Tuesday 29 January 2019

Before the snow...

Hello

Chris Payne conducted a couple of hours ringing at Bradden today catching 49 birds made up of 24 Blue Tits, four Great Tits, a Coal Tit, eight Long-tailed Tits, five Goldfinches, four Greenfinches, two Chaffinches and a Dunnock. One of the re-trapped Goldfinches was a bird ringed at Bradden back in 2016 which then turned up at Greens Norton in 2017 but obviously then re-bounded back to Bradden!

A Peregrine was showing on the steeple of Kettering Parish Church today and Sarah Gibbs and I spent the day at Pitsford Reservoir clearing out the twenty-two owl boxes in preparation for the next breeding season (and evicting Grey Squirrels at the same time)!

The Great Grey Shrike was again present in the Brampton Valley between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke and other birds included a first year male Merlin and two or three Corn Buntings. The bird flocks seem to still be growing in number on this wild bird seed crop which included Bramblings.

A Blackcap was in a garden at Scaldwell, a Nordic Jackdaw was seen at Stanwick Lakes by the main lake and our garden attracted Bramblings, Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings.

Regards

Neil M






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