A good time for garden birdwatching...

Hello

The exceptional run of Barn Owl records continues with singles today at Pitsford Reservoir, between Holcot village and the A43 and in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

It seems that Reed Buntings are still in many gardens and they are likely to remain well in to April as they feed up and condition themselves for the forthcoming breeding season. A Jay again paid a visit to our garden today but didn't linger.

Harrington Airfield seemed quiet for birds today but produced a Chiffchaff and a small flock of Golden Plovers. An adult male Peregrine was hunting at Pitsford Reservoir today.

This morning a male Wheatear was in the Brampton Valley between Hanging Houghton and Gamboro' Plantation (a traditional stop-over site) but early this afternoon and after the rain there were four males in the bean field there.

Eleanor paid East Carlton Country Park a visit late this afternoon and saw two lingering Hawfinches, a Siskin, two Redpolls and good numbers of Redwings.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Bunting and
House Sparrow.

Lesser Redpolls.

Blackcaps.

A selection of recent garden bird
images courtesy of David Arden.

Jay courtesy of
John Tilly.

March birding

Hello

Eric Graham visited Blatherwycke Lake this morning and espied two pairs of Mandarin Duck, a pair of Black Swans and a pair of Shelduck. Nearby Deene Lake also attracted a pair of Black Swans plus three pairs of Shelduck.

Pitsford Reservoir was generally quiet today but the Slavonian Grebe was still in the Pintail Bay, there was a pair of Shelduck and an Osprey flew from the dam area north towards the causeway at about 4.15pm.

Two Hawfinches were in Cottesbrooke village this afternoon, still in Station Road but further along the road near to the brook. A Raven was at Haselbech and a Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

A check of the ring numbers relating to re-trap birds at Pitsford Reservoir yesterday included a female Yellowhammer with ring number Y576700. This bird was first ringed at the same site as an adult on 18th June 2013 and hasn't been caught or processed since.  She will be at least six years old this year.

Regards

Neil M

Field Elms near Oundle,
very few of these still exist
in the county...

Male Brambling on a
feeder, courtesy of David
Arden.

Male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
in Lings Wood courtesy of Robin
Gossage. One or two birds have
apparently been showing well at
this site during the month with many
photographers managing to record some
good shots.

Barn Owl Blueberry Farm
courtesy of Tom Gautier.

Pitsford Reservoir ringing

Hello

A day of bird ringing at Pitsford Reservoir today in very pleasant spring-like weather provided 141 captures of 15 species. Forty-nine of these birds were re-trapped birds from previous sessions and the remainder were new birds. The total was made up of 6 Dunnocks, a Robin and a Wren, 3 Meadow Pipits, 17 Blue Tits, 11 Great Tits, 6 Coal Tits, a Marsh Tit, a Long-tailed Tit, 20 Reed Buntings, 55 Yellowhammers, a Greenfinch, 6 Chaffinches, 2 Lesser Redpolls and 10 Tree Sparrows.

Chiffchaffs were on site today in small numbers, as was a singing Blackcap, a couple of Siskins, 5 Snipe and a pair of Oystercatcher.

Eric's saunter on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston yielded plenty of Chiffchaffs, three male Blackcaps, 8 Cetti's Warblers and butterflies in the colours of Brimstone, Comma and Peacock!

A Barn Owl was alongside the road near Holcot early this morning, a male Brambling was in our garden again, thirty Golden Plovers were seen heading north over Lamport village and the Brampton Valley had plenty of singing Chiffchaffs and Tortoiseshell and Brimstone butterflies...

Regards

Neil M

Male Chaffinch.

Lesser Redpoll.

Male Yellowhammer (sunglasses
are recommended for viewing)!
All images courtesy of
John Tilly.

Linford Lakes ringing

Hello

A group of ringers descended on Linford Lakes near Milton Keynes today where they successfully captured and processed 29 birds of 13 species (21 were new). Kenny Cramer and team experienced a mixture of summer migrants, winter migrants and residents made up of 6 Redwings, 2 Song Thrushes, 3 Meadow Pipits, a Robin, a Dunnock, a Goldcrest, 4 Chiffchaffs, a Treecreeper, 4 Great Tits, a Blue Tit, 3 Long-tailed Tits, a Bullfinch and a Reed Bunting. A Great White Egret remained on-site.

Eleanor saw a Raven again at Staverton today but didn't see anything of note at Daventry Country Park or Borough Hill CP. However she saw 2-3 Otters showing on the small side of Ravensthorpe Reservoir again (5.50pm), two Hawfinches again at Cottesbrooke (almost opposite the playing field) and a Barn Owl next to the A508 near Scotland Wood.

There were two Shelduck in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon and a Little Egret was the first there for a little while. Spawning Pike are splashing around in the shallows there currently...

