Weekend Roundup

It has been a bit of a strange weekend weather wise. A mix of a small amount of sunshine, plenty of low cloud, drizzle, thunder, lightening and the much needed heavy rain.  Already our lawn looks so much healthier following the rain and the birds have returned in large numbers to feed in the garden.  It has been a full time job topping up the feeders especially the sunflower hearts, mealworms and suet balls. The birds don't even move out of the way but practically sit on my shoulder whilst I'm feeding them.  The increase in the number of birds has attracted a large female Sparrowhawk and I know that she has taken at least 3 birds during the weekend.

Yesterday I started my day with an early morning run and noted that the family of Spotted Flycatcher were still present at Beck Dairy Cottesbrooke.  Other birds included a Grey Wagtail, 2 Ravens and a covey of 6 Grey Partridge. They all appeared to be the same size so I'm not sure if they were adults, youngsters or a mixture. As I drove back into the village a Little Owl was sitting on a fence post.  

Late morning found me at Harrington Airfield.  I have given up actively looking for any Common Redstarts and have adopted the approach of "letting them find me", which so far seems to be working. As I walked slowly through the bushes a super male Common Redstart flew up into the bush in front of me and another bird started calling incessantly nearby but that one remained elusive. As I loitered around the bunkers I saw a Northern Wheatear and then as I scanned the skies looking back towards Lamport I picked up the distinctive shape of the Lancaster Bomber as she headed to London for a flypast to commemorate 75 years since VJ day. On my walk back to the car I saw a Clouded Yellow butterfly.

Today I decided to have an early morning run at Pitsford. So with my two young collies in tow I walked across the dam to get us all warmed up as well as checking for any birds.  There was a Sanderling and 4 Common Sandpiper.  The run was quiet and uneventful so when I completed my circuit I popped the dogs in the car and decided to check the dam again, This time I located a Turnstone near the tower which meant that I needed to walk across the dam again.  It was worth it because as I watched the Turnstone another one ran past it and they were both very confiding. A quick look at the small side in the gloomy weather only produced 3 Great White Egret but I noticed that the number of wildfowl is increasing so it is well worth taking the time to scan through the rafts of birds. 

When I got home it was time to take my old crocs out for a walk. So we had a slow steady wander around the area in front of the old cattle shed below Hanging Houghton.  There is a large manure heap here and 2 Northern Wheatears were perched on the top and a Clouded Yellow butterfly was on the wing.  A juv Marsh Harrier appeared and headed low across the fields towards Brixworth.                      So all in all not a bad weekend !!

Regards Eleanor

Turnstone at Pitsford today