Welland Valley and back

Hello

We meandered towards the north of the county today, taking advantage of more winter sunshine before the next wet front.  Despite our efforts it was a quiet day with little out of the ordinary.

The first birding session was around East Carlton at the south end of the Welland Valley and we strolled around the rough area off Wire Lane and also the country park.  Good numbers of common birds were present in this area, particularly thrushes and woodland birds.  A dozen Siskins fed in the alders with half a dozen Lesser Redpolls by the ponds in the country park.

It seems that much of the flooding in the Welland Valley had subsided but there were good numbers of Lapwings and Common Gulls and Fieldfares on the wet fields.  Near to Gretton they were joined by about five hundred Golden Plover.  A little further north near Harringworth, a pair of Shelduck added to the mix.

Wakerley Wood and adjacent areas remained stubbornly quiet for birds, the best being a pair of Raven and two Woodcock and half a dozen Siskins.

Next was Blatherwycke Lake where a first for me was watching a Hare swim the width of the lake, and fast too!  Birds of interest included a 'redhead' Goosander, a Barnacle Goose, eleven Mandarin Ducks and singles of Siskin and Brambling.

Fermyn Wood Country Park was our last venue but despite plenty of scanning and walking around the site, we couldn't find anything of note.

Regards

Neil M

 

Welland Valley

from Cottingham Hill

 

 

Goldcrest - which had

just consumed a long-legged

insect!

Winter delights

Hello

This morning a guided walk at The Wildlife Trust's  new Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve coincided with some pleasant winter sunshine.  The water levels remain high on-site and the flooding attracted geese and gulls.  A vocal Chiffchaff was probably the scarcest bird seen and a couple of calling Cetti's Warblers remained hidden.  A Treecreeper delighted the group as it crept around hedgerow hawthorn and ash and a calling Water Rail preferred the cover of some reeds rather than showing itself!

The gull roost at Pitsford Res this afternoon attracted a stunning adult hybrid gull which appeared to be a Yellow-legged x Lesser Black-backed, and also a near-adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Local birder Martin Dove found a dead Coal Tit at Pitsford Res yesterday bearing a ring.  Records indicate that this bird was first ringed at Pitsford on 21st June 2009 when it was aged as a juvenile (hatched that year).  It was re-trapped again at Pitsford on 5th October 2009, 7th October 2012 and finally on 26th May 2013.  Four and a half years is long-lived for a Coal Tit and it would be easy to speculate that this bird lived its whole life associated with habitat around the reservoir.

John Woollett and his company of ringers at Stortons Gravel Pits this morning caught some eighty birds which included a re-trap Water Rail and a male Bearded Tit first ringed at Stortons late last year, suggesting that the pair have been present throughout.

Regards

N & E

 

Water Rail

 

Bearded Tit.  Images

courtesy of Chris Payne

Waterlogged!

Hello

Some feed station maintenance was required today on the Kelmarsh Estate and in very boggy conditions we took the opportunity to wander the woodlands at Kelmarsh Hall, Sunderland Wood and Scotland Wood.  Despite the mild conditions the birds are conditioned to consume the food stuffs within three or four days!  Despite the wet conditions today's winter sunshine infiltrated the woodlands and the cool and fesh air meant it was a pleasure to be out and about.

Nothing out of the ordinary was seen in Sunderland Wood, Kelmarsh Hall sported a couple of Siskins and Scotland Wood hosted 4 Woodcock and half a dozen Siskins.

Eleven Bramblings were watched feeding with Yellowhammers and others on the concrete track entrance at Harrington Airfield this morning.

This afternoon we wandered around a squelchy Blueberry Farm which provided views of 1-2 Barn Owl(s) and a couple of Ravens.

Regards

N & E

Ringing Demonstration

Hello

On Sunday 19th January 2014 an event at Barnwell Country Park near Oundle is planned to prepare for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.  Part of the event will include a bird ringing demonstration which will provide an opportunity to see common birds close-up.  Members of the Northants Ringing Group will be on hand to catch and ring wild birds (weather permitting).  Please come along if you would like an opportunity of learning more about birds and seeing the plumage and identification features at close range.

Pitsford ringing

Hello

Pitsford Reservoir was the venue for some ringing at two different locations on the reserve today.  Some 148 birds were caught and processed with perhaps the most interesting species being a Willow Tit, 4 Coal Tits, a Goldcrest, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 6 Yellowhammers, 4 Tree Sparrows, 4 Reed Buntings, 4 Goldfinches and 2 Moorhens.  Other birds noted on-site included a pair of Red-crested Pochard in flight, a Chiffchaff, 3-4 Woodcock and a couple of Lesser Redpolls.

