Breezy Saturday

Hello

Jacob was out and about today and located a 'reeling' Grasshopper Warbler near Scaldwell village. He went on to Pitsford Reservoir and birds located included a second summer Caspian Gull, the immature White-fronted Goose, a Raven and two Little Ringed Plovers.

I saw a Hobby near Draughton and a road-kill Rabbit near the village attracted the attention of Magpies, Carrion Crows and a Red Kite but it was a Common Buzzard that finally took control!

Regards

Neil M

A North American Tulip Tree
in flower at Chapel Brampton.
Courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Ant Beetle
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Grizzled Skipper butterfly
Twywell Hills and Dales
courtesy of Clive Bowley.

Nuthatch
courtesy of Phil Davies.

A cuckoo wasp sp (only
6mm long) courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Rufous-shouldered Longhorn Beetle
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Harrington Hares and other wildlife

Hello

A couple of visits to Harrington Airfield during the last few days indicates that many birds on-site are feeding young and despite turbulent weather Willow Warblers, Yellow Wagtails and Reed Buntings were still carrying food today. Another singing Reed Warbler was in the scrub on Wednesday, one of a series of late passage warblers noted here during the last ten days. The Grey Partridges are now less showy and hopefully will be incubating soon and two Turtle Doves were still present today.

A few butterflies were on the wing first thing this morning and included a worn Dingy Skipper, Common Blues and my first Meadow Brown of the season. Swathes of Sainfoin is just coming in to bloom and there are a few Bee Orchids in among the large numbers of Common Spotted Orchids.

At Pitsford Reservoir today a White-fronted Goose was unseasonal, an immature bird accompanying Greylag Geese in the Scaldwell Bay. An impressive stoop and swoop by a Sparrowhawk was the dramatic end to a Starling caught in mid-air by the main feeding station, and caused widespread panic among the remainder of the Starling flock and other nearby passerines. The pair of Oystercatchers appear to have just one surviving chick now.

Jacob saw a Raven displaying over Moulton village today and a Barn Owl was hunting along Mill Road between Scaldwell and Hanging Houghton yesterday evening.

Regards

Neil M

Common Blue butterfly.

Bee Orchid.

Common Buzzard.

Willow Warbler.

Brown or European Hare.
All above images taken at
Harrington Airfield today.

Mistle Thrush.

Pitsford update

Hello

Yesterday on a blustery, but thankfully dry morning two Wildlife Trust staff and five willing volunteers met just behind the Lagoon Hide at Pitsford Reservoir to spend five hours to use their joint expertise and log as many of the species of all disciplines in this previously under-recorded corner of the reserve. This was another Pitsford Bio-blitz day! The Trust have been lucky enough to benefit from photographs taken with a drone showing the current extent of the vegetation and water levels and the team happily ventured through the undergrowth attempting to identify everything from the major trees in the area – many of them good size oaks and willows – right down to the bryophytes and all the insects and birds on the wing – even the massive deer flies survived in the interests of science!

It was not possible to identify everything in the field, or even back at base afterwards.  Many little glass phials were brought home to be studied and their contents correctly classified using reference works too cumbersome to take into the field.  A comprehensive list will be compiled later for anyone who is interested and also for adding to the Trust’s records and similar events are planned to attend to more corners of the reserve which escape the attention of the other major recording sessions.

Today (Thursday) and Dave Francis completed a Constant Effort Site ringing session in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford resulting in the capture of 68 birds made up of 13 Great Tits, 11 Blue Tits, 9 Blackcaps, 6 Dunnocks, 6 Blackbirds, 4 Robins, 4 Wrens, 4 Chiffchaffs, 3 Long-tailed Tits, 3 Bullfinches, 2 Garden Warblers, a Kingfisher, a Coal Tit and a Chaffinch.

The powerful weather of the last few days has caused Swifts to gather at Pitsford to find their insect prey, nothing like the absolute clouds of a decade ago when a cold June day would attract literally hundreds of these birds, but a considerable congregation nonetheless. Traditionally there are casualties on the Holcot to Brixworth road causeway and sadly a bird was found dead in the road there this evening (the buffeting wind, low level flight and moving traffic creates the recipe for disaster).

Regards

Neil M

Of course this is very
much the nesting season
as exampled by images from
Chris Payne of a Swallow nest
with eggs and a Reed Warbler
nest with young.

