Migration is back on!

Hello

Today was the first day of several planned days of bird ringing at Pitsford Reservoir, extending in to the week-end.

The initial session was in the Walgrave Bay and then at locations in the Scaldwell Bay and at the Old Scaldwell Road by Maytrees Hide in the late afternoon/evening.

Eighty birds were processed in the Walgrave Bay with no surprises but some good numbers of common warblers and tits in particular. It was a similar story in the back of the Scaldwell Bay, but with the Old Scaldwell Road location also producing three new Moorhens and a Yellow Wagtail.

An Osprey fished the reserve for over thirty minutes from 5pm, before finally catching it's trout supper!

Other birds noted included at least four Red-crested Pochard, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, several Little Egrets, the two Black Swans still pus a Grey Wagtail and a Tree Pipit over. A Wheatear was on adjacent farmland to the west of the Walgrave Bay.

At Harrington Airfield this morning there were two Wheatears but little else.

This afternoon there was an apparent fall of migrants in the Brampton Valley and in particular around Blueberry Farm which hosted three Redstarts (including two stunning males), two Whinchats and a Tree Pipit on the ground.  Raptors included the same summering cream-crown Marsh Harrier and the seemingly now regular female Peregrine.  Two further Whinchats were in a field near to the Brampton Valley Way below Hanging Houghton village.

Regards

Neil M