Definitely a Spring day!

Hi

Forgot to mention that yesterday there was a female Mandarin Duck on the brook in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Also yesterday John Woollett and team completed some maintenance work at Stortons GP and whilst they worked they were stalked by an inquisitive/fearless Water Rail!  A couple of mist nets there were sufficient to catch a new Cetti's Warbler on-site and 2 Chiffchaffs, one of which was first ringed at Stortons in June 2011.

Today and our first excursion was to a blustery Harrington Airfield which hosted 2 Wheatears, a Brambling, 3 Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap.  The garden at Hanging Houghton was interesting with 2 Lesser Redpolls, a Blackcap, 2 Tree Sparrows and several each of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.  The late morning sunshine tempted to me to take a few images!

A singing Willow Warbler was in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth and a Wheatear utilized a manure heap as a vantage point between Walgrave village and the A43.

Swallows were moving through the county in a constant flow during the day, with a surge in numbers during the early afternoon.

A visit to the Nene Valley below Irthlingborough off Lime Street provided a vantage point over floods at the eastern end of Ditchford GP.  The drake Green-winged Teal was on show just before we arrived but was flushed and we failed to re-locate it.  Other birds included a Little Egret, a pair of Shelduck and 2 Oystercatchers.

We then visited the western end of Ditchford GP and birded the area west of Ditchford Lane.  Birds here included 6 Egyptian Geese (split in to three separate pairs), a drake Scaup (Viaduct Pit), a Little Egret, at least 4 Oystercatchers, a Little Ringed Plover, a Blackcap and a Siskin.

A male Brambling was still present at the Old Scaldwell Road feeding station at Pitsford Res this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Bunting

Chaffinch

Blackbird

Yellowhammer

Great Black-backed Gull