Saturday 6 June 2020

House Martins.

Hello

Some powerful weather out there today with strong, squally gusts of wind and sudden downpours, seemingly calming down late afternoon...

Steve Fisher found a drake Red-crested Pochard on the Visitor Centre Lake at Stanwick Pits this morning - I wonder whether this is the Stortons bird deciding on a day out to the east?

The westerly winds and precipitation again caused some of our aerial feeders to funnel along the leeward side of trees, particularly so at the Sailing Club at Pitsford Reservoir this morning. It was difficult to count them but there could have been as many as three hundred House Martins feeding on the flying insects seeking haven from the wind. There were much smaller numbers of Swallows, Sand Martins, Swifts and Pied Wagtails doing much the same plus a Grey Wagtail and a Spotted Flycatcher.

I had a go at catching and ringing the House Martins and one strategically placed forty foot mist net succeeded in catching ninety-six of these delightful hirundines. I'm assuming that they are breeding birds from the surrounding villages.

A Black Tern on the main lake at Stanwick Pits this evening was found by Tom Green.

Regards

Neil M


House Martin.


Drake Red-crested Pochard
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

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