Brixworth Ringing

Hello

A bird ringing session took place today at Brixworth Water Treatment Works in pleasant conditions.

A few surprises among the seventy-five birds processed included a male Northern Wheatear and a Common Snipe. Other birds included two Blackbirds, seven Dunnocks, ten Wrens, six Goldcrests, four Chiffchaffs, thirteen Blue Tits, nine Great Tits, a Long-tailed Tit, a Willow Tit, six Pied Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail, three Meadow Pipits, a Chaffinch and nine Reed Buntings.

Other birds on-site included another nine Snipe, a Water Rail and an overflying Raven.

A Knot and two Great White Egrets were at Summer Leys today, an adult Mediterranean Gull was at Stanwick Pits and a female Scaup was on Dragonfly Lake, Ditchford Pits.

Regards

Neil M

Common Snipe.

Northern Wheatear
(Southern European form).

Corona Virus

Hello

The Northants Bird Club have made the decision to cancel the next two indoor meetings which were planned for 1st April and 6th May 2020. This is due to the escalating Corona Virus pandemic and the fact that in due course it seems very likely that more of us will be required to self isolate even if we don't display symptoms. Any change to this policy and plans for meetings later in the year will be documented here and on the NBC blogsite.

I spent several hours at Brixworth Water Treatment Works this afternoon, preparing the site for a ringing session there tomorrow. Birds noted included a Water Rail, about a dozen Snipe, a male Stonechat, a singing Willow Tit and three Grey Wagtails. There were plenty of Redwings and Fieldfares and Meadow Pipits on the move this afternoon, particularly as the rain subsided.

The county was a good place to be today if you like Great White Egrets! Four birds were confirmed at Thrapston Pits, two were at Stanwick Pits and two were at Summer Leys. Two Cattle Egrets, a couple of Redshanks and a Peregrine were also at Stanwick and a Knot was seen in flight there this afternoon. Single Grey Wagtails were at Beck Dairy, Cottesbrooke and Maidwell.

This evening the weather perked up and Eleanor enjoyed a nice suite of birds at Harrington Airfield including two unidentified 'grey geese' distantly on the deck (possibly Bean), a Short-eared Owl, two Barn Owls, three Stonechats, four Grey Partridges and lots of Fieldfares.

Regards

Neil M

Grey Wagtail.

Great White Egret.

Stonechat.

Avocets

Hello

A little exotica in the county today with an Avocet found at Boddington Reservoir followed by five more being found at Summer Leys. There were other birds seen in counties to the south and east of us and apparently the movement was emulated as far away as Holland with large flocks turning up at a variety of sites. It seems that the Summer Leys birds didn't last very long but the Boddington bird was still there this evening.

Pitsford Reservoir today sadly didn't seem to have an Avocet, the best birds being a Great White Egret, three Little Egrets, a pair of Oystercatchers, a handful of Chiffchaffs and a couple of Grey Wagtails. Thrapston Pits supported three or four Great White Egrets, two Little Egrets, a Goosander and several Chiffchaffs. Another Goosander was at Abington Park today and nearby at Clifford Hill Pits Mark Williams saw the two drake Scaup, a Great White Egret, fourteen Goosanders, a pair of Oystercatchers, a Raven and three Stonechats.

Stanwick still hung on to three Great White Egrets today plus two Egyptian Geese and other birds for Summer Leys included a Great White Egret, two Yellow-legged Gulls, Snipe and Oystercatcher.

Two Barn Owls were hunting the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and Harrington Airfield birders today saw a Stonechat, a Barn Owl, a few Snipe and a female Brambling.

Regards

Neil M

Robberfly sp with victim.

Wasp sp.

Spring is nearly here and it'll
be the return of the insects soon.
Both images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Garden Rook nest!

Garden Sparrowhawk!

Both above images courtesy
of Jim Dunkley.

Ditchford WeBS count

Hello

Today it was the WeBS count at Ditchford Pits which for the most part was completed in pleasant weather conditions. A Water Pipit was located west of Ditchford Lane near to the Viaduct Pit but then it flew further west over the railway line. Other birds included a Great White Egret in the same area and at least one pair of Oystercatchers, forty-one Snipe, five Kingfishers, plenty of Cetti's Warblers and Chiffchaffs, a Grey Wagtail, three Water Rails and plenty of nesting Cormorants and Grey Herons. Two Egyptian Geese were seen on the Delta Pit but were otherwise conspicuous through their absence.

