Nest Box checks.

Hello

The cool air temperatures continue but there were some pleasant sunny periods today.

Birds on view at Summer Leys LNR today included a Bittern, two Egyptian Geese, the Glossy Ibis, two Avocets, two Hobbies, a Whimbrel, a Common Sandpiper and a Cuckoo.

A drake Garganey was again on the main pit at Stanwick Pits this morning and birds attracted to the main barrage lake at Clifford Hill Pits included three Dunlin, two Redshanks and a Raven. A Cuckoo was at Stortons Pits.

Single Spotted Flycatchers were noted in Market Harborough town centre and at Lamport Grange, Hanging Houghton.

A long day of checking nest boxes at Pitsford Reservoir revealed two pairs of Tawny Owls with chicks and a female Mandarin Duck on eggs, the latter a new breeding species for the site. Other birds noted north of the causeway were an adult female Peregrine, two Great White Egrets and a Raven.

Regards

Neil M

Carrion Crow.

Tawny Owl chicks.

A Stock Dove squab.

Adult Tawny Owl.

A Jackdaw nestling.

All images courtesy of
Jane Neill after a long
day checking nest boxes
and ringing at Pitsford
Reservoir today.

Cool month of May

Hello

It may be the month of May but with overnight temperatures as low as one degree Centigrade, it's already a much cooler month than sunny April!

Most of the spring migration has now concluded and we await any vagrant overshoots, and monitor the breeding birds within the county.

The Glossy Ibis, three Avocets, a Whimbrel, a Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper were at Summer Leys LNR today and other Nene Valley goodies included a Garganey on the main lake at Stanwick Pits and with another one reported at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve, Ditchford Pits. The latter site also hosted a Cuckoo, a Little Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper.

A singing Nightingale was at Thrapston Pits today near to the iron bridge spanning the River Nene and two more songsters were still at Stortons Pits. A Cuckoo was at Bucknell Wood.

A ringing demonstration by members of the Northants Ringing Group at Milton Keynes at the week-end provided some birds in the hand to explain the purposes of ringing, the techniques used and the data obtained. Thirty-five birds processed included a Magpie, a Lesser Whitethroat, three Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler and six Greenfinches.

I have just returned from a couple of tours in the Camargue, South France and in due course there will be some images on pages/tabs entitled 'Camargue in Spring'.

Regards

Neil M

Magpie.

Lesser Whitethroat.

Ringing Demonstration interaction.

Above images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

Its baby bird season!
 Nestling Blue Tits courtesy
 of Lewis Aaron.

Weekend Round Up

The weekend round up will not take very long as very few birds reported.  I have been out of the county all weekend at an agility competition where both Jaeger and Rouzel were successful in the placings.

The majority of sightings were as expected from the Nene Valley.  Starting at Stanwick GP with 2 Hobby, drake Garganey and 2 Cattle Egrets.  A Bittern was seen at Titchmarsh LNR and another Bittern at Summer Leys plus Glossy Ibis, Ringed Plovers,  Avocets, Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper . Nearby at Earls Barton new workings Osprey, 2 Hobby, Avocets,  Ringed Plovers and Common Sandpiper.  There were 2 Turnstone at Clifford Hill this morning and yesterday there were 1 or 2 Nightingales at Stortons Gp.                                                                                       Other birds around the county include Osprey and 2 Common Sandpipers at Pitsford Reservoir, a Grasshopper Warbler at Whiston locks and a Whimbrel on floodwater near Braunston. 

Hopefully the coming week will bring a few more birds, fingers crossed. 

Regards Eleanor 

Nightingale at Stortons Pits.

Male House Sparrow.

Images courtesy of Tony Stanford.

It's been a funny Friday!!

