Northamptonshire Birding: Bring on the sun!

Hi

Well I think we all deserved the sun today which was genuinely warm and penetrating, and accompanied with only with a light cool breeze.

Yesterday evening (Friday 19th), Eleanor found a female Redstart in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton, and went on to see the regular adult female Peregrine at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

This morning (Saturday 20th), and I completed a Common Bird Census around the reserve section of Pitsford Res. Reasonable numbers of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs are on-site now but there is clearly quite a few absent Blackcaps from the normal territories. Variety was in the shape of a pair of Shelduck, 3 Goldeneye, 2-3 Oystercatchers, a Raven, 2-3 Crossbills, a redpoll sp, a Brambling, a Red Kite and 2 Common Terns.

The gorgeous sunshine brought forth quite a throng of insects including several species of butterfly.

Anyway whilst I was committed at Pitsford, Eleanor located a male Ring Ouzel at Harrington Airfield (second bunker), at least 4 Wheatears and a Red Kite, and then subsequently 2 female Ring Ouzels at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell in the cropped hay field near to the farmhouses.

This afternoon I visited Blueberry Farm but failed to re-locate the two Ring Ouzels; there were still quite a gathering of Common Buzzards and a Red Kite there. On next to Harrington Airfield which provided 2 Wheatears, a pair of Grey Partridge and 4 Whitethroats. I gave up on trying to find the male Ring Ouzel when it suddenly flew in to some bushes on the airstrip. It was extremely skulking and then flew back towards the third bunker.

In the meantime Eleanor saw 2 Ravens at Great Brington and a Grey Wagtail, 4 Goldeneye and several House Martins at Ravensthorpe Res. A quick visit to Hollowell Res was enough to find an Arctic Tern with 2 Common Terns and several common summer migrants. A Polecat lay dead on the road nearby.

Regards

Neil M