Stanwick Pits today hosted five Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret, two Redshanks and three Ravens and Summer Leys continued to attract a Great White Egret, four Oystercatchers and three singing Chiffchaffs.

A single Egyptian Goose was seen flying fast and east over Oundle this evening.

After the rain had passed this evening Harrington Airfield was the place to be for two hunting Barn Owls, four Stonechats, a stunning male Brambling and three Ravens. The wintering flock of eight Tree Sparrows remain too.

Regards

Neil M

Cormorant.

Male Stonechat.

Images courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Female Eurasian Wigeon.

Drake Eurasian Wigeon.

Images courtesy of John Tilly.

Subtle migration

Hello

A breezy and cool couple of days and not much different on the local birding scene. Although the strong winds reduce overhead migration it doesn't stop it. Still at night it is possible to hear the calls of Redwing, Moorhen and Coot all strong, regular nocturnal migrants and in the day time perhaps Meadow Pipits, wagtails and gulls are the more obvious movers.

Migration is further evidenced by the lack of certain birds...most of the wintering Lapwings have slipped away, as have many of the Teal, Wigeon and other waterfowl. Fieldfares and Redwings are in swirling flocks around the wet fields or sub-songing unobtrusively from copse or orchard. Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests are now joining the Robins, Skylarks, Blackbirds and Mistle and Song Thrushes in the dawn chorus. Chaffinches, Reed Buntings and chats are all on the move but it is subtle and not so easily to discern - visual skills are not always sufficient and audio plays a huge part in our appreciation of what our feathery friends are up to!

Yesterday (Wednesday) and birds reported locally included five Cattle Egrets and two Great White Egrets at Stanwick Pits plus the seven Redshanks still. Clifford Hill held two Scaup, two Oystercatchers, five Goosanders, eighty plus Golden Plovers and a couple of Ravens. A pair of Goosander were on the River Tove near Shutlanger and Andrew Cook saw a Woodcock and several singing Chiffchaffs at Harlestone Heath.

Today (Thursday) and birds reported included a Great White Egret and four Oystercatchers at Summer Leys. Pitsford Reservoir continued to attract the almost resident Yellow-legged Gull (now a third calendar year bird) near the dam and a Grey Wagtail, with a Great White Egret and two Oystercatchers and a reasonable flock of Yellowhammers in the Scaldwell Bay.

For me and a couple of other volunteers, the day was spent erecting, checking and maintaining nest boxes and topping up the feeders on the Kelmarsh Estate with no birds of note found I'm afraid!

Regards

Neil M

Second calendar year
Black-headed Gull courtesy
of John Tilly.

Adult Common Gull
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Lots of spring lambs
about now!
Image courtesy of John Tilly.

Pairs of prospecting Oystercatchers
are now at most of our bigger wetland
sites...image courtesy of John Tilly.

Kestrel. My impression is that
there has been a reasonable number of
wintering birds in the county over
the last four or five months.
Image courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

The small numbers of wildfowl present meant that the WeBS count at Pitsford Reservoir today was completed by two observers in just over five hours! Eleanor walked the perimeter south of the causeway and I walked around the reserve north of the causeway in windy but mild conditions and even some weak sunshine!

Two Great White Egrets were together in the Walgrave Bay and a single seen later in the Scaldwell Bay could potentially have been a third bird. Three Little Egrets were also present in the Scaldwell Bay and Grey Herons were easy to see today as they went about their early breeding efforts. One pair has elected to build a nest in bushes between the Bird Club and James Fisher Hides.

At least two Kingfishers were in the Holcot Bay where fishing must have been difficult in the muddy, discoloured water and two Oystercatchers and twenty Snipe were between the causeway and Maytrees Hide. Migrants included a Grey Wagtail on the causeway and four Chiffchaffs.

Elsewhere and Chris Green saw a Great White Egret at East Pit on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows section of the Ditchford Pits complex.

