Whoopers, winter thrushes and winter trees

Hello

Some time at Harrington Airfield this morning was sufficient to locate about seventy Golden Plovers, a Common Snipe, a Raven, three Bramblings, two Redpoll and a singing Chiffchaff.

Pitsford Reservoir attracted birds and birders alike with the Great Northern Diver still in situ south of the causeway and a herd of six Whooper Swans which flew off and then went on to visit Hollowell Reservoir before flying off north and later being seen in flight in Leicestershire. Other birds at Pitsford included two Great White Egrets, two Redshanks, Snipe, a Raven and six Stonechats.

Hollowell Reservoir also hosted a Great White Egret, the female Ruddy Shelduck, a Jack Snipe, two Snipe, seven Crossbills in the Guilsborough Bay, four Bramblings in nearby fields, a Grey Wagtail and three Stonechats.

A Raven was at Hanging Houghton and there were still good numbers of birds in the Brampton Valley below the village which included a Peregrine with prey this afternoon. A walk around Harlestone Lake provided a drake Goosander, a noisy pair of Ravens, a Grey Wagtail and a Siskin. Two Water Rails, a Snipe and a Grey Wagtail remained at Brixworth Treatment Works.

With the slight rise in day temperature and depletion of hedgerow berries, Redwings and Fieldfares were very high profile feeding in sodden fields all over the county today. An adult Caspian Gull was noted at Rushton Landfill site today and the two Bearded Tits and a Jack Snipe were recorded at Stanford Reservoir.

In the Nene Valley the super-flock of now thirty-three White-fronted Geese cavorted around the Stanwick Pits complex with birds being seen on a variety of pits and feeding on fields. Also present was a Green Sandpiper, three Redshank and four Pintail. The Cattle Egrets in the valley were found generally further west today with five being located in a sheep field between Mary's Lake (Earls Barton Pits complex) and the River Nene (plus a Raven).

Elsewhere and the Goosander flock at Abington Park had inflated to fourteen today (ten drakes), a Green Sandpiper was seen at Deene Lake and over twenty Crossbills were still present at Wakerley Wood.

Afternoon birding near Lamport and Faxton was concluded when hare coursers were discovered on the farmland there - they quickly ran off and drove away once they realised they had been clocked (details passed to Northamptonshire Police).

Regards

Neil M

Redwing.

Fieldfare.

The mighty Oak.

Sweet Chestnut.

Magnificent winter trees
at Lower Harlestone.