Nearby at Sywell CP there was a Water Rail and several Siskins.

Regards

Neil M

Bits and Bobs

Today has found me snatching a bit of birding here and there. Firstly a gentle walk through the village with my two limping collies produced 2+ Bramblings and several Siskins. Next it was time for a  run, where 2 vocal Ravens and a Red Kite near Cottesbrooke were the only birds of note.
At lunchtime a short walk at Brixworth Country Park produced 2 Bramblings and I heard a Kingfisher calling from the sailing club.
Mid afternoon found me "sales shopping" in Northampton and I took the opportunity of popping in to the Nene Barrage, an area that I don't visit very often.  I parked in a small carpark on the Bedford Rd, close to the large roundabout.   Obviously with all the rainfall the barrage is pretty full of water and there seemed to be plenty of birds present.  I didn't really do this place justice as I did not take my scope and didn't have time to walk far.  Nevertheless I saw at least 6 Goosander, a pair of Smew and a male Peregrine causing chaos with approx 200 Golen Plovers.
On arriving back at Hanging Houghton there were 2 Red Kites .

Regards Eleanor

Siskin influx

Hello

I took a drive over to Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows (part of the Ditchford GP complex) this morning as part of preparation for a guided walk there this coming Sunday.  It perhaps goes without saying that the Nene Valley is flooded and access is problematic at some points.  Standard birds here included a Little Egret, half a dozen Cetti's Warblers and a Water Rail.  Both a male and female Sparrowhawk were endeavouring to flush out passerines from flooded bushes and the male soon caught an unfortunate individual.

I then went on to Ditchford Lane and tried to walk westwards but the usual paths were flooded.  Many of the waterbirds appeared to have been dispersed due to the excessive brown water.  An adult Mediterranean Gull was on the Watersport Pit and still present to at least 1pm.

Closer to home, Pitsford Res yielded a Great White Egret this afternoon by The Holly Tree north of the dam and two Red-crested Pochard in the Scaldwell Bay.

Eleanor visited the Kelmarsh Estate feeding stations where she noticed there was an influx of Siskins in all three woods.  Scotland Wood attracted 15 Siskins, a couple of Red Kites and the usual Nuthatches, Marsh Tits etc.  A monster tit flock at Kelmarsh Hall included 30 Long-tailed Tits and there were at least 8 Siskins present too.  An unidentified raptor moved over Sunderland Wood (the view was obscured but it appeared to be a Hen Harrier) and birds in the wood included Marsh Tits, Nuthatches and 10 Siskins.

Harrington Airfield provided views of a female Peregrine, c100 Golden Plovers, a Woodcock and 10+ Bramblings.

Provisional bird ringing totals for Pitsford Res for the year 2013 came to 2411 ringed individuals.  Singles of Common Buzzard and Grey Heron were new species ringed on-site.  Flagship birds such as Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer totalled 172 and 158 respectively.  A great deal of effort is made on the reserve to try and support these nationally declining species with food provided all year round and managing suitable breeding areas during the summer.  An on-going Constant Effort (Ringing) Site endeavours to accurately assess breeding success and survival rates of passerines using the Scaldwell Bay in the summer, and as one of the largest schemes in the UK contributes to the national assessment.

Regards

Neil M

Brief Birding Exploits

Another one of those days where birding was restricted. A very blustery walk at Harrington produced a female Peregrine, 2 Red Kites and numerous Common Buzzard enjoying the wind and sunshine.  After putting the food down it wasn't long before at least 10 Bramblings, many looking stunning in the winter sunshine.
Whilst eating my sandwich and watching the birds in our garden a male Sparrowhawk paid a visit and took a Goldfinch for his lunch!
This afternoon, the Great Northern Diver was half way down the big side of Pitsford , whilst 5 Smew were sheltering against the causeway. 
The water level is extremely high and the three distinct bays on the small side are rapidly becoming one huge bay.!!!  There were 4 Goosander and 2 further Smew in the Holcot arm, 4 Red-crested Pochard in the Walgrave arm and a further 2 in the Scaldwell arm.
I couldn't see any sign of the Great White Egret's today, but I did notice a couple of Cormorants building a nest !!


A reminder of the Northamptonshire Bird Club Meeting tomorrow evening. It is the Annual Photographic Competition, and this is always a lively meeting as we disagree with the judge's choice !! But it is always a good meeting to start the year, so come along, sit back, relax and feast your eyes on images of birds and other wildlife.


