A stroll around Summer Leys was planned first, but we did first pop into Delapre Lake (or Hardingstone GP if you prefer), always worth a check. Nothing really of note though other than the usual gathering of Gadwall, a couple of Wigeon and a few flyover Siskin.
Summer Leys was cold but bathed in a fair bit of sunshine on arrival. Best birds initially were a female Stonechat around the scrape, a squealing Water Rail, an Egyptian Goose & my first Goldeneye, a drake on the main lake.
Moving to the other side of the reserve, the Great White Egret was to the right of Paul Britten Hide, with shocking views only, through thick scrub. A Little Egret was also nearby and several Siskin were in the area. A walk further round to Mary's Lake produced 4 Pintail, always a nice bird to see in Northants, with their appearance often rather sporadic.
Next, we moved on to the reserve end of Pitsford Reservoir, north of the causeway. Scanning from the feeding station produced a further 2 Great White Egrets around the mouth of the Walgrave Bay. We walked down to the Scaldwell Bay to have a closer look and to try out the new hide which I have to say is pretty impressive.
Birds from here or very closeby included Green Sandpiper, Redshank, Shelduck, 5 Pintail and excellent numbers of Wigeon & Gadwall. A Fox was wandering along the far shore of the bay, as were a couple of foraging Muntjacks. A flock of 9 Goldeneye appeared on the walk back, while the feeding station produced the usual Tree Sparrows & Yellowhammers.
A quick visit to the dam end, more for sustenance then anything lead to a very nice Bacon, Brie & cranberry baguette (with an unexpected, yet welcome portion of wedges!) from the country park cafe. A scan from the dam was fruitless, so we finished the last bit of daylight at Blueberry Farm, near Maidwell for a dart at Short Eared Owls.
Turned out to be a really good visit, particularly as good mates David James & Simon Hales were on site. In between the chat and laughs, a single Short Eared Owl (Dave James's video below) showed well at times, together with a Barn Owl and a fly-through Peregrine. Great end to the day.
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