First up, at Clifford Hill GP early on, it was cold and cloudy and while there was nothing outrageous, a female Red Crested Pochard & 4 Pintail were something of note at least. Nearby Hardingstone GP drew a blank.
I then moved on further north to Thrapston, to have a scan of town lake. After a while, sunshine appeared and I managed to pick out the lone remaining 1st-winter Velvet Scoter, as well as a couple of female Pintail and plenty of Pochard, Goldeneye & Tufted Duck.
Further north still and to the Polebrook Airfield area looking for raptors, in particular Rough-Legged Buzzard, however just the standard Red Kites and Buzzards, plus a pair of Stonechat about too.
Having a look on Googlemaps, I was only 15-20 minutes away from Holme Fen, just into Cambridgeshire, which had been holding two Rough Legged Buzzards for the previous week or so. Having been unsuccessful in finding my own and having not seen one for a few years, I decided to give Holme Fen a go.
I made my way to the general area of where one was reported earlier and after a bit of scanning and searching, came across several birders who confirmed one had been seen not too long ago.
After some 20 minutes a buteo species appeared quite distantly, soon turning to reveal that distinctive black and white tail...Rough-Legged Buzzard! Over time it came a bit closer, hunting over the farmland and ditches, hovering regularly.
I enjoyed decent scope views for a while, before deciding to head back in the general direction of Northampton. Turning the car round, I noticed the Buzzard was getting closer and it's flight path was heading towards the road further up. So I swiftly drove further along the road and using the car as a hide, was able to enjoy some brilliant views as the Rough Leg casually hunted close to the roadside, again spending a lot of time hovering. Flippin' awesome!
I then really did leave and decided on my way back home, to pop into Pitsford Res, for a look at the Scaldwell Bay area during the last hour or so of daylight. Here, it was cool to see the 11 Whooper Swans that had hung around in recent days. They showed well, albeit spending most of the time with their heads under the water feeding! Also about were at least 2 Great White Egret, 11 Red-Crested Pochard, 10 Pintail, and large numbers of commoner wildfowl.
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