Hello
I completed the first Common Bird Census of the season on the reserve section of Pitsford Reservoir today, a fair bit of it in stunning sunshine!
Perhaps not surprisingly there were plenty of birds in song, and in addition to the usual species today it included a couple of Bramblings and a Cetti's Warbler. Nuthatches were located at a record four different locations around the reserve, a sign that the woods are maturing. Another bird that has been increasing in recent years as the plantations have grown older is the Marsh Tit with sightings in all three of the bays and including singing birds on territory. Sadly there was only one singing Willow Tit which was in the Scaldwell Bay.
A Firecrest was located at the back of the Scaldwell Bay, lingering in a lone spruce and neighbouring Scots Pines near to the vehicle bridge over the brook, well beyond the Ringing Hut. Two Oystercatchers remain and Black-headed Gulls seem to be attracted to the rafts in the Scaldwell Bay, it has been some years since they have nested on these floating 'islands'.
A few Siskins were about and plenty of Common Buzzards, Red Kites and Sparrowhawks were busy in the blue skies. The most frustrating bird was a large lark that overflew the reservoir at 10.25am heading SW over the Scaldwell Bay. I heard the distinctive calls but was slow in picking it up in the blue sky and my visual appreciation was limited as it undulated away from me. Being especially large and sporting black underwings it was clearly an exciting bird but it just kept on flying strongly away...and I suspect will never be seen again!
Five species of butterfly on the wing included Orange-tip and incoming avian summer visitors included plenty of Chiffchaffs and a couple of singing Blackcaps. Some of the Cormorants have young in the nest, the colony now with 41 attended nests with others in preparation. A Great White Egret dropped in to the Walgrave Bay this morning, the first there for a while and two Redwings were in trees at the far end of the bay
Elsewhere and John Woollett ringed a female Brambling in his Astcote garden this morning and the Great Grey Shrike showed well early this morning between Cottesbrooke and Hanging Houghton but couldn't be found this afternoon. Blueberry Farm attracted sightings of twenty fly-over Golden Plovers, twenty Fieldfares and two Redwings.
A White Stork was seen in flight in a couple of locations in the county today after roosting in Warwickshire last night. The last reported sighting was flying west over Higham Ferrers. Mike Alibone saw the Cattle Egret at Ditchford Pits, again in bushes underneath the Cormorant colony of Delta Pit and best accessed from the Rushden Lakes Shopping Centre. Steve Fisher's daily early morning assessment of Stanwick Pits provided him with a flock of 16 Ruff on the Main Lake but unfortunately they seemingly didn't stay.
Regards
Neil M
I completed the first Common Bird Census of the season on the reserve section of Pitsford Reservoir today, a fair bit of it in stunning sunshine!
Perhaps not surprisingly there were plenty of birds in song, and in addition to the usual species today it included a couple of Bramblings and a Cetti's Warbler. Nuthatches were located at a record four different locations around the reserve, a sign that the woods are maturing. Another bird that has been increasing in recent years as the plantations have grown older is the Marsh Tit with sightings in all three of the bays and including singing birds on territory. Sadly there was only one singing Willow Tit which was in the Scaldwell Bay.
A Firecrest was located at the back of the Scaldwell Bay, lingering in a lone spruce and neighbouring Scots Pines near to the vehicle bridge over the brook, well beyond the Ringing Hut. Two Oystercatchers remain and Black-headed Gulls seem to be attracted to the rafts in the Scaldwell Bay, it has been some years since they have nested on these floating 'islands'.
A few Siskins were about and plenty of Common Buzzards, Red Kites and Sparrowhawks were busy in the blue skies. The most frustrating bird was a large lark that overflew the reservoir at 10.25am heading SW over the Scaldwell Bay. I heard the distinctive calls but was slow in picking it up in the blue sky and my visual appreciation was limited as it undulated away from me. Being especially large and sporting black underwings it was clearly an exciting bird but it just kept on flying strongly away...and I suspect will never be seen again!
Five species of butterfly on the wing included Orange-tip and incoming avian summer visitors included plenty of Chiffchaffs and a couple of singing Blackcaps. Some of the Cormorants have young in the nest, the colony now with 41 attended nests with others in preparation. A Great White Egret dropped in to the Walgrave Bay this morning, the first there for a while and two Redwings were in trees at the far end of the bay
Elsewhere and John Woollett ringed a female Brambling in his Astcote garden this morning and the Great Grey Shrike showed well early this morning between Cottesbrooke and Hanging Houghton but couldn't be found this afternoon. Blueberry Farm attracted sightings of twenty fly-over Golden Plovers, twenty Fieldfares and two Redwings.
A White Stork was seen in flight in a couple of locations in the county today after roosting in Warwickshire last night. The last reported sighting was flying west over Higham Ferrers. Mike Alibone saw the Cattle Egret at Ditchford Pits, again in bushes underneath the Cormorant colony of Delta Pit and best accessed from the Rushden Lakes Shopping Centre. Steve Fisher's daily early morning assessment of Stanwick Pits provided him with a flock of 16 Ruff on the Main Lake but unfortunately they seemingly didn't stay.
Regards
Neil M
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| Male Bullfinch nibbling the buds! |
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| Bank Vole (I think?) |
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| Courting Great Crested Grebes. |
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| Long-tailed Tit. Lots of pairs building their fantastic nests at Pitsford today! All images from Pitsford Reservoir today. |
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