Hot Saturday!

A small Pike only about two feet long
at Ditchford GP today, but just the right
size and shape for a passing Osprey!

Hello

Very warm for much of today, with some resultant showers as I type this!

Eleanor paid Hollowell Reservoir a visit this morning and saw an adult Osprey, 4 Little Egrets, 12 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, a Greenshank, a Ruff and a Dunlin. There were 2 Green Sandpipers at nearby Ravensthorpe Reservoir. Two adult Hobby were over Maidwell village this afternoon.

I visited Ditchford Gravel Pits to complete the August WeBS count which took me over six hours in pretty sticky and humid conditions. Brilliant for insects though with the large hawker dragonflies in particular whizzing around in big numbers. Brown and Migrant Hawkers dominated but there were plenty of Emperors and a few Southern Hawkers too.

The viaduct pit west of Ditchford Lane attracted wader singletons of Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper and Dunlin. The wildfowl were unremarkable but there were six Egyptian Geese present. The whole complex is excellent for Kingfisher, with a mixture of streams, pits and the River Nene providing plenty of choice; there were at least 8 birds present today. Other birds of note included an adult Peregrine over the main pit between Higham Ferrers and Irthlingborough, 3 Little Egrets, a Grey Wagtail and 4 Whinchats on the east side of the Viaduct Pit.

At Pitsford Reservoir this morning, the ringing team in the Scaldwell Bay caught 63 birds of 21species, perhaps the more interesting being a Garden Warbler, 6 Blackcaps, 2 Reed Warblers, 2 Whitethroats, 3 Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 3 Treecreepers, 2 Marsh Tits and 2 Willow Tits.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Osprey at
Pitsford Reservoir yesterday,
sadly keeping its distance!

Lapwing. The road causeway at Pitsford
Reservoir is a traditional site for post-
breeding Lapwings to gather. They are a
mixture of moulting adults (the majority)
and a few juveniles.