Autumn has come early!

Hello

Yesterday (Monday) a ringing session was undertaken at Linford Lakes on the edge of Milton Keynes. This was a successful session but the sheer amount of quality wildlife on offer was amazing with a Water Shrew being seen as well as Bank Vole, four Common and eight Great Crested Newts, nine Grass Snakes, two Common Toads and two Common Frogs! Birds seen included an Osprey, a Great White Egret, three Green Sandpipers, a Dunlin and two Tree Pipits.

Sixty-nine birds were caught and processed made up of twenty-one Blackcaps, a Whitethroat, twenty-one Reed Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, six Chiffchaffs, four Wrens, eight Blue Tits, two Great Tits, two Long-tailed Tits and two Yellow Wagtails (this latter species is only caught in very low numbers locally).

Also yesterday evening three juvenile Shags could be found at the southern end of Pitsford Reservoir where the gull roost harboured ten Yellow-legged Gulls, half of which were juveniles. Eleanor's visit to the Brampton Valley in the evening very quickly provided views of a Marsh Harrier, two Wheatears and a Whinchat. Other observations during a pleasant, still evening included three Great White Egrets roosting in trees in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir and two or three Great White Egrets, two Common Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper at the Earls Barton Pits complex.

Today (Tuesday) and a predicted wild and wet affair proved to be an accurate forecast! At least two Shags were to be found this morning at the south end of Pitsford Reservoir as were up to five Yellow-legged Gulls and a Swift. A Peregrine was seen over the Moulton Grange Bay and birds still from yesterday included the two Common Redstarts still in the hedge en-route to the Bird Club Hide in the Scaldwell Bay and two Dunlin, a Green Sandpiper and a Ringed Plover on the shoreline. An afternoon Shag number assessment with at least one bird still in the Scaldwell Bay was that five birds were present at the reservoir today.

Chris Green saw two Swifts over Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve today.

Two or three Otters were on show on the swollen River Welland at Market Harborough this morning behind the Waitrose and Aldi supermarkets...

Regards

Neil M

Bank Vole courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Grass Snakes courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Yellow Wagtail courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Otter at Market Harborough today...

Ooops! A Hot Air balloon
made an impromptu landing
on the water at Pitsford Reservoir
yesterday but successfully managed
to lift off and drift away! 

Black-headed Gull
Pitsford Reservoir.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull
Pitsford Reservoir.