Regards

Neil M

Great Crested Grebe. Present in just small
numbers at Pitsford today, some will remain
to breed.

Grey Heron. A dozen or so pairs
are expected to nest at Pitsford this year.

Just one drake Shoveler
was seen at Pitsford today!

All images courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Ringing at Scotland Wood.

Hello

Some pleasant spring weather today which then gave way to rain this afternoon (and overnight apparently). A ringing session at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate today provided 113 captures of eleven species made up of 73 newly-ringed birds and 40 birds with rings previously affixed.

The birds were made up of a Blackbird, two Dunnocks, two Robins, two Goldcrests, twenty-five Great Tits, fifty-three Blue Tits, five Coal Tits, a Marsh Tit, ten Long-tailed Tits, a Nuthatch and eleven Chaffinches. A Chiffchaff was present early on and a Peregrine flew low over the wood and visible migration overhead included a spattering of Meadow Pipits. Another Chiffchaff was noted at Hanging Houghton.

At Harrington Airfield this morning more visible migration saw two Grey Wagtails, more Meadow Pipits and a seasonal Sand Martin moving through. A pair of Stonechat were present and a Short-eared Owl and a Barn Owl were hunting almost together.

In the Nene Valley, Stanwick Pits hosted a fly through Barnacle Goose again, four Cattle Egrets and a Great White Egret plus seven Redshanks, six Oystercatchers, ten plus Goosanders, a Snipe and a Water Rail plus three singing Chiffchaffs. Nick Parker saw a Great White Egret at Ringstead Pits and Clifford Hill provided for two drake Scaup, two Oystercatchers, fifty plus Golden Plovers and a Peregrine.

Regards

Neil M

Long-tailed Tit. Nationally it is
thought that last year was a particularly
productive year for this species
 but my impression was that it was much
 more of an ordinary year locally.

Eurasian Wigeon. The wintering population
is fast diminishing but the remaining birds are
vocal and active and preparing for the
forthcoming breeding season.

Both images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Sunday's birds

Hello

Eric visited Thrapston Pits today and enjoyed watching three Chiffchaffs fly-catching in the morning sunshine, three Great White Egrets, a pair of Oystercatchers and a Peregrine. Steve Fisher's early morning visit to Stanwick Pits provided a Scaup on the Main Pit and six Redshanks. Nearby there was a Great White Egret, two Oystercatchers and twelve Snipe at Ditchford Pits courtesy of Chris Green.

Clifford Hill Pits still hosted the two Scaup, a Great White Egret, twelve Goosanders, two Oystercatchers, a Bar-headed Goose, a Raven and a Stonechat. Jim Dunkley tried for the Bearded Tit at Sywell CP but it couldn't be found.

Three Barn Owls and a Short-eared Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening and another Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley between Spratton and Brixworth.

Regards

Neil M

Chiffchaff.

Oystercatcher.

Great White Egret
courtesy of Jacob Spinks.

March migration.

Hello

This morning Steve Fisher saw a Barnacle Goose flying over Stanwick Pits plus a Great White Egret, five Redshanks and eight Siskins.

Sadly the Bearded Tit from yesterday wasn't seen at Sywell CP today but there was a female Stonechat, a couple of Cetti's Warblers and two Water Rails too. Three Stonechats were at Bunker Three at Harrington Airfield this morning and a pair of Grey Partridge were present too.

Thrapston Pits produced a Curlew, two Great White Egrets, a Redshank and two Oystercatchers and further along the valley at Clifford Hill, Mark Williams saw two drake Scaup, a Great White Egret and twelve Goosanders; a Snipe and an Oystercatcher were noted at Summerleys.

Birds at Deene Lake today included a pair of Egyptian Geese, two Snipe and three Green Sandpipers. There were three groups of boxing Hares at nearby Blatherwycke Lake.

Hollowell Reservoir hosted a Great White Egret today plus four Snipe and a Chiffchaff was along the Brampton Valley Way below Brixworth this afternoon.

Pitsford Reservoir remains very full of water and the only birds of specific interest were two Great White Egrets in trees in the Scaldwell Bay and two Yellow-legged Gulls in the gull roost at the other end of the reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Stonechat courtesy
of Robin Gossage. Good numbers
are currently moving through
 the county.

