Birding in Northants (5 Viewers)

[string boozel]

Only a one day weekend this time around so I was up and out with the sunrise. My walk was the now usual one and once again I took in the two ponds at Weldon. One tiny flaw with this idea is that my route takes me past the sewerage treatment works and the stench today was almost weapons grade. Leaving the unsavoury fumes behind I popped in to look at the doggy pool which this morning was more like an ice rink with no birds whatsoever. The Woodland Park had a reasonable selection of common species with a good number of Redwings in particular.

Between Laundimer Wood and Deenethorpe Airfield the plovers had returned with Lapwings present in most of the fields and two flocks of Goldies, one of about sixty and another of twelve. A Snipe, perhaps on the lookout for unfrozen ground did a flypast. At the airfield a Raven appeared to be doing some courtship display, it and its mate were the first of several seen today. Another Snipe was flushed from next to one of the concrete taxiways but the highlight of the day was a lovely Stoat which ran across the path. If you Google Deenethorpe Airfield you will see that there is a plan to create a new village on the site, over a thousand homes. A collection of wooden stakes with different coloured tops suggests something is afoot as yet another part of Northants is given over to cash hungry developers. People can accuse me of being a NIMBY but it's almost certain that none of the folks behind this plan will be living anywhere near it.

The inflow at Deene Lake held some good birds with a total of nineteen Snipe near the Wheelie Bin Triangle and the now usual Green Sandpiper too. A Kingfisher made a brief visit and a few Siskins were heard. A welcome return to the site by two Egyptian Geese was a nice bonus while the birdlife on the main lake was similar to the last visit. Shoveller numbers appeared to have risen slightly while Dabchick numbers had passed into double figures, presumably refugees from frozen over smaller ponds had joined the regular one or two.

It was another glorious day for watching kites and buzzards and there were a couple of Kestrels about too. The A43 pond at Weldon was partially frozen but the remaining cygnet was still alive thankfully and there was a drake Tufted Duck and half a dozen Mallards on the patch of open water while a Heron was sleeping nearby.

I'll finish with an invitation for anyone with interesting sightings to post them here just to give people a change from my ramblings.

James.

 

[markspirito]

Hi James , sorry to hear about the plans for Deenethorpe, this seems to be happening all too often everywhere now, there are similar plans close to Daventry Country park, we had a single Bewicks Swan ( Not sen by myself ) here on the Res last week which was about the only highlight, I keep looking and listening for Waxwings but none as yet, keep the thread going your ramblings can often brighten the day up...good pics by the way

Mark

 

[string boozel]

Thanks Mark, those Waxwings are proving pretty elusive, perhaps I should have popped over the border for those Lyddington ones...Hopefully a few will start hanging around for more than a flypast in the New Year.

James.

 

[string boozel]

I've just read that Mike Alibone is stepping down as Northamptonshire Bird Recorder at the end of March 2017. I'm sure that I'm not alone in wanting to thank him for his time and effort over the last ten years or so and in wishing his successor all the best. At least the excellent Northantsbirds website will continue to provide the latest bird sightings, thanks.

james.

 

[markspirito]

Yes All the best to Mike and and well done on the huge role he has undertaken over the years as County bird recorder...nice little job for yourself James ??

Mark

 

[string boozel]

Good grief no, if I was the last choice I'd still be a bad choice, trying to juggle work, birding and copious amounts of gin is hard enough as it is!

James.

 

[markspirito]

I got the impression you were retired James...maybe Im wrong..the Gin may help the job role rather than hinder B

Mark

 

[string boozel]

Sadly I've still got far too many years left to endure Mark but on the plus side lots of time for more gins too so it's not all bad!

James.

 

[string boozel]

Works night out yesterday so I took the precaution of booking today off and though I was a little bleary eyed and somewhat fragile I managed to get out. Having checked the village for Waxwings, suffered the stink from the STW, checked Weldon and walked down Bears Lane I found myself at Laundimer Wood.

A flock of thirty two Lapwings flew over just as I arrived and a couple of minutes later a flock of about fifty Golden Plovers passed heading eastwards. On the way through the wood there was a good number of small birds though nothing too exciting. It was only after I'd reached the other end of the wood and turned around that things began to look up. In the section known as Old Dry Bushes where there are a lot of beeches a flock of Chaffinches contained at least two Bramblings amongst their number and soon afterwards a small flock of Siskins paused long enough for me to take a couple of grainy pictures.