Regards Eleanor

A wet and blustery Pitsford!

Hello

A concerted effort was made this morning to try and locate the Hume's Leaf Warbler from last month. There was a decent slot of weather this morning but sadly there was no sign or sound of our quarry.  It is possible the bird is still present but is now presumed gone.  There will be regular visits to the venue during the winter and if the bird is located viewing opportunities will be organised.

It was hard work birding at Pitsford Res today with regular heavy showers and a blustery strong wind.  Birds located as a result of a co-operative effort between Andrew Tyrrell, Eleanor and myself amounted to the Great Northern Diver still, eight Smew (three drakes) between the causeway and the Catwalk Bay, 4 Goosanders, three Red-crested Pochard in the Walgrave Bay, a drake Pintail, 2-3 Kingfishers, 2-3 Grey Wagtails and 6 Lesser Redpolls.

Regards

Neil M

Short Day Count SP55

Hello

Eleanor kindly visited some of the feed stations locally whilst I was committed to the west of the county. Broadcast seed at Harrington Airfield was sufficient to attract at least six Bramblings.

A visit to Blueberry Farm at Maidwell produced sightings of a Barn Owl, four Red Kites and the pair of Stonechat.

In the meantime I completed a BOS Short Day Count in SP55 to the south and west of Daventry.  Nearly half of the day was spent at Fawsley Park and Badby Wood.  This area is particularly good for a variety of species due to the variety of habitat - lakes, streams, reed-beds, woodland and parkland.

The cold frosty morning helped produce a stunning red sun-rise, all the more dramatic when back-lighting the stark fingers of winter trees.

The birds were vocal, perhaps anxious to shake off the dreary wet weather from the day before and I quickly seized upon the calls of Water Rail, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail - all species difficult to record elsewhere in the tetrad.  About a dozen Siskins inhabited the alders and Nuthatch and Treecreeper were both active and vocal first thing.  Waterfowl were present in small numbers but 17 Pochard was a good total for the site.

Gulls quickly arrived from the north-west and included the standard five species in some numbers.  A male Lesser Redpoll was feeding on flooded Rosebay Willow-Herb.

I then took the Knightley Way up to Badby Wood.  A nice surprise was a flock of 20 - 25 Bramblings in the beeches en-route.  A circular and muddy wander in Badby Woods added Marsh Tit, Raven and a few more common species.

After brunch back at Fawsley Park, I then drove slowly via Badby village to Lower Catesby, one of my favourite sites.  An interesting falcon disappeared behind some woodland (why do they never appear the other side?) and other birds of interest included Raven, a monster flock of Redwings and a single Brambling contained within a Chaffinch flock. A Greylag was a bonus bird and Grey Heron is locally very scarce in this square so a fly-over individual was very welcome.  A couple more Ravens were located near Hellidon and a walk around Byfield Pool added the third Kingfisher of the day.

An afternoon cup of tea at local birder Ian Dobson's house was appropriate as his feeding exploits provided me with my only Tree Sparrow of the day and at least four Lesser Redpolls on suspended feeders (a possible Meally Redpoll didn't show itself while I was there).  My final birding of the day was on open ground near Cannons Ashby where I failed to locate the anticipated Skylark but was happy with a flock of about 70 Golden Plovers, several Common Buzzards and a couple more Ravens.

During the lull in the wet and windy weather this morning, local ringer Chris Payne spent a short time ringing in his garden at Greens Norton where he captured several Reed Buntings coming regularly to food.  An image of one of these stunning little birds is below...

Regards

Neil M

Sunrise at Fawsley

Reed Bunting

Courtesy of Chris Payne

NBC Photographic Competition.

Hello

This is a reminder to members of the Northants Bird Club and an invitation to non-members that this coming Wednesday evening (8th January 2014) the club will be holding it's monthly meeting which on this occasion is the annual photographic competition. This will be held at our usual venue of Moulton Village Hall, Pound Lane, Moulton commencing at about 8pm.  Members will have submitted digital images from wildlife experiences during the previous twelve months in a variety of categories.  These images have been assessed and will be shown during the evening for all to enjoy.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Eleanor and Neil

A soggy Short Day Count!

Hello

On a very wet day, Eleanor popped out to Pitsford Res this afternoon and spent some time birding in the Scaldwell Bay.  Birds noted included two Great White Egrets, two Egyptian Geese, four Goosanders, two drake Smew and a pair of Red-crested Pochard.

