Wet and windy 2!

Pintail.

Hello

A day of visiting and restocking feed stations today in breezy, sometimes wet and very mild weather conditions. The Marsh Tits were pleased to see me at Scotland Wood and escorted me down to the feeders where they received their free sunflower seeds!

Pitsford Reservoir next, but this time it was a Firecrest that shouted at me from the hedge alongside the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station! Initially there was no sign of any Whooper Swans but later in the morning all eleven had arrived back in the Scaldwell Bay (nine in particular were very flighty). Other birds included a single Great White Egret, at least sixteen Pintail, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Ruff and a Redshank. A Stoat was a nice sighting!

A single Grey Wagtail was at Brixworth Water Treatment Works and the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was once again the hunting area for a male Merlin pursuing Skylarks and three Bramblings with Chaffinches on the seed there. The gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir provided views of two Yellow-legged Gulls - an adult and a first year. The adult was attacked by a Great Black-backed Gull and may have been injured as a result.

Nick Parker was at Thrapston Pits today and managed to locate a first year Scaup on Town Lake plus a couple of Egyptian Geese and a pair of Raven over. Eric tried out Stanwick Pits and again succeeded in seeing all three species of egret with a Cattle Egret on the east side of the complex and Little and Great White Egrets on the Main Lake.

Regards

Neil M

Stoat.

Ruff.