Sunday 16 November 2014

Starlings and Kingfishers

John Finlayson has provided details of a large Starling murmuration presently viewable on the Wildlife Trust Reserve at Titchmarsh near to Thrapston. It can be viewed  by walking from the Aldwincle Car Park, down the track to the reserve. Pass through the gate and turn right. walk past the disused hide to the next hide and view from there. The birds appeared (estimated 15-20,000) at approx 3.40pm today.
A  ringing session was conducted at Storton's nature reserve today by John Woollett and his enthusiastic team.
A total of just over 80 birds were processed including good numbers of Goldfinches and Greenfinches.  A flock in excess of forty Goldfinches was observed feeding on teasels close to the ringing station. The star birds of the session were the two Kingfishers pictured below.
























Regards,
         Neil H.

Saturday 15 November 2014

Birds of the murk

Hello

Chris Payne continued with his committed ringing in the south of the county today, this time ringing in his Greens Norton garden. The results illustrate what garden feeding can achieve in terms of the number of birds attracted to appropriate food, and this is at a time when it is still unseasonably mild and there is still plenty of autumn bounty out there. Chris captured 94 birds which were made up of 44 Blue Tits, 11 Great Tits, 5 Coal Tits, 24 Goldfinches, 2 Greenfinches, 4 House Sparrows and singles of Wren, Starling, Chaffinch and Blackbird.

Birds at Pitsford Res today in murky conditions included a Great White Egret, several Little Egrets, a Black Swan and a Green Sandpiper (all in the Scaldwell Bay). A check of the gull roost by the dam provided views of a fine adult Caspian Gull and two Yellow-legged Gulls.

Eleanor noticed two Ravens over Brankley Farm between Haselbech and Naseby.

Regards

Neil M

Friday 14 November 2014

Ring-necked Duck still present

Hello

Eleanor managed to find time to pop in to Wicksteed Park at Kettering at lunch-time and confirmed the continued presence of the female Ring-necked Duck on the main lake. It was associating with Tufted Duck and Pochard.

A female Merlin was present at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell at about 3.30pm this afternoon.

My poor contribution was a Grey Wagtail at Brixworth Sewer Works, an adult Yellow-legged Gull by the dam at Pitsford Res and a Black Swan was present in the Scaldwell Bay.

Regards

Neil M

Thursday 13 November 2014

County Bird Ringing

Hello

At a site in the south of the county, local naturalists and ringers Chris Payne, John Woollett, Kim Robinson and Mike Tubb spent some time this morning catching and ringing over seventy birds. Highlights included a Jay, a Sparrowhawk, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Bullfinch, four Coal Tits and a couple of Nuthatch. We are fortunate in Northamptonshire inasmuch there are ringers operating at sites in most parts of the county, but it is remarkably rare for birds that we have ringed locally to be re-captured by colleagues who on some occasions are only a matter of a few miles down the road!

This year looks to be a record year for the number of individual birds caught and ringed in this fair county of ours, reflecting the stunning successes of the Stanford Res Ringing Group and determined efforts by other students of migration as well as generally good summer breeding conditions which has resulted in a positive output of freshly fledged youngsters.

Regards

Neil M


Great Spotted Woodpecker

Sparrowhawk

Images courtesy of Chris Payne.

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

Another rain-affected WeBS count was attempted today, this time at Pitsford Reservoir. Noteworthy birds included two Great White Egrets, at least a dozen Little Egrets, the two Ruddy Shelduck still, 19 Red-crested Pochard, a drake hybrid 'aythea' duck (Tufted Duck x ?), 59 Snipe, about 10 Pintail, a female Merlin over at 10.38am, a Kingfisher, a Chiffchaff and a couple of Siskins.

Should anyone hear of a Canon 50D camera and lens being found locally, please contact me.

Regards

Neil M

Little Grebe
Courtesy of Clive Bowley

Monday 10 November 2014

Visitors from the east

Hello

A ringing session around the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station at Pitsford Res this morning was all about quality as opposed to quantity. Seven Common Snipe caught and ringed was a good result as this species is particularly difficult to catch. No more Redwings hit the nets today but we did catch a Song Thrush, a couple of new Blackbirds and another Blackbird bearing a Norwegian ring! Further evidence that this current influx of Blackbirds are coming from far afield indeed.

We caught a handful of Tree Sparrows, four new birds ensuring we have now caught and ringed over 190 on-site this year, a record for Pitsford and presumably a good indication that the warm and moist summer was good for this species locally. An adult male Green Woodpecker was another welcome catching addition.

Birds seen included two Great White Egrets, a dozen Red-crested Pochard, a Black Swan and a Barn Owl dozing in the willows at the back of the Scaldwell Bay.

Birds at Harrington Airfield today included two Short-eared Owls, a male Peregrine and about 50 Golden Plovers.

