Hello
The general lack of wind and occasional peeks of sunshine today provided sufficient warmth to spend time outside. Plenty of insects were on the wing including several species of bee and larger flies.
Peering upwards into the skies above Hanging Houghton and it seemed there was always a Common Buzzard or Red Kite on view. Many will just be local birds but the sheer number passing over in small groups suggests passage birds too. This was perhaps amplified when a group of four Kestrels passed over, albeit that a male in the group broke away to commit to a little flight display.
A or several single Ravens passed over too but flying more purposefully and probably taking food back to chicks in the nest somewhere. A familiar sound caused observers to look up and see fourteen Golden Plovers flying over in a northerly direction and the same sound again a little while later and it was a flock of about 160 birds wheeling around. These latter birds weren't passing through and I suspect had come from one of the regular stop-over fields near Scaldwell. Also a few flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare passed over the village today, the Redwings coming down to feed.
A Blackcap was singing in the village and it or another was caught and ringed. The deposits it left behind suggests it had been eating ivy berries - a really important food item for a variety of birds when there are so few other berries on offer at this time of the year.
A brief stop at Pitsford Reservoir during a prescription run confirmed the continued presence of an Osprey fishing north of the dam and two Swallows.
Regards
Neil M
The general lack of wind and occasional peeks of sunshine today provided sufficient warmth to spend time outside. Plenty of insects were on the wing including several species of bee and larger flies.
Peering upwards into the skies above Hanging Houghton and it seemed there was always a Common Buzzard or Red Kite on view. Many will just be local birds but the sheer number passing over in small groups suggests passage birds too. This was perhaps amplified when a group of four Kestrels passed over, albeit that a male in the group broke away to commit to a little flight display.
A or several single Ravens passed over too but flying more purposefully and probably taking food back to chicks in the nest somewhere. A familiar sound caused observers to look up and see fourteen Golden Plovers flying over in a northerly direction and the same sound again a little while later and it was a flock of about 160 birds wheeling around. These latter birds weren't passing through and I suspect had come from one of the regular stop-over fields near Scaldwell. Also a few flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare passed over the village today, the Redwings coming down to feed.
A Blackcap was singing in the village and it or another was caught and ringed. The deposits it left behind suggests it had been eating ivy berries - a really important food item for a variety of birds when there are so few other berries on offer at this time of the year.
A brief stop at Pitsford Reservoir during a prescription run confirmed the continued presence of an Osprey fishing north of the dam and two Swallows.
Regards
Neil M
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| Common Buzzard. |
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| Red Kite. |
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