Sunday 25 November 2018

November birds

Hello

Yesterday (Saturday) Chris Payne opened a mist net in his garden at Greens Norton briefly and caught 28 Goldfinches and a young Magpie. Debbie and Eric paid Titchmarsh reserve near Thrapston a visit and noted a Raven and plenty of Goldcrests.

Today (Sunday) and Eric's visit to Blatherwycke Lake provided views of winter thrushes, two Snipe and a Green Sandpiper and nearby Deene Lake hosted 14 Snipe, 3 Green Sandpipers and 100 plus Teal.

Four Bramblings were near the barn in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton again this morning with at least two there this afternoon with two in our garden in the village.

John Friendship-Taylor located a fine adult Caspian Gull just south of the A422 roundabout between Middleton Cheney and Warkworth today, three Yellow-legged Gulls and twenty Tree Sparrows also being seen in the same area.

A ringing session at Stortons Pits today provided 54 captures of 13 species, the total being made up of 2 Chiffchaffs, a female Blackcap, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 9 Great Tits, 11 Blue Tits, 12 Goldfinches, a Wren, a Cetti's Warbler, 3 Dunnocks, a Robin, 4 Redwings, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Reed Buntings.

A parallel ringing session at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes provided 59 birds of 9 species, the total being made up of 36 Redwings, 7 Fieldfares, a Blackbird, 6 Blue Tits, a Treecreeper, 2 Goldcrests, 2 Meadow Pipits, 2 Bullfinches and 2 Siskins.

Pitsford Reservoir came up trumps today with the discovery of a drake Ring-necked Duck in the Scaldwell Bay. A variety of observers including Adrian Borley, Bob Bullock and Tom Green came up with an excellent supporting cast of a Ruddy Shelduck, a Scaup, four Great White Egrets, eleven Whooper Swans, fifteen Pintail, at least ten Red-crested Pochard, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Redshank, a Ruff and two Stonechats.

Regards

Neil M


Drake Ring-necked Duck -
a captive bird photographed
at Slimbridge.

Red-crested Pochard.

Fieldfare.
 A notoriously difficult bird
to catch for ringing purposes,
Kenny and team managed to
catch and process seven of
them today...

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