Regards

Neil M

Sunday 9 November 2014

A bird in the hand...

Hello 

Birding at Harrington Airfield this morning was eventful with a male Ring Ouzel around the bunkers with many Fieldfares and Redwings. A female Merlin was dashing about and Bramblings were passing over constantly in small numbers, including a couple coming down to feed on seed on the concrete track at the main entrance. A couple of redpoll sp also flew over and other birds present included 15 Golden Plovers and a pair of Grey Partridge.

Ringing at Stortons Gravel Pits this morning was productive with some 117 birds caught and assessed by a number of ringers as led by John Woollett. This included half a dozen Redwings, four Great Spotted Woodpeckers, two Blackcaps, Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrests and plenty of Goldfinches and Greenfinches.

Similar ringing for much of the day took place at Pitsford Reservoir and provided about a hundred birds which included a couple of Mallard, 9 Goldcrests, a Song Thrush, 8 Redwings, 13 Blackbirds, 4 Kingfishers, 2 Jays, 4 Bullfinches and a Willow Tit.

Regards

Neil M

Jay at Pitsford Res
Courtesy of Jacob Spinks

Redwing at Stortons GP
Courtesy of Chris Payne


Kingfishers at Pitsford Res
Courtesy of Craig Freestone

Kingfishers at Pitsford Res
Female above and male below
Courtesy of Jacob Spinks

Saturday 8 November 2014

Ditchford WeBS count

Hello

Today we completed a rain-affected WeBS count at Ditchford Gravel Pits. We struggled to find much of note, the best birds west of Ditchford Lane being an Egyptian Goose, a 'redhead' Goosander and a first year female Peregrine. Other birds noted throughout the whole complex included a single Little Egret, an impressive roost of 75 Cormorants, in excess of a thousand Herring Gulls, a couple of Water Rails, 12 Kingfishers, 9 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Grey Wagtails and a Chiffchaff.

Regards

Neil M

Friday 7 November 2014

Wet and windy!

Hello

An excursion in to the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Res this morning provided views of a single Great White Egret, 10 Pintail, a Black Swan, a pair of Red-crested Pochard and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. 

Three pairs of Stonechat remain at Blueberry Farm near Maidwell but they didn't seem to enjoy the wet and windy conditions!

Regards

Neil M

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Wednesday ringing

Hello

Chris Payne conducted some ringing down at Bradden today and ended up catching 108 birds in four hours during good ringing conditions. The catch was mostly common birds and included Goldcrest and Nuthatch and typical woodland species.

In the meantime a small gang of us were operating some nets this morning at Harrington Airfield in a further effort at targeting thrushes. Nineteen new Redwings made it all worthwhile and thrushes dominated the catch which included Song Thrushes and Blackbirds. However we weren't the only ones on the look out for thrushes - a female Sparrowhawk was hunting the bushes for Redwings but we managed to catch her too (please see image below). Small numbers of Golden Plover were mobile all morning, about a thousand Woodpigeons flew over moving south/south-west and Fieldfares were conspicuous as they swirled around in the murky conditions initially. Other birds included a male Peregrine and singles of Siskin and redpoll sp.

This afternoon there were still at least two pairs of Stonechat at Blueberry Farm plus a Short-eared Owl and a Barn Owl.

Regards

Neil M



Male Sparrowhawk captured yesterday

Five years of ringing and Helen
Franklin was never there to ring
and process a Sparrowhawk. Now
she has ringed two in two days!

Juvenile female Sparrowhawk

All images courtesy of  Neil Hasdell.

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Tuesday ringing

Hello

A split ringing session today with the morning spent at Harrington Airfield and a couple of hours ringing at Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

Many of the common birds have moved off from Harrington during the last couple of days so it was very much down to the migrant thrushes to perform. Not a single Fieldfare was seen all morning, but we were fortunate to catch and ring 19 passage thrushes in the form of 9 Redwings, 6 Song Thrushes and 4 Blackbirds. Other birds caught and ringed include two each of Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer and a re-trap Green Woodpecker added a splash of colour! 

Visible migration included small flocks of Woodpigeons and Starlings heading south plus a few more thrushes and common finches including a Brambling, and still small numbers of Meadow Pipits.

The birds processed at Hanging Houghton were standard fare but a new male Sparrowhawk was a real treat!

Regards

Neil M

Monday 3 November 2014

Blueberry update...

Hello

A second visit by Eleanor to Blueberry Farm this afternoon provided views of three pairs of Stonechat, and two Short-eared Owls in Big Lichfields...

Regards

Neil M

Harrington Airfield - restricted access

Hello

Please note that on Tuesday and Wednesday this week there will be restricted access along the old airstrip and bunkers at Harrington Airfield. Access via the concrete track and footpaths remains unaffected.

