Ahead of the 'Beast from the East'!

Long-tailed Tits, courtesy
of Jim Dunkley.

Hello

Eleanor's daily morning foray in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton provided a pair of Stonechat and a Barn Owl.

A WeBS count at Pitsford Reservoir today in cold conditions provided only low numbers of wildfowl. Highlights were an Oystercatcher, two Redshank, four Snipe, a pair of Raven and sixty Siskins (fifty in the Pintail Bay). The Slavonian Grebe wasn't located but it does sometimes move around the reservoir.

The gull roost in the afternoon saw good numbers of gulls with an estimated total number of just under 10,000 birds. Mostly they kept their distance but we were able to confirm two first year Yellow-legged Gulls.

The feed station at the Old Scaldwell Road was very busy, particularly with high numbers of Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings plus good numbers of Chaffinches and Tree Sparrows too.

Our garden at Hanging Houghton is bringing in plenty of Reed Buntings and several Yellowhammers in addition to more common fare and Jacob's feeders at Scaldwell attracted at least eight Redpolls today.

Jim Dunkley has been enjoying the birds in his Sywell garden with visits from an apple-loving Blackcap, Goldfinches feeding on the seeds of his Verbena butterfly plant, Long-tailed Tits and Reed Buntings.

An afternoon revisit to the Brampton Valley and a hike around the public sections of Blueberry Farm provided views of fifty Golden Plovers, two Woodcock and four Snipe.

Regards

Neil M

Female Eurasian Wigeon,
courtesy of John Tilly.

Snipe, courtesy
of John Tilly.

Reed Buntings, courtesy
of Jim Dunkley.

Goldfinches on Verbena,
courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Male Blackcap feeding
on apple, courtesy of
Jim Dunkley.