Wednesday 14 August 2019

And it rained again...!

Hello

A very wet day here in Northants today, and if the weather produced extra birds then nobody found them!

Nick Parker saw the Turnstone again at Titchmarsh Reserve and Steve Fisher located six Black-tailed Godwits and two Common Sandpipers at Stanwick on the main lake. A Raven was at Hanging Houghton and this evening's performance at the Pitsford Reservoir gull roost was disappointing with just three Yellow-legged Gulls (most of the gulls were very distant) and a Common Sandpiper.

A few ringing recoveries as follows:-

A Great Tit that was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir as a nestling in a nest box on 23rd May this year has been reported 243km to the north in Redcar and Cleveland! The bird was re-trapped by a ringer on 2nd August (71 days later). If the ring was read correctly, this represents an unprecedented rapid movement almost direct north. At it's new or transitory home the birds was marked with colour rings, presumably as part of a specific study;

On 7th August 2017 a first year Reed Warbler was caught and ringed at Icklesham in East Sussex. This year this bird was re-trapped at Stanwick on 3rd and 8th August when assessed as an adult female and possibly breeding on site. She has already made two return journeys to Africa and these small birds can be long-lived;

One of the many Goldfinches that Chris Payne catches every year in South Northants was re-trapped at Walney Bird Observatory. This young male was originally ringed at Greens Norton on 9th October 2017 and was caught again at South Walney on 7th May 2019, 255km NNW from it's ringing site. This is further confirmation that the bird feeders in middle England service the needs of northern Goldfinches in the winter, this bird presumably on it's way to north England or Scotland for the breeding season.

After such a dull day I think we deserve a splash of colour...!

Regards

Neil M




A stunning portrait of a Kingfisher
courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.