Saturday 4 January 2020

Samples of Saturday

Hello

Some wandering around the Kelmarsh Estate today in some of the rarely visited areas provided some additional Marsh Tit territories, perhaps more proof that this species seems to be doing well in Northants. A vegetated pond west of Arthingworth provided singles of Woodcock and Common Snipe. Two more Woodcock were in the bottom of their usual hedge haunt at Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) this morning.

I spent much of the day filling up bird feeders and at Pitsford Reservoir the only birds of note I saw were three Stonechats in the Scaldwell Bay and one or two Kingfisher(s) and the third winter Yellow-legged Gull by the dam. At least one Grey Wagtail was at Brixworth Water Treatment Works and Eleanor spent some time working the rough fields between Kings Heath and Harlestone Heath this afternoon, finding a pair of Stonechat and a Barn Owl. However this area looks very good for 'asio' owls and other interesting species.

Other observers active in the county included Debbie and Eric at Thrapston Pits where the best birds were a Great White Egret and a drake Goosander.  Birds at Stanwick Pits included the Scaup still plus two Great White Egrets and a Cattle Egret. A Great White Egret was again at Ditchford Pits and a flock of about two hundred Golden Plovers were near the A45 at Earls Barton. There was no sign of the interesting geese at Clifford Hills Pits today but there were six Goosanders and two Ring-necked Parakeets there.

A couple of ringing recoveries have come through the system as follows...

A drake Mallard was caught and ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 1st December 2018 and was shot near Lamport on 23rd December 2019. A Mallard duckling was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 21st July 2018 and similarly shot near Lamport on 23rd December 2019. These records continue a catalogue of Mallard ringed at Pitsford Reservoir which have then been shot locally within a year or two.

A male Siskin was ringed at an unspecified site in the Highlands, Scotland on 30th March 2017 (aged as a first year bird). This bird turned up in a mist net with two un-ringed Siskins at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate on 11th December 2019 - 986 days had elapsed between the two records and the distance between the two sites is 622km. The Siskin is potentially a very mobile finch and this individual has probably covered thousands of kilometres during it's three and a half years of life.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Mallard.

Male Siskin.

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