Tuesday 10 March 2015

Pitsford Ringing

Hello

A busy and productive ringing session at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station at Pitsford Reservoir this morning provided 73 new birds and 26 re-traps of 17 species. Dave Francis and Neil Hasdell were the ringers on-site and among others they processed a Marsh Tit, 10 Tree Sparrows, 8 Reed Buntings, 41 Yellowhammers, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Starlings and 2 Moorhens. Generally sunny conditions make it more difficult to catch birds with mist nets but clearly the plentiful food was a significant lure and distracted them from the pretty obvious and partly sun-lit nets!

Sadly I noticed a dead Barn Owl next to A45 carriageway at Wootton this morning, but Eleanor managed to locate live specimens this morning at Blueberry Farm and also near Hanging Houghton. Other birds at Blueberry Farm included a significant arrival of Meadow Pipits and four Stonechats. This afternoon there were about 300 Golden Plovers on fields in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton (probably yesterday's birds from Harrington). Undoubtedly Eleanor's best bird of the day was an Osprey flying steadily north over Harrington Airfield at about 10.50am.

Regards

Neil M

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