November ringing

Hello

A ringing session completed by Dave Francis at Pitsford Reservoir today yielded 51 captures of 15 species made up of nine Greenfinches, seven Chaffinches, six Long-tailed Tits, five Blue Tits, a Great Tit, four Dunnocks, two Wrens, two Robins, three Tree Sparrows, two Blackbirds, a Fieldfare, two Reed Buntings, five Yellowhammers, a Goldcrest and a Moorhen.

Harrington Airfield was the venue for some more ringing which provided 108 captures of 17 species. It was thrushes that dominated with sixty-five Redwings, seven Fieldfares, three Blackbirds and a Song Thrush. Two male Sparrowhawks were whizzing around the bushes after the thrushes and one of them was caught and ringed. One of the Fieldfares was bearing a Norwegian ring indicating the origin of at least some of these thrushes. A Yellowhammer encountered was first ringed at the site in 2015.

Other birds present included over a hundred Golden Plovers, a Snipe or two, two Redpolls, a Brambling and a Siskin.

Two Bramblings were at Brixworth Country Park today and two Bramblings and two Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. At Harlestone Heath today there was a particularly well-marked male Brambling, eight Crossbills, fifteen Siskins, a Chiffchaff and a Raven. A pair of Stonechats were near the railway line in the Brampton Valley there and another pair on fallow fields between the firs and Kings Heath.

At Stanwick Pits a Crossbill flew over and a Great White Egret was present with five Cattle Egrets in the Nene Valley below Irthlingborough. Thrapston Pits hosted five Great White Egrets, a Little Owl was seen in Delapre Park, N'pton and a flock of over 250 Golden Plovers were close to Lilbourne Meadows (Wildlife Trust) reserve near to the Crick DIRFT.

Regards

Neil M

Fieldfares. The second image relates
to the first year bird bearing a 
Norwegian ring.

First year male Sparrowhawk.