Pitsford Reservoir CBC

Hello

A Common Bird Census was completed at Pitsford Reservoir this morning, as usual it's an early start and even more so today because of the heatwave!

A distantly calling Quail was north of the very back of the Scaldwell Bay, probably in fields closer to Scaldwell village itself. Other birds of note were rather minimal but the best were a Raven, a Siskin, a Green Sandpiper, a Little Ringed Plover, four drake Pochard and a Spotted Flycatcher. A couple of Marsh Tits and at least three Kingfishers were also on the reserve.

Odonata included a Lesser Emperor in the Holcot Bay as seen from Goosander Hide, Beautiful Demoiselle and a late Hairy Hawker at Christies Copse Ponds. Fourteen species of butterfly included a very strong contingent of Marbled Whites and a single Purple Hairstreak.

A Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and a Garganey was on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR this afternoon.

An overnight ringing session at Linford Lakes just outside the county at Milton Keynes secured four Quail with a fifth bouncing out of the net! A Little Owl was heard calling near Mawsley in the early hours, a bird that no longer can be called common.

Regards

Neil M

Quail!

Image courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

Tufted Duck.

Great Crested Grebe.

Insects of the heat

Hello

Up to 35C degrees locally which makes it a little uncomfortable to be out for much of the day.

In this heat the insects are in their element and a hundred Marbled Whites and a Purple Emperor at Lamport Hall is evidence of this.

A visit to Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon provided a fishing Osprey north of the causeway plus a Marsh Harrier, an Oystercatcher, a Redshank, a Green Sandpiper and a Great White Egret, one of a couple which are summering at this site for the first time. Marbled Whites were everywhere in the Scaldwell Meadow plus Small Heath, Small Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown.

Three Little Ringed Plovers were at Stanford Reservoir today where also a Common Sandpiper and three Pochard.

Further butterflies were a Clouded Yellow at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and at least two more near shrike hedge in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Marbled Whites were numerous in these areas too and a Barn Owl was hunting here early this morning.

A Purple Emperor was also on view at the more traditional site of Fermyn Wood today.

A Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawker was again at Stortons Pits today on the west side.

Regards

Neil M

Green-eyed Hawker at Stortons Pits today.

Southern Marsh Orchid.

Large Red-eyed Damselflies.

Above images courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Juvenile Common Whitethroat
courtesy of Tyler Atkinson.

Aphideater sp courtesy of
John Tilly.

More heat to come

Hello

Some warm weather with rain this evening seemingly precedes a couple of days of intense heat with a weather system pushing up from France. It may displace continental birds but will more likely make a difference to immigrant moths, butterflies and odonata in the county.

A calling Quail was audible from the summit of Blueberry Hill near Maidwell this morning and two Garganey were on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR this evening.

Four Ring-necked Parakeets were at Billing Leys, Northampton this morning - an area between Little and Great Billing.

Plenty of butterflies reported today with two Clouded Yellows in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and Purple Emperor, Silver-washed Fritillary and Purple Hairstreak amongst others at Fermyn Woods. Marbled Whites seem to be extending their range yet again and White Admirals are out at Salcey Forest. Twenty Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawkers at Wicksteed Park, Kettering is impressive for a recent colonist dragonfly.

I'm just back from my last Naturetrek tour of the spring which was to Norway with visits to the Lofoten and Vesteralen Islands - a page/tab has been opened for images entitled 'Norway - Lofoten and Vesteralen Islands June 2026.'

Regards

Neil M

Garganey courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Grass Snake.

Bee Orchid.

Common Whitethroats.

Above three images courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

The Longest Day

Today is the longest day, the Summer Solstice and the start of the astronomical summer across the northern hemisphere.  It has certainly been a rather warm day. I was up and about rather early this morning but not as early as the Skylarks who were already in full song and no doubt they will still be singing for a few more hours yet.                   It has been another quiet weekend.  A Quail was heard flying over Kettering on 'noc mig' at 01.10hrs and another was heard singing from a field west of Little Houghton.  A Mediterranean and Little Gull visited Summer Leys, an adult and 6 juvenile Cattle Egrets were at their breeding site, a Grasshopper Warbler at Stanford Reservoir and 2 Spotted Flycatchers were at Maidwell Churchyard .

A successful ringing session (Kenny Cramer) at Linford Reserve in better weather produced 135 birds of 25 species and 97 were newly ringed.  Plenty of warblers including 7 Blackcaps, 6 Garden Warblers, 12 Chiffchaffs, 3 Whitethroats and 2 Cetti's.  Finches were out in force with 19 Goldfinches and 9 Greenfinches.  The more uncommon birds processed included 2 Magpies, a Ring-necked Parakeet, a Woodpigeon and a recently fledged Grey Wagtail which was only the 5th to be ringed at this site. Another relative rarity to hit the net was a young Carrion Crow . Star bird was awarded to a drake Mallard which was moulting into his eclipse plumage. This was the first Mallard to be ringed at Linford since 2015 !!!

