Welland Valley birding

Hello

I decided that it was time to venture to the north of the county again so before it was light I loaded my four-legged companions and supplies into the car and off we went. First venue was Fineshade Wood. It is one of my favourite places to run at this time of year. It was just about light as I set off for a 2 hour run, zig zagging the many tracks in the wood. Birdwise it was disappointingly quiet, a handful of Siskins and 2 Ravens the only birds of note. I did see plenty of Roe Deer and lost count of the squirrel numbers which kept the dogs amused. Then a short hop over the road to Wakerley Great Wood where a 2 hour meander virtually mirrored the birds of  Fineshade, Siskins and Ravens. The Ravens were extremely vocal and sounded as if they were going through their whole repertoire of calls. Again more Roe Deer and Squirrels. It was such a pity that it was such a dull grey day as the trees should have looked splendid in their beautiful autumn colours.

A lunchtime stop at Blatherwycke Lake produced 24 Mandarin Duck, most of which were drakes, 2 Egyptian Geese, 2 Little Egrets, a Water Rail, a Kingfisher and a Black Swan.  A visit to the churchyard produced a few Siskins.                                                                                        

At nearby Deene Lake there were 6 Shelduck, a Green Sandpiper and a handful of Siskins.   

Decision time after I had finished at Deene Lake. Do I go home via Fermyn or the Welland Valley? I decided on the latter and it proved to be a good choice as this is where all the birds were.  Due to the recent rainfall there was a large area of flooded fields near Harringworth. It was alive with birds. There was a large mixed flock of Wigeon and Teal with Wigeon being the predominant bird. There was also at least 18 Pintail, mainly drakes and 2 Shelduck. Lots of gulls, Lapwings and 100+ Golden Plovers.

A little further along the valley near Gretton the saturated fields were covered with huge flocks of Fieldfares, Redwings and Starlings plus more gulls and Lapwings. The sound of their chattering was deafening but nothing like the noise when they all took flight when a stunning male Hen Harrier flew through and headed towards the Leicestershire border. The birds had no sooner settled down again when a female Merlin made her appearance and wreaked further havoc.

The soggy fields near to Rockingham village were equally busy with birds including a Redshank and 20 Golden Plovers. When I reached Cottingham I counted 10 Little Egrets together on a small wet area right next to the road. My final destination was East Carlton CP, but despite a slow meander it was extremely quiet with hardly any birds seen or heard. 

Two Otters were on show at Stanwick Lakes today and the Brent Goose and the Bearded Tit were present too. At Stanford Reservoir the Red-crested Pochard had reduced to two birds plus other birds were a Chiffchaff, two Cetti's Warblers, six Lesser Redpolls and a Siskin.

Two Otters, a Water Rail and a Cetti's Warbler were well photographed at Summer Leys LNR today.

At Pitsford Reservoir today the Wood Sandpiper was again in the Scaldwell Bay where there were two Great White Egrets, at least three Pintail and a male Stonechat. Some ringing there provided seven Common Snipe caught and ringed plus six Redwings, a Song Thrush, a Goldcrest, a Reed Bunting and a Yellowhammer amongst the forty birds processed.

Regards

Eleanor

Common Snipe courtesy
of Lynne Barnett.

A Lesser Redpoll was the
star bird for Nick Wood during
a period of ringing at Chase Park
Farm, Yardley Chase today.