Regards

Neil M

Meadow Pipit
courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Chiffchaff
courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

More Barn Owls, Hawfinches and deer!

Hello

Yesterday (23rd) and Diane Freeman picked up a dead Water Rail at Pitsford Reservoir. In the evening three different Barn Owls were observed along the road between Woodford Halse and Priors Marston.

Today (24th) and a wander around the Polebrook Airfield complex was good with the open fields area attracting displaying Lapwings, two Golden Plovers, two Ravens and the first Chinese Water Deer that I have ever seen in Northamptonshire! A check of the more enclosed scrubby area provided up to seventeen vocal Hawfinches in ash and hawthorn, all east of the private track that leads to the house and old hangers/storage area. Other birds included three Woodcock, a couple of Bramblings, a singing Chiffchaff and a couple of Muntjac.

A subsequent visit to Barnwell Country Park added a pair of Mandarin Duck, another singing Chiffchaff and a couple of Marsh Tits coming to a feeder. We looked for any returning Curlews at Wadenhoe but failed; another drake Mandarin was the only bird of note and a third Chiffchaff was singing near Aldwincle.

Some newly levelled land on the outskirts of Corby attracted good numbers of big gulls and a small herd of Fallow Deer. We saw a Peregrine here too and Blatherwycke Lake attracted a Water Rail, a Kingfisher, a pair of Shelduck, a Chinese Goose and a Black Swan.

Eleanor saw two Ravens at Staverton and this evening we saw single Barn Owls between Lamport and Old and near the villages of Pytchley and Walgrave.

Regards

Neil M

Dead Water Rail,
courtesy of Diane Freeman.

House Sparrow,
courtesy of John Tilly.

Kingfisher,
courtesy of John Tilly.

Daffodils,
Courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

More Ugandan wildlife...

Hello

Little opportunity of wildlife watching today so some more images from my trip to Uganda in January...

Regards

Neil M

Waterbuck.

White-winged Tern.

Pied Kingfisher.

Dwarf Mongoose.

Common Bulbul.

Ugandan Cob.

Buffalo.

African Elephant.

Thursday's birds!

Hello

Eric Graham and Ken Spriggs enjoyed some birding at Thrapston GP today noting a Little Egret, three pairs of Egyptian Geese, a pair of Goosander, a pair of Oystercatcher and a calling Chiffchaff.

Jacob embarked on some garden ringing at Scaldwell, successfully catching and processing a male Blackcap which has been a regular visitor, a Lesser Redpoll, ten Goldfinches, a Greenfinch, a Reed Bunting, a Blackbird, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, six Great Tits, three Blue Tits and a Long-tailed Tit.

Regards

Neil M

Male Blackcap.

 

Lesser Redpoll.

Male Reed Bunting.

All images courtesy of Jacob Spinks.

The birds of Wednesday.

Hello

Despite spending quite a bit of time out and about today and enjoying the spring sunshine of this morning, it seemed relatively quiet for birds.

Fieldfares and Redwings are very much on the move and already the large flocks are dwindling to much smaller ones. Finches, Meadow Pipits, wagtails and gulls are also busy moving through and probably mostly under the radar, Blackbirds, Robins and wildfowl are doing much the same thing. All are trying to navigate themselves in to an area suitable for breeding and to arrive there in the best possible condition.

Eleanor's daily walk in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton provided an observation of a Common Buzzard tucking into something pretty substantial on the ground. She went over to investigate to find that the Buzzard was eating a Barn Owl - presumably one of the two regular birds she sees (or did see) most days! The Barn Owl was bearing a ring so we will find out in due course from where it originated. Barn Owls are occasionally predated by a variety of raptors including Peregrine and Common Buzzard but this is our first confirmed instance. Over the last twenty years we have found a couple of remains around Blueberry Farm indicating predation but couldn't confirm the identity of the predator.

The Kelmarsh Estate woodlands were very spring-like this morning but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Pitsford Reservoir also seemed quiet although the Slavonian Grebe was still in the vicinity of the Pintail Bay and other observations included a Grey Wagtail and a Peacock butterfly!

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl.

Common Buzzard.

Peacock butterfly.

Spring at last?

Hello

Eleanor visited Cottesbrooke village today and saw four Hawfinches in the trees and bushes just downhill and opposite the playing field. The birds were not showing particularly well and weren't very vocal either... The usual pair of Raven were still on territory.

Another Raven was at Naseby village, a pair of Grey Partridge were again at Harrington Airfield and two Barn Owls continue to hunt the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Bethan and Jacob's birding efforts today included locating the three Scaup still on the Watersport Pit west of Ditchford Lane at Ditchford GP this afternoon, and the Slavonian Grebe and a second winter Caspian Gull at Pitsford Reservoir.