Reed Bunting courtesy of
Robin Gossage. Also plenty
on the move at the moment...

Brown Hare courtesy of
Robin. And this is one of the
times of the year to see these
fabulous animals active in the
fields of Northamptonshire.

Bearded Tit and other birds!

Hello

A visit to Pitsford Reservoir this morning provided two Great White Egrets and a pair of Oystercatchers in the Scaldwell Bay. Nearby there were two Grey Wagtails at Brixworth Water Treatment Works with another at Hanging Houghton.

A cracking male Bearded Tit was found at Sywell Country Park this afternoon, showing intermittently in reeds and a recently managed area in the bay nearest to the Sywell to Mears Ashby road. Subsequent would-be observers couldn't find it but it's likely to still be present. Other birds on-site included two Cetti's Warblers, a Water Rail, two Grey Wagtails and a handful of Siskins.

Two Barn Owls were again hunting\in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon and sadly another was found dead today at Harrington Airfield where there was also a female Stonechat.

Stanwick Pits attracted two Great White Egrets, three Redshanks, eight Snipe and eight Goosanders and Rushton Landfill was the venue for an adult Iceland Gull today plus a Caspian Gull. A pair of Stonechat were at Old Quarry track at Hartwell and Borough Hill Country Park (Daventry) continued to host two Short-eared Owls and six Stonechats. Birds seen at Summer Leys Nature Reserve today included a Shelduck and thirty Snipe.

Regards

Neil M

More Barn Owl images
from John Tilly.

Cool Thursday

Hello

Eleanor's foray in to the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning yielded the two hunting Barn Owls again, and they were still at it this evening too. It seems likely that they are struggling to find anything to eat and perhaps explains the reason why so many people are reporting day-flying Barn Owls in the county currently.

A quick hour in a cool breeze at Harrington Airfield this morning produced another hunting Barn Owl there at 10.20am and a Woodcock was seen too.

Eric spent some time at Thrapston Pits this afternoon and was rewarded with great views of a Marsh Harrier, two Great White Egrets and a female Stonechat. Tony Vials saw a female Scaup at Ditchford Pits today, the bird being seen on Dragonfly Lake.

Regards

Neil M

Cormorants. The breeding season
is already underway for this species!
Images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Birds of early March

Hello

This morning a Great White Egret was in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir and a Water Rail was underneath the bushes at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station.

At least three Ravens were at Hanging Houghton today and this morning there was a pair of Stonechat and two Barn Owls in the Brampton Valley below the village. A Short-eared Owl was flushed from a small rough area in The Hill field at Blueberry Farm.

Two Peregrines were again at the Parish Church in Kettering town but for the second day running there was no sign of the Black-bellied Dipper at Sywell Country Park...

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl courtesy of
John Tilly.

Ringing Recoveries and the Dipper!

Hello

A collection of ringing recoveries have been amassed recently and kindly filtered out by the Northants Ringing Group Secretary Nick Wood...

1. A first year Chiffchaff was caught and ringed at Linford Lakes on 18th August 2019 and was then caught again by French ringers on 12th October 2019 at Chenal, Chenec-Saint Seurin-d'Uzet, Charente-Maritime. This young bird in the meantime had moved 741km in a southerly direction during a period of 55 days;

2. A drake Mallard was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 11th November 2018 and was subsequently shot on or about 27th January this year near Thrapston, only 24km away and about 442 days later;

3. Another drake Mallard was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 25th September 2019 and shot near West Haddon on or about 15th January this year, some 112 days later and 16 km to the west from Pitsford;

4. A Great Tit was ringed as a nestling in a nest box at Pitsford Reservoir on 25th May 2017 and was reportedly taken by a cat in the village of Brixworth on or about 22nd February 2020. This is only about five kilometres from it's natal site and it lasted just over a 1000 days;

5. A first year Blue Tit was ringed at Woodford Halse Nature Reserve on 25th October 2015 and found freshly dead there on 26th February 2020, some 1585 days later and a decent age for this generally short-lived species;

6. A first year male Blue Tit was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 27th March 2019 and re-caught by ringers operating at Rosedan, Bagilt, Flintshire, North Wales on 14th February 2020. This bird had made it's way 186km in a north westerly direction, 324 days having elapsed between the two processes;

7. A first year Goldfinch was caught and ringed at Harrington Airfield on 20th October 2019 and caught and processed by French ringers operating at Bournonville, Pas-de-Calais on 3rd December 2019, only 44 days later with the bird moving 267km in a south easterly direction.