Neil Hasdell has kindly produced two more maps of local birding areas which can be found on the Birdwatching Sites Maps Tab at the top of the Home Page. The two new maps are for Harrington Airfield and the Blueberry Farm complex.

At Pitsford Res this morning, two Great White Egrets were in the Scaldwell Bay as were a couple of Little Egrets, the Black Swan and at least six Pintail plus an increase in winter thrushes and a redpoll sp.

Birds seen at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning included two pairs of Stonechat and two Ravens.

Regards

Neil M

Sunday 2 November 2014

Northants Bird Club Indoor Meeting

Hello

This is a reminder to members and an invitation to non-members to attend the NBC Indoor Meeting this coming Wednesday (5th November) at the Fishing Lodge, Pitsford Reservoir, Brixworth Road just outside Holcot village (post code NN6 9SJ).

The main part of the evening will be an illustrated presentation of the birds and other wildlife of Argentina, as portrayed by our own Bob Bullock. Bob is well-known locally in birding circles and in recent years has proved to be an excellent wildlife photographer. This presentation follows an expedition to Argentina about a year ago and stunning images are assured!

There is ample parking on-site and tea and coffee and biscuits will be available during the evening.

Please try to be there and seated by 7.30pm.

Come along and be entertained!

Neil M


Magellanic Penguin
Argentina
Bob Bullock

Grey Fox
Argentina
Bob Bullock

Pitsford between the showers

Hello

Some pretty hefty showers out there today but still mild and bright between the periods of rain.

Time spent at Pitsford Res today failed to find much different amongst the high numbers of water-birds. Three Great White Egrets remain (two in the Scaldwell Bay and a single in the Walgrave Bay), the Red-crested Pochard flock increased to thirty (Scaldwell Bay), and there were fifteen Pintail and several Goldeneye. At least five Little Egrets fished the Scaldwell Bay.

The usual adult Yellow-legged Gull lingered in the Scaldwell Bay and other birds there included a Grey Wagtail and a pair of Stonechat still. The gull roost by the dam included an adult Yellow-legged Gull with another Grey Wagtail by the yacht club and two Woodcock were flushed from field hedges between the reservoir and Walgrave village.

A Grey Wagtail and a Chiffchaff were noted at Brixworth Sewer Works.

Regards

Neil M


Little Egrets may be standard
fare these days at Pitsford but they
are interesting to watch as they
adopt a range of different fishing
strategies. This bird was 'foot-trembling'
in the shallows, flushing out mobile
prey in the silt but probably also attracting
nearby fish themselves looking for
food in the substrate.

Saturday 1 November 2014

A Walk in the Woods...

Hello

A walk in the woods courtesy of Gary Burrows...








Sunny 1st Nov

Hello

An early morning wander in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton provided views of a flying Grey Plover, which surely must be the same bird seen nearby a couple of days ago. Presumably it is feeding on a damp field somewhere? About 10 Siskins were present in much the same area and later in the day there were several Golden Plovers and a Raven.

The amazing late autumn sunshine was sufficiently strong to bring a multitude of insects to the fore including plenty of Hornets and Red Admirals on my wander around the Kelmarsh Estate woodlands this morning.

Harrington Airfield was still attracting good numbers of common birds this morning, the only birds of note however being a male Peregrine and a Woodcock.

At Pitsford Res today there were three Great White Egrets on show north of the causeway plus two Little Egrets, a Ruff, a pair of Stonechat and a Raven flew over the Fishing Lodge. A first winter Mediterranean Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were present in the gull roost as visible from the dam.

Regards

Neil M


Friday 31 October 2014

Haloween Birds

Hello

A classic autumn morning at Harrington Airfield with a high volume of birds moving over the plateau north to south. About 500 Woodpigeons moved over in just less than 90 minutes, other birds included about 300 Redwings, 90 Fieldfares, 200 Starlings and good numbers of Chaffinch, Skylark, Linnet, Goldfinch and Meadow Pipit. Small numbers of Tree Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting and Brambling added variety with singles of redpoll sp and Grey Wagtail.

Grounded birds included good numbers of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes and slightly more noteworthy birds seen included a male Peregrine, a Raven, two Chiffchaffs and two Blackcaps.

The reserve section of Pitsford Res late morning provided views of two Great White Egrets, 18 Pintail a Black Swan and two Green Sandpipers and at least one Willow Tit in the Scaldwell Bay and 26 Red-crested Pochard in the Walgrave Bay.

This afternoon birds noted at Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) included now three pairs of Stonechat, three Woodcock and a Barn Owl (Marsh Harrier reported).

Birds around feeders in the garden here at Hanging Houghton included a Marsh Tit, a Nuthatch and a smart male Lesser Redpoll, with a male Brambling nearby.

Regards

Neil M


The Great White Egrets
had found a shoal of small
fish in the shallows in the
Scaldwell Bay, two Grey
Herons and a couple of
Cormorants also took advantage.