Large Red Damselfly, image
by Helen Franklin.

John Showers shows how it should
be done! How to net a flying insect
and transfer it to a viewing phial as
part of the bio-blitz!
Images courtesy of Helen
Franklin.

Ooh La La - more French birds!

Hello

A few more images from the Camargue area of France, taken this spring...

Regards

Neil M

Whiskered Tern.

Gull-billed Tern.

Greater Flamingo.

Eurasian Spoonbill.

Black-winged Stilt.

Coypu.

Grey Heron.

Cattle Egret.

Captive Eurasian Eagle Owl.

Lovely June weather!

Hello

Well every June seems to be the same, we receive these powerful storms with heavy rain and cold temperatures! Several days of this has a detrimental effect on breeding birds to the point that a whole generation of some species can be lost. Typically our brood of five Blue Tits fledged from our garden nest box early yesterday morning - I wonder how many have managed to survive?

However tomorrow's forecast suggests a warmer and sunnier day, still with strong winds, but at least it provides an opportunity for survivors to recuperate. Thursday however may be a similar re-run of today!

It was therefore gratifying to see a fledged and independent juvenile Mistle Thrush at Pitsford Reservoir this evening and the local House Martins, Sand Martins, Swallows and Swifts were feeding in reasonable numbers in the lee of the trees at the Sailing Club where there were plenty of flying insects despite the strong wind. A Little Ringed Plover was still present and one of the adult Oystercatchers persistently feeds on the grass verge of the road causeway between Holcot and Brixworth which makes me nervous as it is very close to moving traffic!

Another ringing recovery has come through, again one of many Goldfinches that Chris Payne catches and rings in the south of the county. This individual was a young male which was caught and ringed at Greens Norton on 1st November 2016 and was caught again by a ringer at Leswalt, Dumfries and Galloway on 5th April this year. The second location is 411km from the first, this small finch having travelled North West during a period of 155 days. In some respects this is a similar pattern to the Siskin movements, suggesting that perhaps many Scottish Goldfinches move through or winter in middle England.

Regards

Neil M

Goldfinches by Cathy Ryden,
a good example of a bird currently
doing very well and benefitting
from garden feeding.

Northants Bird Club meeting this coming Wednesday...

Hello

Yesterday (Sunday), Eric Graham and family visited the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston and saw five Hobbies hawking around plus a solitary Oystercatcher, the usual warblers and noted three Cuckoos still.

Also yesterday the Grasshopper Warbler remained in its weedy field between Lamport and Blueberry Farm and another 'reeler' was singing from a ditch between the Brampton Valley Way and the Gamboro' Plantation west of Hanging Houghton.

A brief visit to Harrington Airfield at lunch-time yesterday was good for a couple of pairs of Grey Partridges but little else.

A walk along the River Nene below Earls Barton between White Mills and Whiston Locks was breezy but pleasant early this afternoon (Monday) with at least four broods of Mallard ducklings and a couple of Grey Wagtails on show.

The next indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club is this Wednesday evening (7th) commencing at 7.30pm at the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir. Conor Jameson will be presenting on his favourite subject, the Goshawk! Still a very rare bird locally, and still struggling in many area in the UK, it is not an easy bird to locate and appreciate and is fittingly known as the 'phantom of the forest'. Conor will explain his quest to find the Goshawk and provide the context and natural history of this hard-hitting bird of prey. As usual hot drinks and biscuits await!

Regards

Neil M

Mallard and ducklings.

Grey Wagtail.

French Birding

Hello

I have been fortunate this spring to have been provided with an opportunity to lead wildlife tours on behalf of Naturetrek and one of them was to Provence and the Camargue in South France. The following images were taken in April this year whilst conducting the first tour with visits to the summit of Mount Ventoux (1900 metres) and a variety of sites in the dry hills and plateaus of the north of the district. We then finished with a couple of days in the coastal wetlands of the bird-famous Camargue. Interestingly though, these days it is possible to see most of these birds in the UK with a little bit of effort!

Regards

Neil M

Crested Tit.

Cirl Bunting.

Whinchat.

Black-winged Stilt.

Glossy Ibis.

Greater Flamingos.

Avocets.

Pitsford CBC

Common Buzzard.

