Chiffchaffs and a few other migrants

Hello

The early autumn migrants are thinning out now as the season progresses and we await new arrivals. However, this is the time for maximum Chiffchaffs with birds seemingly everywhere.

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included thirteen Ringed Plovers, a Black-tailed Godwit, four Greenshanks and two Green Sandpipers and a Hobby north of the causeway and with three adult Yellow-legged Gulls off the dam.

Stanford Reservoir hosted a fly-over Cattle Egret, a Bittern, two Ringed Plovers, three Common Sandpipers, a Hobby and three Cetti's Warblers.

Two Green Sandpipers and five Common Sandpipers were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon plus a Common Snipe, still over a hundred Great Crested Grebes, a Great White Egret, a daytime roosting Tawny Owl mobbed by Coal Tits and Goldcrests, and three Grey Wagtails.

A Spotted Redshank was seen in flight at Summer Leys LNR where also a Ringed Plover, and four Curlews flew over this afternoon. The Osprey was again at the new workings section of Earls Barton Pits before flying off high.

Two Spotted Flycatchers were at Wicksteed Park, Kettering and a Common Redstart and a Marsh Harrier frequented Harrington Airfield.

Two Whinchats and a Wheatear were around shrike hedge in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning with a male Common Redstart at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

Regards

Neil M

Little Egret.

Red Kite.

Speckled Wood butterfly.

Chiffchaff courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

A WeBS count was completed at Pitsford Reservoir today, the movement of birds north of the causeway caused something of a compromise on the accuracy of the count but hopefully we managed something reasonable!

A group of three Common Scoters were between the causeway and the dam, disturbed by fishing boats. North of the causeway there was a Black-tailed Godwit, twenty-four Ringed Plovers, a Common Snipe, four Greenshanks, two Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers, six Pintail, six Shelduck, seven Yellow-legged Gulls, a Hobby, a curious Tufted Duck with a pink bill and brown plumage, a drake 'aythya' hybrid (probably a Pochard x Tufted Duck), eleven Great White Egrets, a Raven and a Grey Wagtail.

A Turnstone was at Daventry Country Park still today and the Osprey was again showing nicely at the Earls Barton Pits New Workings where also a Hobby and two Ravens. A Bittern was seen in flight over the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits. The Short-eared Owl was again in the Blueberry Farm, Maidwell area this afternoon after first being in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. A Common Redstart and a juvenile Peregrine were also at Blueberry Farm.

A Hobby flew over Woodford Halse and a Dunlin and three juvenile Ringed Plovers were at Boddington Reservoir.

Two Bitterns were at Stanford Reservoir today plus two Ringed Plovers, the 'aythya' hybrid again, two Common Sandpipers and three Cetti's Warblers.

Regards

Neil M

Yellow-legged Gulls.

Clouded Yellow butterfly.

Yellow Wagtail courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

A mild and wet September day

Hello

A mild day with regular periods of drizzle and light rain.

The Ferruginous Duck was still at Stanford Reservoir today plus now two Bitterns, an 'aythya' hybrid (possibly of Tufted Duck x Pochard parentage), two Ringed Plovers, two Common Sandpipers, nine Pochard, a Water Rail and three Cetti's Warblers.

The Turnstone was again at Daventry Country Park this morning and birds visible from the dam at Pitsford Reservoir this evening were a juvenile Caspian Gull, five Yellow-legged Gulls, three Common Terns, a Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper, a Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail.

A Short-eared Owl was found at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this afternoon before it flew off in the direction of shrike hedge in the Brampton Valley. Other birds in the area were a Marsh Harrier, a family party of Hobby, a Wheatear and a Common Redstart.

A Bittern was at Summer Leys LNR where also six Common Snipe, a Ringed Plover, a Hobby and two Marsh Harriers.

An Osprey was again at Earls Barton New Workings today and a Raven was at Scaldwell village with a couple of Grey Wagtails in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth.

Regards

Neil M

Common Tern.

Black Tern courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Common Buzzard
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Ruddy Darter.