The coming week is predicted to be extremely hot. Please remember to put some fresh water out for the birds and wildlife which may struggle, and of course please take care of yourselves too.

Regards Eleanor 

Grey Wagtail, drake Mallard,  Reed Bunting and Carrion Crow.    Kenny Cramer 

Another week draws to a close.

It's Friday already, where did that week go to ? !!! The weekend and the longest day are just around the corner and a potential heatwave is on the horizon.                               Apart from an explosion of more young birds it has been a very quiet week in the county. Ospreys were seen at Stanford,  Pitsford and Hollowell Reservoirs,  Bittern at Titchmarsh LNR and Summer Leys,  Curlew at Clifford Hill GP,  drake Red Crested Pochard at Ecton SF and Whimbrel and Green Sandpiper at Daventry CP. 

I have been out and about during the week and my highlights were a female Roe Deer with her two fawns/kids who were mooching about with not a care in the world.  It really was a beautiful sight. I have been lucky to come across fox cubs playing and badger cubs out foraging.             I have enjoyed watching the many variety of butterflies which are now out on the wing. The Marbled White is one of my favourites and it is lovely to see how much their range has expanded over the years.  I  can remember the time when they were confined to a few specific areas in the county and I used to visit a railway cutting near the Bringtons to see them,  but now they really are everywhere including Wellingborough Town centre.  There were quite a few out at Harrington Airfield this afternoon along with a large number of Painted Ladies and a single Clouded Yellow.                                                                                                 I have been watching a couple of Barn Owls hunting. This morning I was surprised to see one of them out hunting at 08.00hrs. I watched it for nearly an hour but during this time it failed to catch anything.  On a couple of occasions it was harassed by a Lesser Black Backed Gull so took shelter in a tree until the gull disappeared.  It was quite noticeable just how far the owl was now flying in it's quest for food.  A couple of weeks ago both these Owls were finding food very easily and only travelling a short distance.  I had already noticed that their hunting pattern has changed which may indicate that their plentiful food supply has dried up which is not good news for their growing youngsters. 

A ringing session at Linford Reserve (Kenny Cramer) in challenging weather conditions produced 137 birds of 19 species, 111 of which were newly ringed and mostly newly fledged juveniles. The most numerous species was Greenfinch, 26 birds processed and then 24 Goldfinches. Other numerous species included 21 Blackcaps, 18 Blue Tits,  13 Robins and 6 Great Tits and Chiffchaffs.   An amazing 4 Cuckoo's were processed,  3 of which were new which brings this year's total to a record equalling 12.

Have a good weekend wherever and whatever you do. 

Regards Eleanor 

                                                      Pictures from Kenny Cramer 

                                              Rouzel pretending that I can't see her  !!

Weekend Round Up

Another quiet weekend in the county which isn't surprising as we are right in the middle of the breeding season. On Saturday there was a Quail calling from a crop field just west of Wadenhoe Road at Aldwincle and two Ospreys at Pitsford Reservoir.  Yesterday there was a Siskin at Wicksteed Park,  Bittern at Titchmarsh LNR, three Cuckoos at Stortons GP and a Grasshopper Warbler and Black Tern at Stanford Reservoir. 

I have seen very little myself as out of county at an agility competition. My birding was limited to early morning and late evening where I bumped into a Barn Owl out hunting. Today I had a vet visit at Market Harborough and afterwards took Tystie for a walk through the town.  As we walked alongside the river he suddenly stopped and stared intently at the bank. I couldn't see anything but then an Otter made a brief appearance.  A bit further on was a Little Egret fishing in full view and totally unphased by the people walking past. When we reached the town centre itself I remembered to check for the Peregrines.       Later this afternoon I went to Harrington Airfield,  no birds of note, but large numbers of Painted Ladies and at least six Marbled White butterflies. 

A ringing session at Stortons GP over the weekend produced 53 birds of 14 species. There were 37 new birds and 16 re-traps. Birds processed included Chiffchaff,  Blackcap, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Common and Lesser Whitethroat. 

Regards Eleanor 

Otter.

Speckled Wood butterfly.

Magpie courtesy of
John Tilly.

Marbled White Butterfly.

After the rain

Hello

Very much a wash-out with constant rain yesterday and it started dull today but the warm weather hit this afternoon and looks likely to stay for the week-end.

Nothing much reported yesterday (11th) but three Oystercatchers were at Stanford Reservoir where also two Cuckoos and a Cetti's Warbler. Up to four adult Barn Owls were located on the Cottesbrooke estate also yesterday.

