A day in the north of the county

Hello

A day to the north of the county in cold, wintery conditions provided plenty of wildlife.

We arrived at Fineshade Woods just after dawn and birds located included a flock of twenty-five Crossbills (Westhay Woods complex), two Woodcock, a Peregrine, twelve plus Redpolls and about twenty Siskins.

We then spent a fair chunk of the day at Wakerley Woods but the Crossbills remained mobile and difficult to see in and around the mature larch plantation near to the car park (but small parties in other parts of the wood too) and couldn't confirm the presence of the Parrot Crossbill. There were about thirty Common Crossbills present. Just a few Siskins and Redpolls were in the wood with two Woodcock and a couple of Fallow Deer on the rough section of Harringworth Airfield. A small flock of Pink-footed Geese were heard flying over Wakerley Wood but not seen.

Blatherwycke Lake was next and the geese were well spread and with many birds obscured behind trees. The Mandarin Duck flock numbered only sixteen birds and a pair of noisy Egyptian Geese were present too. The best creature was an Otter which swam the length of the lake and then showed closely at the southern end where there was also a Kingfisher.

Deene Lake hosted three adult Whooper Swans (presumably the same birds from Blatherwycke last week), yet more hundreds of Greylags plus an Egyptian Goose, two Kingfishers and a Stonechat.

The extensive flooding in the Welland Valley was the most water I've seen in the valley for decades with floodwater from Rockingham to Wakerley - we didn't have sufficient daylight to appreciate what the floods had attracted but there were flocks of Wigeon, Lapwing, gulls and some geese.

Other birds reported in the county today included two Great White Egrets and an adult Yellow-legged Gull at Pitsford Reservoir and a Crossbill heard calling in Badby Wood.

Hollowell Reservoir continues to cater for the long-staying Great Northern Diver, two Great White Egrets, the female Ruddy Shelduck and at one stage eleven Pink-footed Geese with four briefly alighting to join the original flock of seven.

Stanford Reservoir continues to harbour four Black-necked Grebes, two Bearded Tits and a Great White Egret.

Regards

Neil M

A rather cold-looking
Robin warming up in
the sun at Fineshade Wood.

Fallow Deer Harringworth Airfield.

Otter at Blatherwycke Lake.

Some much better images
of yesterday's Iceland Gull
courtesy of Bethan Clyne.