I spent the day out in the rain completing a Banbury Ornithological Society Short Day Count.  This is an annual event whereby efforts are made to search a tetrad and record as many wild bird species within the square as possible.  SP54 which encompasses villages and countryside in the south west of Northamptonshire is a regular tetrad which I cover.  I started within the parishes of Thenford and Middleton Cheney at 8am and then moved in to countryside in and around Thorpe Mandeville, Culworth and Edgcote before concluding with some scanning over fields near Sulgrave and Weston.

It's not often that I spend all day in the rain and despite good clothing by the end it was beginning to soak in! I managed to locate 62 species, perhaps the most common 'misses' included Red-legged Partridge and Meadow Pipit!  Mind you I could only find one Pied Wagtail and had to wait until 2.37pm to find it!  In addition I only saw one Linnet and found only one flock of Tree Sparrows which continues a worrying trend.

In contrast there were Redwings and Fieldfares everywhere, all taking advantage of the waterlogged fields and mild temperatures to hunt for worms.  By the afternoon many of them were singing from hedgerow trees and bushes, obviously content with their lot and in stark contrast to the previous two winters.

There was some serious flooding around the Trafford Bridge and the River Cherwell valley areas, some roads not being drive-able unless you were in a four wheel drive or similar.

Scarce birds included a Raven between Thenford and Middleton Cheney, two Lesser Redpolls at Edgcote and a Siskin at Trafford Marsh.   Kingfishers were located at Thenford and Trafford Marsh (two birds), these birds no doubt desperate to locate clear, unsullied water in order to fish successfully (rather difficult at the moment I would think).  Calling Tawny Owls were noted at two sites, and a single Snipe and a Grey Wagtail were near Thorpe Mandeville.

Another count in a different tetrad tomorrow - I hope my clothes have dried out in time for the next deluge!

Regards

Neil M

Parakeets at Pitsford

Due to both dogs unable to walk any distance, mundane errands and a trip to the vet, my birding was somewhat limited.
At Pitsford Reservoir where I had to wrestle with my scope to keep it steady the Great Northern Diver was viewed distantly from the dam and a Green Sandpiper remains on the flooded field below the dam.
A somewhat blustery walk across the causeway produced a pair of Smew sheltering against the bank.
From the feeding station 2 Great White Egret, 6 Red Crested Pochard, 2 Goosander and a further 2 Smew were noted. 
As I stood looking around I could hear the next birds long before I could see them........2 noisy Ring Necked Parakeets going over with the strong wind helping them along !!
The Hume's Leaf Warbler was looked for today but not seen or heard, but the Long Tailed Tit's who have been absent were back on site, so we haven't given up and will continue to regularly monitor this site.

Regards  Eleanor

A day to be out and about!

Hello

Today a ringing session took place at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate which resulted in 110 birds being examined and released.  Over sixty of these birds were birds not caught and ringed before, but it was also gratifying to catch and identify birds from previous years including several birds at least three years old. One Blue Tit was originally ringed elsewhere and will count as a 'control', albeit preliminary research suggests it was ringed within the county.

The highlights for the three ringers today included 3 Marsh Tits, 5 Coal Tits, 2 Goldcrests, 5 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Jay. Other birds noted in the wood included 3-4 Siskins, a Willow Tit and a couple of Woodcock.  On departing, a male Peregrine flew over the A508 just north of Maidwell. 

My thanks to Chris Payne and Jacob Spinks for giving up their time to assist with this on-going project on the estate which seeks to assess woodland site fidelity.

Eleanor in the meantime visited Harrington Airfield this morning and enjoyed a good walk around the site. Birds of note included an adult female Peregrine, 2 Red Kites, about a hundred Golden Plovers, hundreds of Fieldfares and Redwings worming on the sodden fields, 10+ Bramblings and a pair of Grey Partridge.

At Blueberry Farm this afternoon Eleanor enjoyed views of a female Merlin, 6 Red Kites, lots of Common Buzzards, a Barn Owl, the pair of Stonechat still and 4+ redpoll sp over.

Regards

Neil M

Jay
Scotland Wood
Courtesy of Chris Payne

New Years Day

Hello

An excursion to Pitsford Reservoir this morning confirmed the continuing presence of the Great Northern Diver still near the Holly Tree plus also a drake Smew south of the causeway.

Two Woodcock were again flushed at Scotland Wood (Kelmarsh Estate) this morning.

Regards

E & N