Today (12th) and an early morning venture to Lilbourne Meadows reserve didn't provide much in very dull and breezy conditions but three Little Ringed Plovers were present. The pair of Oystercatchers and summering Lapwings have all given up trying to raise any chicks (no young successfully raised this year).

At Titchmarsh reserve, Thrapston Pits a Bittern was booming today and the Cattle Egret colony in the Nene Valley has had another good year with three broods of young supported by nine adults.

An Osprey was fishing north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir today where also a male Cuckoo.

Regards

Neil M

Grey Heron courtesy
of John Tilly.

Lapwing courtesy of
John Tilly.

Barn Owl courtesy of
Tyler Atkinson.

Little Owl courtesy
of Tyler Atkinson.

Cetti's Warbler courtesy 
of Tony Stanford.

Summer birding

Hello

At least two Tree Sparrows (a juvenile and an adult) were at Rectory Farm, Old this morning - hopefully a second brood might be on the way.

At Pitsford Reservoir there were two drake Wigeon and a Great White Egret in the Scaldwell Bay and a British colour-ringed Black-headed Gull is breeding on one of the rafts there and has offspring.

Two hunting Barn Owls were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening and a Little Owl and a Barn Owl were near Little Houghton.

The adult Yellow-legged Gull was again at Summer Leys LNR today and a Cuckoo and an Oystercatcher were in situ at Stanford Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Large Skipper.

Small Tortoiseshell.

Beautiful Demoiselle.

Osprey.

Naturetrek Day Tour

Hello

A Naturetrek Day Tour took place today at Rectory Farm, Great Easton with a walk around the award winning farm which utilises modern farm techniques entwined with nature conservation. This is also the home of Eyebrook Wild Bird Foods. It was blustery and cool with squally showers but also plenty of sunshine. Birds of note were Grey Wagtail, Lesser Whitethroat and Spotted Flycatcher with the adjacent Eyebrook Reservoir providing fifteen Egyptian Geese, thirty Common Terns, two Great White Egrets, a leucistic Great Crested Grebe, a pair of Shelduck with a single duckling and a fishing Osprey. Several Brown Hares were visible despite the well-grown crops.

Odonata included Blue Emperor, Black-tailed Skimmer, Beautiful Demoiselle and Common Blue Damselfly and butterflies were Painted Lady (in some numbers), Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Large White, Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Two Oystercatchers and a pair of Egyptian Geese were with well-grown goslings in the Welland Valley below Cottingham. A pair of Grey Partridge were at Harrington Airfield.

A 'reeling' Grasshopper Warbler was at Stanford Reservoir plus two Oystercatchers and an adult Yellow-legged Gull was in a field at Summer Leys LNR.

Violence at the Titchmarsh reserve, Thrapston Pits this evening saw an Egyptian Goose attack, drown and toss aside a Gadwall ducking. The goose had well-grown goslings.

A Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Egyptian Goose.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

Painted Lady.

Beautiful Demoiselle.

The next generation of birds

Hello

A wet morning but a dryer, sunny afternoon.

Over at Stanford Reservoir today the best birds were a Barn Owl, a Cetti's Warbler and three Oystercatchers.

At Pitsford Reservoir birds north of the causeway were an Osprey, a Great White Egret and a calling Cuckoo and Small Heath butterflies were active in Scaldwell Meadow.

A Grey Wagtail was in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth and Summer Leys LNR provided sightings of a Bittern, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Little Ringed Plover, a Hobby and a Peregrine. Two Avocets were in the Whiston Locks area of the Nene Valley this evening.

Black Hairstreak butterflies were active in Brampton Wood today, a relatively new site in the county.

Regards

Neil M

Young Barn Owls ringed today,
courtesy of Chris Payne.

A family party of Blackcaps
at Stortons Pits today courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

NRG Ringing Recoveries

Hello

A male Marsh Harrier was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning with two hunting Barn Owls this evening, and two Spotted Flycatchers were noted at New Covert, Kelmarsh today.

Some ringing recoveries associated with the work of the Northants Ringing Group are as follows:-

1. Two juvenile Blue Tits ringed at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 30th May 2026 were killed by a cat at Milton Keynes on 3rd June and 4th June 2026;

2. A young Reed Warbler was ringed at Stanford Reservoir on 20th September 2025 and captured again on 25th May 2026 at Linford Lakes when assessed as an adult male. Two hundred and forty-seven days elapsed between these two dates with the bird migrating to and back from Africa in the meantime;

3. A young Reed Warbler was ringed at Hayes, Greater London on 12th September 2025 and was caught again at Stanwick Lakes on 24th May 2026, some two hundred and eighty-five days later and 93km further north and with a visit in-between to Africa;

4. A young Reed Warbler was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 30th August 2024 and re-appeared at Stanford Reservoir on 30th May this year as an adult male, six hundred and thirty-eight days later and with two migrations to and from Africa under it's belt;