Metal ring NZ27670 was placed on the leg of a first year Great Tit at Bradden in South Northants on 30th November 2017. This young male was then caught again but this time at Adstock in Buckinghamshire on 13th March 2018, 21km SSE and 103 days later. The tit family are renown for not moving too far from their hatching area but spring and post-breeding periods are the time for wanderlust!

Regards

Neil M

Female Reed Bunting at
Scaldwell village courtesy
of Bethan Clyne.

I love this shot of a
Coal Tit sharing his
food with those in range!
Courtesy of John Tilly.

Wren.
Courtesy of John Tilly.

Nuthatch with lunch!
Courtesy of John Tilly.

Sun-loving Great Tit!

Ditchford WeBS count

Hello

Yesterday (18th) and there were at least two Barn Owls active around Hanging Houghton, three Golden Plovers in flight between there and Brixworth and a pair of Grey Partridge at Harrington Airfield. The return of the cold weather and snow was enough to cause forty Fieldfares to drop in to our garden but only a small number remained to consume the apples put out for them. A Redwing was feeding in the garden first thing and all the usual suspects were in attendance.

The main feed station at Pitsford Reservoir was busy yesterday, which included thirty or so Yellowhammers waiting patiently for me to broadcast seed on the ground for them!

Today (19th) and we travelled over to Ditchford Gravel Pits to complete the March WeBS count. It was generally quiet and with strong sunshine but a fierce, cold wind we saw a Great White Egret west of Ditchford Lane and three Scaup on the Watersport Pit also just west of Ditchford Lane. Other birds on the complex included three Little Egrets, a pair of Oystercatcher, three Jack Snipe, twenty-nine Snipe, a couple of Grey Wagtails and four or five Chiffchaffs. A Brimstone butterfly found a warm, sunny and sheltered place in which to bask.

Jacob and Bethan saw an adult Caspian Gull and a first winter Yellow-legged Gull in the Pitsford Reservoir gull roost this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Tufted Duck.

Chiffchaff.

Canada Goose.
All images from
Ditchford today...

Proposed fencing at Earls Barton GP

A message from Alan Smith at the Wildlife Trust...

Mary’s Lake and Moon Lake form part of the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits, a series of pits that are of international importance for overwintering waterbirds, and which has been designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA). Mary’s Lake and Moon Lake, along with Summer Leys Nature Reserve, sit within one of the most publicly-accessed units of the SPA, with a good network of Rights of Way, permitted paths and informal access.

The lakes are regularly visited by good numbers of overwintering birds such as Gadwall, Wigeon, Pochard and Tufted Duck. Public disturbance and lack of management have been identified as the main threats to the wildlife of the sites. Moon Lake is the least-visited of the lakes in this area, as there are no Rights of Way around the lake and access is not possible all the way around. There is a large area of grassland around the lake which has been covered in scrub in recent years, meaning it is less-suitable as grazing habitat for the waterbirds using the lake.

The Wildlife Trust is working with Natural England, Wellingborough Council and the landowner to address the disturbance and management issues on the site. The aim is to allow management, through scrub clearance and grazing, and provide an undisturbed area of open water at Moon Lake.

It is therefore proposed to construct a fence line, as shown below, to create a grazing unit around Moon Lake and create an undisturbed area for birds. The fence line will not impact on any of the current Rights of Way and access will be possible along the western edge as shown.

Should you wish to comment on this proposal please contact the Wildlife Trust on 01604 405285 or email Northamptonshire@wildlifebcn.org  We will also be on-site to explain the project and answer any questions on Thursday 22/03/18, between 9-30am and 12-30pm, and again on Monday 09/04/18, between 1 and 4pm, at the Moon Lake Fisherman’s car park ( see above for location ).

We are also aware that the Angling Club is considering putting an otter fence around Mary’s Lake itself. Whilst this is their own project we will be liaising with them to ensure that no Rights of Way are affected and that signage and footpath surfaces are improved around that lake.


Alan Smith 
Planning and Biodiversity Officer 

Direct line: 01604 774046
Office: 01604 405285

Tweet: @wildlifebcn
Like: /wildlifebcn
Visit: www.wildlifebcn.org 

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire
Lings House, off Lings Way 
Billing Lings 
Northampton 
NN3 8BE 

Pitsford gulls

Hello

Yesterday afternoon I took some images of the gulls coming to roost at Pitsford Reservoir, unfortunately in very poor light! Interestingly, looking through the photos, it looks as if there was a Kittiwake amongst the flock (obscured) and we overlooked an adult Yellow-legged Gull too!

Regards

Neil M

Black-headed Gulls.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Common Gulls.

Common Gull.

Herring Gull.

Yellow-legged Gull.

Flying away shot
of the second winter
Caspian Gull.