Ringing the migrants

Hello

More ringing at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes yesterday evening and again this morning provided one hundred and twenty-eight captures of eighteen species, with one hundred and twenty of the birds newly-ringed.

Yesterday evening was good with fourteen Swallows, two Sand Martins and a Barn Owl!

Today and the highlight was a Spotted Flycatcher, a rare capture in mist nets. A total of forty-three Blackcaps was also good and six rather late Willow Warblers, seventeen Chiffchaffs, five Sedge Warblers, four Reed Warblers, a Cetti's Warbler, a Treecreeper, a Kingfisher and three Reed Buntings.

A much more modest ringing period at Pitsford Reservoir this morning yielded forty-five birds with the highlights being three Meadow Pipits, two Pied Wagtails, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler, five Blackcaps and four Reed Buntings. Two lively Otters were seen at dawn as they cavorted around the Scaldwell Bay. The birds seen included eleven Great White Egrets, a Black-tailed Godwit, twelve Ringed Plovers, a Little Ringed Plover, a Turnstone, two Yellow-legged Gulls and a couple of Grey Wagtails. A Barn Owl was nearby

This evening there were at least six Yellow-legged Gulls off the dam plus the five Egyptian Geese and an unidentified 'sawbill' duck way off in the distance in the Pintail Bay - the appalling light and rain negated an identification!

A Turnstone was at Daventry Country Park plus a first year Caspian Gull briefly and the Ferruginous Duck was seen at Stanford Reservoir plus a Ringed Plover, two Common Sandpipers, a Common Snipe, a Water Rail, a Hobby, one hundred and twenty-five Shovelers and a hundred Cormorants.

An adult Caspian Gull was at Naseby Reservoir again plus a Ringed Plover, five Common Snipe, two Common Sandpipers and a Redpoll flying over.

A walk around Harrington Airfield provided a Tree Pipit, a Common Redstart and a Wheatear plus a Peregrine and four Ravens over and the mostly white Common Buzzard which was around last winter.

One Common Redstart was off the footpath next to the lucerne fields close to Cherry Hill and Walgrave. Clouded Yellow butterflies are well-spread and numerous and include the white 'helice' forms and also the pale, almost brownish variants which may be a different species.

Two Peregrines were atop the steeple at St Dionyslus church in Market Harborough town centre despite a wedding there and lots of noisy bells!

The only record from the Nene Valley today was an Osprey at Thrapston Pits plus two Pintail, three Common Sandpipers and a Greenshank all on the Titchmarsh reserve.

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl.

Sedge Warbler.

Spotted Flycatcher.

Images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

Quiet Ditchford WeBS count

Hello

Four Whinchats, a Wheatear and a Common Redstart were near shrike hedge in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning, the Whinchats and the Wheatear still being there this evening. A Raven and two Grey Wagtails were in the village at Hanging Houghton with a Hobby between there and Scaldwell.

A female Common Redstart and two Wheatears were at Hinton Airfield this evening.

Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir this evening were seven Great White Egrets, five juvenile Shelduck, two Yellow-legged Gulls, two Ringed Plovers, a Common Snipe and a Common Sandpiper.

Two Whinchats were found at Wicksteed Park, Kettering today.

Daventry Country Park hosted a Turnstone, three Black-tailed Godwits, six Ringed Plovers, a Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper.

At Earls Barton Pits there was an Osprey again at the new workings section and a Bittern seen at Summer Leys again.

A Whinchat was at Clifford Hill Pits this morning plus seven Common Snipe, a Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper.

A WeBS count at Ditchford Pits was another quiet affair with two Great White Egrets, two Pintail, three Kingfishers, a Water Rail, a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, two Common Snipe, a Hobby, several Cetti's Warblers and a Grey Wagtail.

A roost catch ringing session at Linford Pits yesterday evening (Thursday) provided twenty-six Swallows and three Sand Martins.

Regards

Neil M

Whinchat at Wicksteed Park
today courtesy of Nick Parker.

Grass Snake.

Pheasant.