Despite being a very bitty day for me today it can be summed up with Fox cubs, Painted Ladies, Spotted Flycatchers and Northern Wheatears.    My early morning walk produced little of note,  just the resident birds and birds that I expect to find around the fields.    After my first round of errands/appointments I took Tor and Rouzel for a short walk over to Lamport Hall and this was far more productive,  a Spotted Flycatcher in Hanging Houghton and another near Lamport Hall.  The field margins are currently attracting good numbers of Painted Lady butterflies.  Yesterday I counted a minimum of 15 and there was a similar number today.                                                          After my second round of errands/jobs I grabbed Jaeger and Tystie and headed towards Blueberry area. More Painted Ladies. I counted at least 10. It was quiet for birds but I had an unexpected encounter with a family of foxes.  As I was walking along I saw what I thought was a  couple of small dogs ahead of me but when I looked through my binoculars I realised that they were fox cubs. Initially I  watched from a distance but slowly edged closer . I managed to tuck myself into the hedge and waited. Soon the vixen came out into the open followed by her cubs. It was quite a magical experience watching them explore and play without a care in the world. I  was incredibly close to them and they were unaware that I was sharing in their moment.  Both dogs were oblivious to what was going on.  Jaeger was having a siesta,  I would like to think that he was recharging himself ready for the busy competing weekend ahead. Whilst Tystie was completely focused on his tennis ball which was at his feet.               Finally my final walk this evening produced two male Northern Wheatears in a field between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke.  I wasn't really expecting to see anything as the fields are incredibly dry and not as attractive as they were a few weeks ago.   So it has been a funny old day. 

It has been quiet in the county.  The drake Ring Necked Duck was at Stanford Reservoir again yesterday.  Two Bitterns, 3 Hobby and 1 or 2 Nightingales were at Thrapston GP yesterday and the same waders are dotted along the Nene Valley .

Have a good weekend 

Regards Eleanor 

Painted Lady butterfly.

Wheatear courtesy
of Neil Hasdell.

Red Fox courtesy
of the late David Arden.

Spotted Flycatcher courtesy
of Beth Clyne.

Who turned the heat down??

It was noticeably cooler today with a return to northerly winds so I had to dig out my fleeces, gloves and several layers.   So on this coldest day of the week a small group of us from the Northamptonshire Bird Club met at Eyebrook Wild Bird Feeds, Great Easton near to Eyebrook Reservoir for a walk around the farm/area. Unfortunately due to the weather we saw very few birds apart from good views of Swifts, Yellowhammers and Red Kites.  But we had a very informative visit and learnt about how the crops and livestock are managed and that by changing some of the land management practices this has significantly improved things for birds and wildlife. The farm also produces good quality wild bird food and we had the opportunity of a closer look at this.

I actually cannot think of a single bird of note that I have seen over the last couple of days. Visits to Harrington Airfield,  the Blueberry area and Pitsford Reservoir haven't produced anything of interest.  Just birds that I would expect to see at these sites.  In fact the county seems to be quiet.                 The drake Ring-necked Duck was at Stanford Reservoir yesterday but wasn't seen today.  The Nene Valley is still attracting waders albeit in smaller numbers. Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpiper and Dunlin were at Titchmarsh LNR and Summer Leys, plus Avocets at Summer Leys. Wood Sandpiper,  Greenshank, Dunlin and Avocets were seen at the New Workings Earls Barton GP and at Clifford Hill GP, Whimbrel, Common Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plovers.                                                               Yesterday there was a Goldeneye at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and Spotted Flycatchers near Oundle and Salcey Forest.                                                                                                  A couple of days ago a Marsh Harrier with a yellow wing tag (DP) was seen at Summer Leys. This bird had been seen and photographed a few weeks earlier at Summer Leys. She was ringed as a nestling last year at a site in Norfolk and appears to be having a tour around as on 29th April she was seen in Cheshire before heading back to Summer Leys. 

Regards Eleanor 

Sedge Warbler.

Whimbrel.

Great Crested Grebe with a crayfish.

Images courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

A New Week

The new week appears to have started where the old one ended with plenty of waders around plus the appearance of a White Stork circling over town lake at Thrapston GP this afternoon before drifting off south west. I wonder whether it is the same bird that has been present at Rutland Water. 

As expected the Nene Valley is the stronghold for the waders with Avocet, Grey Plover,  Whimbrel,  Ringed Plovers,  Sanderling and Dunlin at Clifford Hill GP.                  The New Workings at Earls Barton GP remains attractive to good numbers of Wood Sandpipers,  Greenshanks,  Ringed Plovers and Dunlins whilst at nearby Summer Leys,  Avocets,  Bar-tailed Godwit,  Ringed Plovers, Dunlin plus Mediterranean Gulls and Glossy Ibis.                                           Other birds around include drake Ring-necked Duck,  Kittiwake,  Arctic Tern and Dunlin at Stanford Reservoir,  Arctic Terns at Stanwick GP and a Whinchat, Ringed Plovers,  Greenshank and Dunlin at Lilbourne Meadows.  Obviously there seems to have been a bit of a movement of Dunlin into the county. 

