Lots of birds about!

Hello

With the continuation of this very cold weather I spent pretty much the whole day feeding birds! The weather forecast suggests that there should be a change beginning tomorrow with a much milder and damper new week in store.

Today's birding in the garden was again dominated by the fabulous Fieldfares with at least fifty birds feeding in the garden but not all at the same time. In fact they are so argumentative that the back lawn has numerous grey feathers where scuffles are almost constant! Like most garden birds it seems that individuals have different tastes - some of the Fieldfares stick rigidly to apple and ignore everything else; others love the dried mealworms and just a few will take cheese, suet pellets and other broadcast fare. Dodging around them are good numbers of Blackbirds and up to four Redwings at a time - they also have a taste for the dried mealworms. A few Reed Buntings and Pied Wagtails were joined by a male Blackcap this afternoon which even sang briefly.

At Harrington Airfield this morning the wintering female Merlin showed up and there were still four Bramblings coming down for the food. A couple of south-bound Lapwing flocks were the first of several seen during the day. Yesterday (Friday) afternoon the Iceland Gull was again seen at Rushton Landfill site.

The wintering Great Northern Diver at Pitsford Reservoir was between the Catwalk Bay and the causeway this morning and a Barn Owl was hunting below the dam. This evening the diver was off the Sailing Club as was an adult Yellow-legged Gull. A Woodcock was flushed near Brixworth and the Barn Owl was seen to successfully catch a vole at Blueberry Farm this afternoon where four Snipe were flushed from a ditch.

Nick Parker found the best bird of the day with a single Glossy Ibis flying south over Thrapston Pits at about 11.35am but so far it hasn't been re-located. Nick also saw a Knot with Lapwings at Islip Water  Meadows. Other Nene Valley birds included seven Great White Egrets at Summer Leys LNR first thing with Stanwick Pits returning totals of thirty-three White-fronted Geese, a Pink-footed Goose, two Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret, four Pintail and two Dunlin.

Clifford Hill Pits provided some sightings with two Jack Snipe, two Snipe, four Dunlin, at least fourteen Golden Plovers and two Stonechats. Single Goosanders were noted on the River Nene at Thrapston and Higham Ferrers, three 'redhead' Smew and a Great White Egret were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and birds at Hollowell Reservoir included a Jack Snipe, ten Snipe, a Great White Egret and eight or nine Crossbills.

A Peregrine was on a church again at Higham Ferrers, a lonely Siskin was on the Kelmarsh Estate and a pair of Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Several Redpolls were feeding from a suspended feeder at Greens Norton today and a Polish ringed first year Caspian Gull was on the ice at Stanford Reservoir this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit on tree sap
icicle courtesy of
Trevor Wilson.

Male Starling in winter
sunshine courtesy of
John Tilly.