Clouded Yellow.

Above three images from Upton
Country Park today courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Ringing at Brixworth

Hello

A cool start and end of the day but some nice autumnal sunshine and an increase in breeze strength during the day.

Just over seventy birds were processed during a bird ringing session at Brixworth this morning with Blue Tit, Blackcap and Chiffchaff the most numerous species encountered. A Bullfinch, two Lesser Whitethroats and a small number of Meadow Pipits also appeared in the mist nets. Clouded Yellow butterflies (including a pale one) and a Grass Snake were nice too and three Grey Wagtails were on-site with a Raven passing overhead on a couple of occasions.

A Raven was at Hanging Houghton and three Spotted Flycatchers were at Lamport Hall this afternoon, visible from the third wooden gate along the footpath from the A508.

Two Ringed Plovers were at Stanford Reservoir today plus a Great White Egret, a Common Sandpiper, a Water Rail and three Cetti's Warblers.

A Whinchat was at Hollowell Reservoir where also four Dunlin and six Ringed Plovers early in the morning and with a Marsh Harrier and a fly-thorough Caspian Gull this afternoon. A Hobby was the only bird reported from Pitsford Reservoir.

Daventry Country Park was the venue for three Black-tailed Godwits, a Ringed Plover, a Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper.

At least thirty Crossbills and two Siskins were at Wakerley Wood this afternoon, in larches just beyond the main car park. Nearby and Black Swans were with cygnets at Deene Lake, and Blatherwycke Lake provided views of a Marsh Harrier and four Egyptian Geese.

In the Nene valley there was a juvenile Black Tern on Elinor Lake, Thrapston Pits and a Greenshank, three Common Sandpipers and an adult Yellow-legged Gull on the Titchmarsh reserve.

The Earls Barton Pits complex yielded a Black-necked Grebe and a Caspian Gull on Mary's Lake, a Hobby and White Wagtail at Summer Leys LNR with the new workings at the west end producing a juvenile Osprey again, an adult Caspian Gull and a Cattle Egret. A Raven was over Higham Ferrers.

Regards

Neil M

Adult Lesser Whitethroat courtesy
of Jane Neill.

The intricate plumage and warm tones
of a first year Meadow Pipit, courtesy of
 Sean Gower.

A couple more Pied Flycatchers

Hello

My apologies but for some reason images aren't downloading on to the blog this evening.

It's been a great autumn for migrant Common Redstarts, chats and flycatchers and today two more Pied Flycatchers were found. Lamport Hall produced it's third individual of the season with a bird showing this evening from the third wooden gate from the A508 along the footpath south of Lamport Hall, where also a male Common Redstart and eight Spotted Flycatchers. In addition Steve found another one in Denton Wood today, part of the private Yardley Hastings complex.

A Cattle Egret was an early morning sighting at Stanford Reservoir where other birds were a Ringed Plover (injured), a Great White Egret, two Common Sandpipers and a Cetti's Warbler.

At Hollowell Reservoir there was an adult Caspian Gull, ten Egyptian Geese, four Dunlin and six Ringed Plovers. Ravensthorpe Reservoir provided a site record of one hundred and eighteen Great Crested Grebes, plus a Green Sandpiper and a Cetti's Warbler.

Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir were a Black-tailed Godwit, four Greenshanks, two Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers, six Great White Egrets, three Ravens and a Kingfisher. Five Egyptian Geese remain around the dam where also three Yellow-legged Gulls, four Common Terns and two Grey Wagtails.

Harrington Airfield hosted two Common Redstarts and a Whinchat and in the Nene Valley there was a Wheatear, two Common Snipe and a Ringed Plover at Clifford Hill Pits.

Summer Leys LNR was the venue for a Bittern, four or five Great White Egrets, a Ruff, a Ringed Plover, five Common Snipe, a Hobby and a Spotted Flycatcher. The Osprey was again at the New Workings section of Earls Barton Pits plus a Great White Egret and a Green Sandpiper.

Nick located a Greenshank and three Common Sandpipers on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits.

