingstone Gravel Pits is the one a bit further west, beyond the Bedford Road. There's a fairly small lake that you go past on the A45 just after the flyover and I think people call this Hardingstone GP. There's been a Red-breasted Merganser on there recently I think. It can be quite good but often gets disturbed (I think they sometimes have waterskiing there).

By the time I left The Beartown Brewery Tap Andrew the only birds I could hope to see would have been owls. Up here I see Little Owls regularly, Tawny Owls occasionaly and it is over three years since I saw a Barn Owl.