I have seen very little.  Yesterday I was competing again,  this time with more success as Jaeger picked up a 1st and 3rd place whereas Rouzel seems to think that "E" stands for excellence rather than elimination!!    Visits to Harrington Airfield,  Blueberry area and Pitsford Reservoir have produced very little in the way of birds but good numbers of Painted Lady butterflies which are always nice to see although they can easily be overlooked as the ones I am seeing are not very bright.   

Kenny Cramer and his team undertook a ringing session at Linford Reserve (Milton Keynes). However the abrupt change in weather conditions to much lower temperatures impacted the number of birds. In total 43 birds were processed,  25 of which were newly ringed and there were 16 species present. Warblers dominated,  6 Garden Warblers,  5 Whitethroats,  3 Blackcaps, 2 Sedge Warblers,  2 Reed Warblers,  2 Chiffchaffs, 3 Lesser Whitethroats and a Cetti's Warbler.    Three Great Spotted Woodpeckers hit the net, one of which was a retrap of a bird originally ringed as a juvenile in 2022.    The star of the session was a male Grey Wagtail which was only the 4th to be ringed at Linford following one in 2016 and two in 2024.

Regards Eleanor 

Grey Wagtail.

Jackdaw.

Lesser Whitethroat.

Juvenile Blackbird.

Images courtesy of
Jane Neill.

Plenty of Waders

There have certainly been a good variety and numbers of waders around over the last couple of days. At one point there was an incredible 10 Wood Sandpipers at the New Workings Earls Barton GP but today only one bird remained. Other birds at this site include 5 Greenshank, Whimbrel and Osprey.                Just a short distance from here Summer Leys had an amazing day yesterday.  Whimbrel,  Avocets,  Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper,  Wood Sandpiper,  Glossy Ibis, Black Tern,  Little and Mediterranean Gull and a short distance in the other direction at Clifford Hill GP, 10 Oystercatchers, 6 Common Sandpipers , 4 Little Ringed Plovers, 3 Whimbrel and a Green Sandpiper. Today at this site a Curlew and a Blue-headed Wagtail.   

                                                                             Other birds around yesterday included a Spotted Flycatcher in a garden at Hollowell and 7 Common Sandpipers at the Reservoir,  a Black Tern at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and 4 Cattle Egrets at Wappenham.  Today there were 2 singing Nightingales at Stortons GP,  6 Cattle Egrets at Stanwick GP and Greenshank,  Redshank and Little Ringed Plovers at Lilbourne Meadows. 

Yesterday my early morning walk produced a Whinchat and Cuckoo below Hanging Houghton and my afternoon walk a Grasshopper Warbler at Harrington Airfield. 

Today I was at Peterborough for most of the day at an agility competition.  Rouzel enjoyed herself making her own courses up!!! Whereas Jaeger just had one of those days of near misses but he was amazing to run. On my way home I stopped off at Titchmarsh LNR.  I could hear a Bittern booming whilst I was getting myself sorted out in the car park and it continued to boom intermittently throughout the duration of my visit. There were plenty of birds to look at,  Hobby,  2 Cuckoos, one of which was making its "bubbling call" whilst the other bird was calling from the other side of the pit, several Cetti's and Sedge Warblers and a lovely drake Garganey which I nearly missed.  It was a toss up whether to go back to the car and head home or just walk a little bit further. Luckily I opted to walk a bit further and check the view from north  hide.

Regards Eleanor 

Drake Garganey courtesy of
Dave Jackson.

Cuckoo courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Kestrel courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Common and Wood Sandpipers

Hello

Windy and sunny again and Summer Leys LNR seems to be hogging most of the birds today with the Glossy Ibis, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Bar-tailed Godwit, up to four Wood Sandpipers (an excellent spring for them), two Avocets, a Ringed Plover, a Curlew, a Whimbrel, a Ruff, a Common Sandpiper, one or two Mediterranean Gull(s), a Black Tern and two Grey Partridges. The Glossy Ibis subsequently visited Hardwater Lake.