5. An adult male Reed Warbler was ringed at Linford Lakes on 10th June 2023 and captured again near Beja, Portugal on 4th August 2024, 421 days later and 1711km further south-west;

6. A young Reed Warbler was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 16th August 2023 and caught again at Leighton Moss, Lancashire on 10th August 2025 when an adult female. Seven hundred and twenty-five days elapsed between the two dates with two visits to Africa in that time;

Reed Warbler courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

7. A young male Greenfinch was ringed at Stortons Pits on 13th November 2024 and just the leg and ring were found in Northampton on 14th January 2026, 427 days later;

8. A nestling Sand Martin was ringed at Rutland Water on 11th June 2025 and was found dead with injuries at Pitsford Reservoir on 29th April 2026, 322 days later and with a migration to Africa and back during the intervening winter;

9. A nestling Common Gull was ringed at Amrum, Nordfriesische Inseln, Germany on 2nd July 2023 and fitted with a colour ring AO9V. This bird was seen at Pitsford Reservoir when an adult on 7th January 2026, 920 days later and 660km WSW from where originally ringed;

10. A young Jackdaw was ringed at Greens Norton on 21st August 2014 but was found with injuries and destroyed on 13th April 2026 at Church End, Buckinghamshire, 4253 days later and 43km further south;

11. An adult female Mute Swan was ringed at Furzton Lake, Milton Keynes on 9th November 2021 and found predated on a nest in the Emerson Valley, Milton Keynes on 6th April 2026, 1609 days later;

12. A female Redpoll was ringed at Stortons Pits on 4th March 2026 and on 18th April 2026 she was caught again at Budby Corner Plantations, Carburton, Notts, 45 days later and having traveled 113km in a northerly direction;

13. A Lesser Redpoll was ringed at Linford Lakes on 13th April 2024 and was found sick and subsequently died 454km away at Ballyclare, Antrim, Northern Ireland on 6th April 2026, 723 days later after travelling North West;

14. A first year Goldfinch was ringed at Overstone Park, Northampton on 9th March 2024 and captured again at Bourne Wood, Lincolnshire on 9th March 2026, 751 days later;

15. An adult male Goldcrest was ringed at West Vlaanderen, Belgium on 22nd October 2025 and hit a mist net again at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes seventeen days later on 8th November 2025 having travelled 297 km in a WNW direction;

Goldcrest courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

16. A first year Sedge Warbler was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 10th August 2025 and re-captured fourteen days later at Brandon Fen, Suffolk having travelled 96km in an easterly direction.

Regards

Neil M

Wet and breezy June day

Hello

A day of sunshine, rain and bluster seems to be a typical weather day in June in recent years.

A calling Quail in fields to the south of Clifford Hill Pits this morning was another good find and a Cattle Egret was also there in a field with cattle.

A Grey Wagtail and Banded Demoiselle were on the River Welland at Market Harborough today and a couple of Barn Owls and two Hobbies were hunting the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton yesterday evening.

An hour at the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits this afternoon was sufficient time to see two Avocets, a Bittern in flight, an Osprey, a Hobby and two Cuckoos.

Regards

Neil M

Peregrine courtesy
of Pete Gilbert.

Sand Martin courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Carrion Crow courtesy
of John Tilly.

The breeding season.

Hello

My ornithological calendar identifies June as the only month of summer; I class July and onwards as autumn! Aside from occasional overshooting vagrants from the south and local movements, June is all about breeding birds in Northamptonshire and a mixed bag of heat, cold temperatures and short periods of rain appears to suggest that it already looks like a decent year for many breeders.

The early indications are that the owls are faring better this year after a 'bust' year last year and there are plenty of 'branching' juvenile Tawny Owls and broods of rather early Barn Owls being reported all around.

The intense heat will have caused casualties in the nest and the sometimes cold night-time temperatures would have suppressed insect activity with a knock-on effect for the smaller birds that rely so heavily on them.

Bigger birds have perhaps shrugged off these issues and there seems to be plenty of young Starlings, Blackbirds etc out and about and raptor productivity looks good too.

For much of the spring I have been away with tours in France, Iceland and most recently a cruise around the islands of the UK. I have added a few more images to the 'Go Slow in Iceland' page but it will be a little while before I can add many images from the cruise around the UK with visits to Lundy, the Isles of Scilly, the Calf of Man, Rathlin Island, St Kilda and various islands in the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands. An epic and much-awaited Naturetrek trip on board a small cruise ship and using zodiacs to make landings every day.

Regards

Neil M

Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawker at Stortons Pits
today courtesy of Tony Stanford, and perhaps a new
site for this species which is colonising the county.

Garden Warbler at Stortons Pits today
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Rusty Soldier Beetle courtesy of
John Tilly.

Lapwing and chick courtesy
of John Tilly.