A few minutes later I had one of those moments, a bit like when you hear some obscure album track on the radio and it takes a second or two for the brain to take it in. The obscure track in this case was a Willow Tit's call and once the penny had dropped I was able to get some good views though sadly no photos as I was too busy enjoying such an uncommon sighting. I can't remember exactly how long since I last saw one, my last regular birds were at Priors Hall. In a field on the edge of the wood a flock of about a hundred Lapwings were feeding with the usual Black-headed Gulls for company.

At Weldon Woodland Park I checked through a good sized flock of Chaffinches hoping for Brambling lightning to strike twice but it didn't. A passing Peregrine made sure that the visit was worthwhile and at the nearby pond a few Mallards and Moorhens were taking advantage of a lack of either dogs or ice. At the A43 the cygnet is still going strong and it was joined by some Mallards (including some fairly dubious looking types), six Tufted Ducks, two Gadwalls and a few Coots.

By this time the threatened rain was falling heavily and so I beat a hasty retreat doing a more than passable impression of a drowned rat by the time I got home.

James.

 

[string boozel]

Had a lunch date at Gretton today so I planned my day accordingly heading up through Brookfield Plantation and on through Gretton village before looking at Harringworth Lodge Lake.

Very few birds were active in the plantation, a Sparrowhawk and a couple of Siskins were the only sightings of note though several Fallow Deer also were seen. At the flooded quarry a flock of finches contained the most Siskins that I've seen so far this winter and at least half a dozen Redpolls while there were quite a lot of Goldfinches too. Between the quarry and the village a Tree Sparrow was an unexpected find, there's rather a lot of dead trees in the area so it could be a potential nesting area.

Along the Jurassic Way a good sixed flock of Skylarks were still present in a kale field along with a single Lapwing while Rooks and Jackdaws filled the air with their calls. Closer to Harringworth Lodge two flocks of Lapwings with at least a hundred birds in each were joined by a flock of about eighty Golden Plovers, The lake itself had few birds, a Cormorant, half a dozen Mallards, a pair of Coots and two Moorhens, perhaps birds are slow to return after last week's freeze.

An area left to provide cover for game had attracted a good sized flock of Reed Buntings and a reasonable number of Linnets while Yellowhammers were quite common too. In Gretton village a Kestrel gave good views while the local kites showed very well.

James.

 

[string boozel]

A few other images from today including a Tiger Moth aeroplane.

James.

 

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A short trip on the X4 this morning as far as Upper Benefield where it was still rather dark and misty when I arrived. Walking down towards Deenethorpe I was rewarded with a flock of half a dozen Tree Sparrows, I managed a couple of record shots but they won't make next year's Countryfile calendar. Lots of common birds but nothing too exciting between here and Deene, three Lapwings were the only ones today.

Water levels at the inflow of the lake were high and the Wheelie Bin Triangle had become the Tealie Bin Triangle (sorry) with seventy or more of the little ducks in the area. The three Snipes that were present were reduced to hugging the increasingly narrow muddy margins. A small flock of Siskins were feeding in the alders here, while their numbers are much lower than last year they have been regular at Deene.

A chap was doing some work at the dam end so I only had a distant view of the main lake, I couldn't pick out anything different. I had some nice views of a Mistle Thrush while the Stonechat showed distantly in the usual spot. While walking down to the ponds a flock of fifteen Golden Plovers passed over heading westwards. The ponds had a good number of ducks including three Shovellers and there was also a Dabchick,

Closer to home an area of scrub on the Weldon Industrial Estate near to the Morrison's warehouse held a huge number of thrushes, six or seven hundred Fieldfares and Redwings. I know that it's been a good winter for them locally but it was still quite a spectacle to behold.

James.

 

[markspirito]

Nice Adult Winter Mediterranean Gull at Daventry Res early Sunday Morning also 1 Drake Goosander, 1 Common Snipe and some distant calling Golden Plover

Mark

 

[string boozel]

This Sunday I decided to do the Welland Valley beginning at East Carlton Park and continuing on to Gretton before passing through Brookfield Plantation and on to home. The early part of my walk was in truth a little dull, a Cormorant at he boating lake was as good as it got.