Hello

Today I spent the morning completing a Common Bird Census at Pitsford Reservoir in favourable conditions following the early morning rain. Once it warmed up, three Hobbies were hawking insects above the trees and a Curlew was moving about between the causeway and the Bird Club Hide. A Ringed Plover and two Little Ringed Plovers were near to Moulton Grange Bay.

Water birds won't enjoy a very good breeding season this year due to the very low water level but I did see a pair of Mute Swans with two cygnets and four broods of Mallard on my meanderings.The breeding pair of Oystercatchers still have two growing chicks. On the negative side, only one Reed Warbler was heard singing and I didn't encounter any Sedge Warblers or Lesser Whitethroats. There were just-fledged Blackcaps moving about and I came across a tiny Garden Warbler chick that really shouldn't have strayed from it's nest!

Despite the sunny conditions for much of the walk I didn't see any dragonflies and relatively few damselflies; hopefully this won't be the norm now that we have invasive shrimps in the reservoir which apparently voraciously predate odonata nymphs. I did see two Beautiful Demoiselles though, which is three years running these insects have appeared at Pitsford and I suspect they must be breeding in the streams in small numbers.

Only four species of butterfly found the conditions to their liking today which included migrant Red Admirals and Painted Ladies and the meadows were alive with Chimney Sweeper moths again.

Regards

Neil M

Rabbit. Walking the reserve
early in the morning is traditionally
good for seeing common mammals.
Rabbits aren't that common at Pitsford
but there are plenty of youngsters around
in the Holcot Bay currently...

Speckled Wood butterfly.

Longhorn moth, nemophora
deyeerella, the male with
very long antennae.

Female Muntjac Deer.

Large Skipper.

Humid offerings...

Hello

Yesterday (Thursday) saw Ken Spriggs and Andy Cook take a walk around the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston where they saw five or six Cuckoos including a rufous phase bird (seemingly these 'hepatic' birds are always females).

Bird ringing operations at Harrington Airfield today (Friday) resulted in 85 birds of 16 species being caught and processed in quite humid conditions. Perhaps the most surprising were single adults of Jay and Mistle Thrush, neither species seen regularly on the complex during the breeding season. Other birds included 2 Blackbirds, a Song Thrush, a Starling, 20 Yellowhammers, 2 Bullfinches, 5 Chaffinches, a Blue Tit, 6 Great Tits, 7 Whitethroats, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 16 Willow Warblers, 2 Wrens, 5 Dunnocks and 12 Robins.

Other birds noted on-site included 2 Turtle Doves, a couple of Grey Partridges, a Nuthatch and a Hobby and butterflies included Common Blue, Small Heath and Large Skipper.

A singing Grasshopper Warbler remains in a weedy field between Lamport and Blueberry Farm.

Another ringing recovery received today relates to a young male Siskin first caught by Kenny Cramer at Linford Lakes on 22nd November 2015 and then caught again by the Grampian Ringing Group at Bogietang, Wardend, Durris in Aberdeenshire on 29th April this year. It is presumed this was a returning Scottish breeder or still on it's way and bound for a Scandanavian forest or even beyond...

Regards

Neil M

Cock Linnet.

Male Bullfinch.

Red-legged Partridge.

Colourful birds of the
Northamptonshire countryside
by Robin Gossage.

Spring in to summer

Hello

Very warm and sunny today locally, and this brought forth a small invasion of Painted Lady butterflies, many of them hurtling past at an incredible rate!

The singing Grasshopper Warbler was still in a weedy field between Lamport and Blueberry Farm this morning and birds at Harrington Airfield this evening included a Turtle Dove, a couple of pairs of Grey Partridges and a singing Reed Warbler in a bank of Blackthorn! Please note that ringing operations on-site tomorrow morning will make the old airstrip and bunkers out of bounds.

A check of the tern rafts at Pitsford Reservoir today suggests that 38 pairs of Common Terns are attempting to nest. The pair of Oystercatchers still have two live chicks but two have died. A Greylag Goose is also nesting on one of the rafts!

Chris Payne ringed a young male Goldfinch at Bradden (South Northants) on 1st December 2016. Sadly this bird killed itself on a glass conservatory on 24th May this year, the location being Uggool, Moycullen, Galway in Ireland, a distance of 562km in a WNW direction. We receive very few recoveries from Ireland but it seems that this bird was intent on breeding there.

Regards

Neil M

So that's what a Turtle
Dove looks like!
Images courtesy of Robin Gossage.