Early afternoon at the New Workings section of Earls Barton Pits/Whiston Wetlands yielded four Wood Sandpipers, a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Whimbrel, two Greenshanks, two Ruff and a Sanderling.

Stanwick Pits provided a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Whimbrel and a Greenshank with two Greenshanks on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits.

A female Yellow Wagtail at Clifford Hill Pits yesterday evening had a dull blue head and full supercillia resembling a Blue-headed race or similar. Today birds on-site included a Wood Sandpiper, three Whimbrel, a Greenshank, three Common Sandpipers, two Oystercatchers and four Little Ringed Plovers.

Two singing Nightingales remain at Stortons Pits and adjacent scrub at Sixfields Lakes, Northampton, and a Cuckoo is mobile in the same area.

Eight Common Sandpipers at Hollowell Reservoir were mirrored by eight more at Ravensthorpe Reservoir!

Five Wheatears and two pairs of Grey Partridge were located at Harrington Airfield this morning, an Oystercatcher and a Common Sandpiper were north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir and three Tree Sparrows remain at Rectory Farm, Old where we hope they will produce some youngsters.

Regards

Neil M

Sanderling.

Sheep of all sorts dominate
the fields at the Lilbourne Water
Meadows reserve. The lambing
season may have finished there but
it's just starting on some farms!

The fourteen or so Roe Deer
present on the Lilbourne Water
Meadow reserve do a good job
of keeping the bushes in check and grasses
to a reasonable length. With the M1
motorway on one side and the A5 
and DIRFT complex on the other
sides they are pretty much hemmed
in, unless they wander west into rural
Warwickshire.

Clifford Hill Wood Warbler

Hello

More wind today but plenty of sunshine too!

Bird of the day was another Tyler Atkinson find, this time of a singing Wood Warbler at the Nene Barrage of Clifford Hill Pits in the unlikely spot of some trees north of the River Nene. Vigour and young eyes is something I can barely remember now!

Other birds on-site included three Arctic Terns and four Greenshanks that flew east, a Black Tern, three Whimbrel and two Cattle Egrets that flew over heading north.

Stanwick Pits attracted a near-adult Little Gull, a Cattle Egret and two Greenshanks.

Summer Leys LNR provided views of the Glossy Ibis again, a Black Tern, an Arctic Tern, a Wood Sandpiper, two Whimbrel, two Avocets, a Grey Plover, a Common Sandpiper, two Redshanks, a Ringed Plover and two Little Ringed Plovers.

A Black Tern was noted at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and at Stanford Reservoir there were two Hobbies, a Cuckoo, a Great White Egret, a Shelduck, two Common Sandpipers, a Grasshopper Warbler and a Cetti's Warbler.

A Cuckoo was at Woodford Halse and Lilbourne Water Meadows was the venue for an Egyptian Goose, about thirteen Little Ringed Plovers, a Redshank, two Oystercatchers, a Golden Plover and a Common Sandpiper. A Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Garden Warbler courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Today's Wood Warbler courtesy
of Tyler Atkinson.

Nene Valley migration

Hello

The rain from yesterday evening and with a little this morning was very welcome as the ground has been so dry. Sadly though the strong wind has probably dried the topsoil out again but at least the thrushes, Rooks etc had something of a reprieve in their daily search for invertebrates.

The Nene Valley in Northamptonshire always dominates local migration birding in the spring and today was no exception. The strong winds and light rain ensured that some of the migrants passing through the county either came down or were seen flying over.

The Earls Barton Pits complex was at the centre of attention and the New Workings/Whiston Wetlands provided some excellent totals of six Wood Sandpipers, five Greenshanks, two Dunlin and five Bar-tailed Godwits plus two Grey Partridges. The Summer Leys LNR attracted a Black Tern, at least one Arctic Tern, a pair of adult Mediterranean Gulls, a Turnstone, a Ringed Plover, a Whimbrel, a Black-tailed Godwit and two Common Sandpipers.

Stanwick Pits was also in on the action with a Little Gull, an Arctic Tern, a Ruff, two Wood Sandpipers, two Greenshanks, a Ruff and a Greenland-type Wheatear.

Birds on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits included five or six Arctic Terns, fifteen Swifts, four Common Sandpipers, two Greenshanks and over a hundred Swallows.

