Northamptonshire Birding: Mum knows best!

Hello

An early wander at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell by Eleanor this morning was sufficient to locate a Barn Owl and a singing Grasshopper Warbler, and this evening the Barn Owl was still present but the highlight was an Osprey flying over carrying a fish!

My mother has traditionally always fed birds in her garden and for the last couple of decades or so has found that by far and away the favourite food for a variety of species is cooked pastry! Although it is debatable whether such food provides a suitable balanced nourishment for adult and juvenile birds, there is no doubt that the birds love it and become particularly tame in order to be first in the queue! Supplemented with sunflower hearts, peanuts and the usual garden offerings, her garden is packed with birds many of which follow her around the garden! Today I took my camera along and took some images - once the individuals had backed off a bit!

This afternoon Eleanor and I walked around the Summer Leys reserve at Earls Barton GP, a rare treat for us. Nothing unusual was seen but the standard fare was good with a Hobby, five Teal , two drake Pochard, one of the pair of Shelduck with five ducklings, two Oystercatchers, at least two Redshank, six Little Ringed Plovers, two or three Little Egrets and a Cetti's Warbler. The small Sand Martin colony was active and the Black-headed Gulls had produced lots of young on one of the islands, some of which are already capable of flight. The orchid family was well represented with flowering Common Spotted, Bee, Marsh and Pyramidal. A Hobby was seen over nearby Bozeat village.

Regards

Neil M