Barn Owls seem to be particularly noticeable at the moment and Eleanor saw two hunting the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton again this morning...

I'm fresh in from a seven week stint of wildlife watching in Cambodia, SE Asia - time for a rest before my next tours in south Poland looking for exciting mammals and birds of the forests!

Regards

Neil M 

Great images of the Black-bellied
Dipper at Sywell Country Park as
taken by Dave Jackson yesterday.

At last ..........A GREAT BIRD !!!

Well after seemingly weeks of very little "new" bird news that all changed yesterday when a Black Bellied Dipper was found by one of the Countryside Rangers at Sywell CP.  A bird which has been a long time coming for most of us as it has been about 24 years since the last record, and one that I had always hoped that I might find.  
I believe that it was quite elusive at times yesterday remaining hidden in the undergrowth hanging over the stream leading out of the Country Park
When the news broke yesterday I was competing at an agility competition in Warwickshire and my heart sank. For once I didn't mind Tor and Jaeger getting eliminated as it meant I didn't have to hang around for the results so I was soon heading back over the border into Northants and was very relieved to have the bird safely on my "county list".

This morning I headed back over to Sywell CP as I wanted a better view of the bird. I expected to find birders everywhere but there were only two !!!   We soon located the Black Bellied Dipper perched on the wall of the overflow.  As we watched it dropped down into the overflow to feed and then would pop up on the wall again with a tasty morsel.  It then flew further towards the dam and was bobbing about and feeding in the cascading water. It was very obliging.
More birders arrived as did the general public as Sywell CP is a very popular place at the weekends. Later in the day I think there must have been a heart stopping moment when it was attacked by a Sparrowhawk and wasn't seen for a while.  Much to everyone's relief it was found sheltering in a pipe and was quite difficult to see. Fingers crossed that it hasn't been injured or that the Sparrowhawk doesn't have another attempt.

After I had enjoyed watching the bird and spent time catching up with some "old" familiar faces who had dusted off their binoculars and met some new people it was time to walk my two young collies Jaeger and Rouzel around the reservoir.  The regular birds were evident, a Cettis Warbler, Water Rail and a scattering of Siskins.  Two Grey Wagtails were showing well in the car park and providing some entertainment by dancing about on the parked cars as they searched for food.

When I got home I took the hound Tor out for a run. My route took me along the Brampton Valley Way and past a rough field below Brixworth. Hunting over this field was a Short Eared Owl and as I neared home a Barn Owl was hunting below Hanging Houghton [11am].
This afternoon there was a Barn Owl hunting near the village of Old.
Late in the afternoon whilst feeding the birds in front of the barn below Hanging Houghton I heard the distinctive "trill" of Waxwing. The trill appeared to be coming from behind the barn and when I went to investigate there were 10 Waxwings perched on top of the trees, but they flew when they saw me approaching.
Two Barn Owls started hunting between the barn and the large manure heap. I continued walking around the fields as as the light was disappearing a Short Eared Owl joined in the hunting foray. I suspect that it was the same bird which I had seen earlier in the day 

Wow, what a weekend !!!

Regards Eleanor

Northants Bird Club AGM and Indoor Presentation.

Hello

The Northants Bird Club will be holding it's Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 4th March at the usual venue of the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir, commencing at 7.30pm. Club Chairman Bob Gill will run through a brief summary of the year and committee members will be present to answer questions. All members should receive a record of accounts by email beforehand.

Following the AGM which tends to be a brief affair, the main event of the evening is a presentation by club member Jeff Blincow depicting images of mammals and some gaudy birds following his adventures in South America. Jeff's in-depth knowledge of his subject, personal style and excellent images ensures he is a popular speaker at the club and elsewhere.

Hot drinks and biscuits will be available during the evening and we look forward to seeing you there!

Neil M