Clifford Hill Pits was the venue for a fly-through flock of nine Bar-tailed Godwits with a single Whimbrel in with them. Birds on the shoreline included five Greenshanks, a Dunlin, two Whimbrel and  a Cattle Egret.

Three Common Sandpipers were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and two Arctic Terns and two Swifts were at Pitsford Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Sedge Warbler.

Lesser Whitethroat.

Reed Warbler.

Warblers from Stortons Pits
yesterday courtesy of Chris Payne.

Woodpigeon courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Summer passerines to the fore

Hello

Another ringing session took place today, this time at Stortons Pits where some fifty-one birds were caught and processed, again with warblers at the forefront - seven Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, five Sedge Warblers, twelve Blackcaps, five Reed Warblers and two Cetti's Warblers. One of the Reed Warblers was ringed as an adult at the same site back in 2019 by John Woollett. Other birds included two Song Thrushes, a Blackbird and a couple of Reed Buntings.

Two Nightingales were on the edge of the reserve, one showing well at times, and other birds included a Bittern and a Cuckoo.

Two Grasshopper Warblers were located at Stanford Reservoir today where also two Common Sandpipers, a Water Rail and a rufous morph female Cuckoo.

At Pitsford Reservoir today there was a Great White Egret and a third year Yellow-legged Gull north of the causeway and three Tree Sparrows remain at Rectory Farm near Old village. At least three hundred Stock Doves remain on the top fields at Harrington Airfield.

An early Spotted Flycatcher was at Braunston today and at Summer Leys LNR the Glossy Ibis was present, a first year Little Gull stayed awhile and a Ruff was seen with a Whimbrel nearby in a field next to the old railway line. The New Workings section/Whiston Wetlands provided a cracking record of three Wood Sandpipers this evening. 

A Hobby was seen at the Titchmarsh reserve, Thrapston Pits, a Peregine was noted over Far Cotton, Northampton and a Greenshank was on pools in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth.

Clifford Hill Pits attracted three Whimbrel, two Common Sandpipers, a Wood Sandpiper, an Oystercatcher, a Cuckoo and a Wheatear.

Single Cuckoos were recorded from Delta Pit at Ditchford Pits and Hazelborough Forest.

Regards

Neil M

Male Yellowhammer.

Female Green Woodpecker.

Above images from Harrington Airfield
yesterday courtesy of Dr Sean Gower.

Nightingale today at Stortons
Pits courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Weekend Bird Ringing

Hello

A bird ringing session this morning at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes provided the numbers and the quality with two Ring-necked Parakeets, a Jackdaw, a Cuckoo first ringed in 2022, a Mute Swan and a good number of warblers made up of eight Garden Warblers, five Blackcaps, four Common Whitethroats, three Chiffchaffs, seven Sedge Warblers and four Reed Warblers. Other birds were a Woodpigeon, two Song Thrushes, two Goldfinches and sixteen Greenfinches.

A more modest set-up at Harrington Airfield provided forty-three birds with ten Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler, three Blackcaps, three Chiffchaffs, five Common Whitethroats and a Lesser Whitethroat. A female Green Woodpecker was a bonus bird and five Linnets and eight Yellowhammers were admired.

Birds noted at Harrington Airfield were much the same as yesterday with about three hundred Stock Doves, a Raven, a Redpoll and at least one pair of Grey Partridges.

A Grasshopper Warbler was visual at Becks Meadow, off the Bedford Road, Northampton, a singing Nightingale was at Stortons Pits/Duston Mill, a Curlew lingered at Hollowell Reservoir, and an Osprey was seen over Great Oxendon.

Two Avocets were at Summer Leys LNR early this morning and the Glossy Ibis was there this evening, with a Marsh Harrier at Earls Barton New Workings/Whiston Wetlands.

A Great White Egret was at Stanford Reservoir today where also two Common Sandpipers, two Oystercatchers and two Cuckoos

Breeding Tree Sparrows were found near Sibbertoft today and a Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Warbler.

Ring-necked Parakeet.

Cuckoo.

Jackdaw.

Common Whitethroat.

Garden Warbler.

All above images courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Grasshopper Warbler at Becks Meadow
today courtesy of Tyler Atkinson.