Regards

Neil M

Gulls - love them or hate them?

Hello

Rain for the first part of the morning and then a breezy but relatively mild day, becoming cooler this evening.

Stanford Reservoir again produced a Bittern sighting and other birds were an Osprey, a Common Sandpiper, three Common Snipe, a Hobby, two hundred Swallows, a Cetti's Warbler and seven Spotted Flycatchers.

A Common Redstart was in the anglers car park at Naseby Reservoir and waders amounted to two Ringed Plovers, fifteen Common Snipe and a Common Sandpiper.

Hollowell Reservoir provided a fly-through Knot that touched down briefly, a Greenshank, five Ringed Plovers, two Common Snipe and two Common Sandpipers.

At Pitsford Reservoir a Black-tailed Godwit was feeding in the Scaldwell Bay where also a Greenshank, a Ruff, three Little Ringed Plovers, three Common Snipe and four Pintail. An Osprey was later seen over the causeway. Large gulls off the dam included ten Yellow-legged Gulls (of three different ages) plus singles of Greenshank, Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper, six Common Terns and a couple of Grey Wagtails.

A Bittern was seen in flight on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits plus an amazing count of twenty-eight Mandarin Ducks, and Summer Leys LNR hosted a Ruff, a Ringed Plover, three Common Snipe and a Hobby.

A juvenile Osprey spent some time at the new workings section of Earls Barton Pits where also three Green Sandpipers and a Pintail.

A couple of Grey Wagtails were in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth.

Regards

Neil M

Great Black-backed Gull.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull.

An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and a
juvenile gull that looked right for Yellow-
legged Gull at the time but now I'm not
so sure! It could be a rather round-headed
and pale Lesser Black-backed but the legs
seem too long, the rounded physique of the
bird and structure seem more akin to Yellow-
legged. The plain brown white-fringed tertials
are a feature of both species and the greater
covert patterning is more akin to Yellow-legged.
Not all juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls depict a pale
head and belly as so often described in the
literature. I think anyone who says they can
identify every juvenile big gull is a fibber! 

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull.

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

A selection of gulls photographed on the
dam at Pitsford Reservoir recently.

A quiet September day

Hello

A pleasant autumn day with warm temperatures but little was found locally that was new.

The Bittern remains at Stanford Reservoir and other birds were two Common Sandpipers, a hundred Cormorants, a Peregrine, two Ravens and a Cetti's Warbler.

The local Ruddy Shelduck showed up at Ravensthorpe Reservoir today where also three Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, two Ruff and a Great White Egret. A Stonechat and five Ringed Plovers and a Common Snipe were the best on offer at Hollowell Reservoir.

Two adult Caspian Gulls graced Naseby Reservoir today where also two Ruff, fourteen Common Snipe and four Common Sandpipers.

At Pitsford Reservoir birds in the Scaldwell Bay were a Black-tailed Godwit, a Greenshank, three Common Snipe, six Great White Egrets and three Pintail. Three Yellow-legged Gulls were around the dam/Overstone Grange Bay plus a Kingfisher, a Green Sandpiper, two Grey Wagtails and a Raven.

In the Nene Valley and Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston provided thirty-one Little Egrets, five Great White Egrets, a Greenshank and four Common Sandpipers.

A Common Sandpiper, a Hobby and a Raven were at Stanwick Pits and the new workings section of Earls Barton Pits produced an Osprey, two Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper.

Efforts at the Clifford Hill Pits complex returned a Wheatear, a Redshank, three Common Sandpipers, two Common Snipe and two Ringed Plovers.

The Hobby family were still at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell today.

Regards

Neil M

Coal Tit courtesy of
Tyler Atkinson.

Goldcrest courtesy of
Tyler Atkinson.

Long-tailed Tit courtesy of
Tyler Atkinson.

Muntjac courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Sallow Kitten moth.

Gatekeeper butterfly.

Pipits and wagtails on the move

Hello

A shower at dawn and the southerly breeze kicked in later with warm, dry conditions.