Near to Cottingham a Raven was very vocal, it flew into a pylon and continued to call for some time before heading off. This may have been one of last year's bird looking for a mate as pairs often stay together through the winter. A Redpoll was also heard here, I heard several more in the park. At East Carlton a flock of at least eight Bramblings were seen just outside of the park near to the rookery. This is traditionally a good site for this species and numbers can be fairly impressive. As is often the case here there were many dog walkers out this morning and I think that the Corby Dog Whistle Orchestra may have been practising for some forthcoming event, sounds like they still have some way to go! An unfortunate chap appeared to have had his volume button broken while it was set at foghorn but this did not appear to be a handicap when bellowing at both his mutts and his kids. Despite the disturbance, and I have to say that I prefer the dogs here than at a nature reserve, there was still some bird activity. Lots of Great Tits and a few Nuthatches were feeding on fallen beech mast and numbers of passerines in general were good. Another pair of Raven were noted flying over the northern edge of the park. It may well be that this site will reward a week day visit when things are a little less busy.

The stretch of road between Cottingham and Rockingham is one of my least favourite, there are few birds and traffic is both fast and rather frequent so I was glad to get this bit over and done with. At the small STW near to Rockingham a Grey Wagtail showed well, they really seem to be quite common nowadays and it was joined by a Pied. Taking the public footpath up towards Gretton I was pleased to find a good sized flock of Reed Buntings as well as Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and some Yellowhammers.

The highlight during my stroll through Brookfield was a couple of Woodcocks flushed from close to the paths and also the only Siskins of the day. Also seen here were three Fallow Deers which at least made a change from the numerous Grey Squirrels.

James.

 

[string boozel]

Fancied a bit of a change from the Deene Lake plod so instead took the X4 over to Oundle and walked the Nene Way between the north bridge and the marina. For most of the walk I rather wished that I'd stuck to my routine as there was very little to report. Apart from a Cetti's Warbler singing near to Ashton Mill it was all about Cormorants, Mallards and Herons.

At Oundle Marina there were four Egyptian Geese, one of which was very territorial while the others were hanging around with other geese species. Another Cetti's here actually showed, not long enough for photos but any view of this notorious skulker is good. At nearby Barnwell Country Park there were very few wildfowl with only a pair of Shovellers to break the monotony. Thankfully some feeders were attracting some passerines down of which Nuthatch and Marsh Tit were the highlights though there were good views of several other species too. Having exhausted the options here I jumped back on the bus and returned home.

James.

 

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I thought that I might show some pictures of a Heron eating a fish which I think may have been a Pike. The photos are a little hazy as the mist plays merry hell with my autofocus but it's not often that I see Herons eating their breakfast.

James.

 

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Just thought that I'd wish everyone a Merry Christmas with the traditional Robin picture. I can't do the bit where you add in a little Santa hat or some nice colourful writing so you'll have to use your imagination!

James.

 

[markspirito]

Merry Christmas James, Im in France during the festive break, may try looking for the elusive Black Woodpecker !!

Mark :king:

 

[string boozel]

Cheers Mark, I hope that Santa gives you your prezzie, Black Woods are stunning.

James.

 

[string boozel]

Ebenezer was feeling generous today and I was one of the Cratchits that benefitted from this unexpected development. I used my early finish to walk down to Weldon and avoided the hustle and bustle of Christmas Eve. Everything that I saw was a bonus and that was perhaps just as well as things had a distinctly run of the mill look to them.

At the A43 pond I was glad to see that the cygnet will see in its first Christmas and it had some company today in the shape of fifty or so Mallards, nine Gadwalls and four Tufted Ducks. A few Coots and a Heron were the other birds here while on the other pond it was a case of more Mallards and Coots.

Of the passerines a Redpoll was the highlight though the most colourful were several Bullfinches. There seems to be a lot of these around at the moment, they appear to be feeding on the dried blackberries left over from Autumn. A few Fieldfares and Redwings were about but numbers seem to be dropping as they munch their way through the remaining hawthorn berries.

A lot of airliners flying lower than usual today, I hope that they don't interfere with Santa's progress.

James.