A relatively short ringing session at Brixworth Water Treatment Works this morning successfully processed sixty-five birds which only included five re-traps and one of them a Chiffchaff from last autumn.

Stars of the show were a single Tree Pipit which have been relatively scarce this autumn, a Yellow Wagtail which is a rare capture away from roost sites, six Pied Wagtails and three Lesser Whitethroats, albeit the last of the three was unfortunately inundated with ticks which were clearly having a detrimental effect. Twenty-five Blackcaps and seventeen Chiffchaffs made up the bulk of the catch which also included a Magpie, a Song Thrush and a Reed Bunting. A southerly passage of Meadow Pipits overhead was evident during the first couple of hours and Yellow Wagtails dropped in and out.

The lucerne crop in the fields next to the footpath south of Old, Cherry Hill and Walgrave continued to attract good numbers of Clouded Yellow butterflies and there were two Common Redstarts in the hedging there plus a mobile Marsh Harrier.

A female Common Redstart was found in the south of the county at Hinton Airfield, another was at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and birds noted at Harrington Airfield were a Tree Pipit and two Crossbills flying over and two Common Redstarts and a Wheatear around the bunkers.

A Hobby was noted at Whiston Lock and the Clifford Hill Pits/Little Houghton area attracted one or two Wheatear(s), at least two Spotted Flycatchers, three Ringed Plovers, a Common Sandpiper, a Great White Egret, a Water Rail, seventy-eight Yellow Wagtails from roost, a Hobby, a large flock of hirundines and a passage of Meadow Pipits.

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

Regards

Neil M

Tree Pipit courtesy of
Sean Gower.

Yellow Wagtail courtesy of
Michelle Spinks.

Common Buzzard courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Peregrine courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Migrants lurking in the bushes

Hello

Many of the Robins are back in full song now, a combination of surviving adults that have recovered from the breeding season and undergone a full moult, and the youngsters that have mostly completed their body moult and are striving for territories. I wonder how many adults are usurped by their own young!

It's this time of the year when many small migrants pass almost unnoticed through the county. Ringing has shown us that as birdwatchers wandering around with optics we see a small fraction of the birds in the foliage and bushes. Large numbers of Blackcaps traditionally move through the middle of the UK, not bouncing off the coastlines like many rarer birds. Ringers at Stanford Reservoir can expect to catch and ring a few thousand of these birds every year.

A ringing session at Stortons Pits was a good example this morning with a selection of nets barely covering a couple of hectares successfully catching over eighty Blackcaps. Other birds included two each of Garden Warbler and Common Whitethroat, singles of Sedge Warbler and Cetti's Warbler, six Reed Warblers and twenty-three Chiffchaffs. Bigger birds included two Song Thrushes, a Blackbird, a Green Woodpecker and a Magpie. A Ring-necked Parakeet and a male Peregrine overflew the site.

Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir today were a Spotted Redshank, two Greenshanks, a Green Sandpiper, two Black-tailed Godwits, three Ruff, two Common Snipe, a Garganey, four Pintail, four Shelducks, one thousand, one hundred and thirty Tufted Ducks, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Hobby and eight Great White Egrets.

A Wood Sandpiper was still at Ravensthorpe Reservoir plus two Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper and three Common Snipe.

A list of birds noted at Daventry Country Park included two Ringed Plovers, two Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers, four Shelducks, three Swifts and a Hobby.

A Bittern and a Ruff were at Summer Leys LNR this morning and a Hobby and a Great White Egret were at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits. The Little Stint was reported from Clifford Hill Pits and a Garganey was at the north end of the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits.

A Hobby and a Raven were near Kelmarsh and a Common Redstart and eight Spotted Flycatchers were at Lamport Hall this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Cetti's Warbler courtesy of
Jane Neill.

First year Magpie courtesy
of Chris Payne.

First year female Green Woodpecker
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Birds of reservoir and gravel pit

Hello

A breezy day and some heavy rain this morning ensured that many waters enjoyed a collection of hirundines feeding over the surface.

A Bittern and a Hobby were at Stanford Reservoir today and two of the juvenile Curlew Sandpipers and the Spotted Redshank were still at Daventry Country Park, where an adult Arctic Tern was also reported.

A couple of Turnstones were heard calling near the dam/Moulton Grange Bay area at Pitsford Reservoir but not seen, and other birds at this part of the reservoir were a Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, a Great White Egret, a Kingfisher, a Yellow-legged Gull and all three species of wagtail including a possible juvenile White Wagtail. In the Scaldwell Bay this afternoon there was a single Spotted Redshank and other birds north of the causeway were now five juvenile Shelducks, seven Great White Egrets, a Pintail, two Black-tailed Godwits, a Ruff, two Greenshanks and a Yellow-legged Gull.

Sywell Country Park provided views of a juvenile Osprey, two Yellow-legged Gulls, two Little Ringed Plovers and singles of Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper.

A Garganey was new in at Ravensthorpe Reservoir where still a Wood Sandpiper, two Green Sandpipers, two Common Snipe and a Ruff. Hollowell Reservoir produced an Osprey, six Ringed Plovers and a Common Sandpiper.

The list of birds at Naseby Reservoir again involved the adult Caspian Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Greenshank, five Common Snipe and five Common Sandpipers.

Clifford Hill Pits hosted a Little Stint plus the two now long-staying Black Terns, three Common Snipe, a Common Sandpiper, a Ruff and a Ringed Plover.

A Wood Sandpiper was reported from Summer Leys LNR today and the Glossy Ibis was at the New Workings section of Earls Barton Pits early this afternoon together with a Greenshank, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Common Sandpiper and four or five Green Sandpipers.

An Osprey flew south over Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits and a Hobby and a Swift were also seen.

Regards

Neil M

Pied Flycatcher at Wicksteed Park
yesterday courtesy of Nick Parker.

Black Terns in the rain at 
Clifford Hill Pits this morning
courtesy of Tyler Atkinson.

The trajected route used by the Isle of Wight
White-tailed Eagle that flew through the county
from south to north last Sunday and Monday,
roosting just north of Thrapston on the Sunday
night, courtesy of Tim Mackrill. It passed over
Northampton at 1.30pm on the Sunday.

Autumn bounty

Hello

Clifford Hill Pits is receiving good coverage this year and it's paying off with a juvenile Little Stint being found this morning and other birds amounting to two Black Terns, a Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper and a Wheatear.

The Glossy Ibis was at Earls Barton New Workings north of the river early this afternoon and a Glossy Ibis (possibly the same) was reported on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR this evening.

A Pied Flycatcher was a good find at Wicksteed Park, Kettering today - what3words cases.bother.reveal

A Common Redstart and four Spotted Flycatchers at Lamport Hall was the best on offer this evening and earlier two Common Redstarts were heard calling in hedging off the footpath leading from Bridle Road, Old to the fields south of Cherry Hill and Walgrave. A Golden Plover flew over here as did a Raven and a Grey Wagtail and a dozen Clouded Yellows remain fixated on the lucerne crop there.

A Raven and vocal Little Owls were in Hanging Houghton village and birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir were nine Great White Egrets, at least seven Ruff, four Greenshanks, two Black-tailed Godwits, five Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, now four juvenile Shelducks, five Pintail, at least one adult Yellow-legged Gull and five Clouded Yellow butterflies.

Ravensthorpe Reservoir again provided the Wood Sandpiper plus four Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers, a Common Snipe and a Ruff, and nearby Hollowell Reservoir was good for three Ringed Plovers and a Wheatear.

The Caspian Gull was again seen at Naseby Reservoir today and the three juvenile Curlew Sandpipers and single Spotted Redshank were again reported from Daventry Country Park.

Regards

Neil M

Ruff.

Black-tailed Godwit.

Kingfisher.

Above images from Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Linnet courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Another roost catch last night (Wednesday) at Linford
 Lakes, Milton Keynes provided more Swallows and
 this unexpected juvenile Linnet - the first of this species
 to be ringed on-site.